Welcome to a new episode of A SAHA Conversation, a podcast by the Scottish Arts and Humanities Alliance.

In this episode, we will talk with Dr Lindsay Middleton, a food historian who will provide eye opening perspective on the history of food, historical sustainable practices and so much more.

We are delighted to bring you the last podcast episode from our SAHA Conversations series. Our conversation partner is Philip Long OBE FRSE. Philip is Chief Executive of the National Trust for Scotland. He has an extensive experience in the arts & heritage sectors in Scotland and he is the founding director of V&A Dundee, a landmark museum and cultural institution in Scotland. As usual, Philip has links with several SAHA member institutions. A fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, he is also an Honorary Professor of the University of Dundee and an Honorary Research Fellow of the University of St Andrews. Philip has received an OBE for services to culture and heritage in 2020. 

We are delighted to bring you another SAHA Conversation. Our guest this week is Amina Shah. Amina is the National Librarian and Chief Executive of the National Library of Scotland. She has over 25 years' experience across the library and literature sector, including both public and academic libraries. She was a previous Chief Executive of the Scottish Library and Information Council and Director of Programme at the Scottish Book Trust and is President of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals in Scotland and Visiting Professor at the School of Creative and Culture Business at Robert Gordon University.  She is a Trustee of StAnza International Poetry Festival, Friends of the National Libraries, the Scottish Library and Information Council and the British Library Advisory Board. Amina has a strong interest in diversity and inclusion and the role libraries, literature and culture play in empowering individuals and communities.

As we discuss during our conversation, Amina has spent most of her life amongst books and our talk covers different topics related to books and libraries. The discussion also includes Amina’s reflections on the future of libraries and the various services libraries provide for their communities beyond access to their collections.

Resources mentioned:

National Library of Scotland

A Living Proof: A Climate Story documentary

Scotland’s Public Library Strategy 2021-2025

Scottish Library & Information Council

We are delighted to bring you a new SAHA Conversation. Our guest this week is Jane McCulloch. Jane McCulloch is the Consul General of Ireland in Edinburgh, having taken up her post in July 2019. Jane is a career diplomat who has served Ireland at home and abroad for fifteen years. Jane has served abroad as Deputy Head of Mission and Consul at the Embassies of Ireland in Warsaw and Copenhagen, and at home in various roles across the Department of Foreign Affairs, including as Head of Integrity in the Passport Service, in the Humanitarian Unit of Irish Aid, and on State Visits in DFA’s Protocol Division. Before joining the Department of Foreign Affairs, Jane worked in the events industry, delivering major outdoor public events. She graduated from the University of St Andrews in 2002.

Our SAHA Conversation includes Jane’s reflections on her career and on the contribution of arts & humanities to international relations. As this conversation was recorded in the first week of February 2022, and St Patrick’s day on March 17th was just around the corner, we also discussed St Patrick’s Day and what it means for Ireland and the Irish diaspora.

Resources mentioned:

SAHA brings you a new special edition podcast with historical insights into the invasion of Ukraine. Our speakers, drawn from across the Scottish higher education sector, are authorities on the history and culture of the region. In this discussion, grounded in an arts and humanities perspective and independent historical inquiry, the speakers explore contested narratives of the past and what these mean for our understanding of the current conflict. They also discuss the importance of narratives of national identity and why religious, economic, and political legacies still matter if we are to reach greater insight into this complex region and into the ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

We would love to hear your thoughts about this podcast – please get in touch with us via the website, Twitter @SAHA_voice - #SAHAInsights, LinkedIn or Facebook.

The podcast participants are:

The full transcript is available on our website.

Please find below some of the resources mentioned in this episode and further reading recommendations shared by the guests and Dr Asya Kudlenko:

Our latest SAHA Conversation features Fiona Hill. Dr. Fiona Hill is a senior fellow at the Center on the United States and Europe at the Brookings Institution and author of There Is Nothing for You Here: Finding Opportunity in the 21st Century. She previously served as senior director for European and Russian affairs on the National Security Council from 2017-2019 and as national intelligence officer for Russia and Eurasia at the National Intelligence Council from 2006-2009. She holds a master's degree in Soviet studies and a doctorate in history from Harvard University and a master's in Russian and modern history from St Andrews University in Scotland.

This SAHA Conversation focuses on Fiona’s book ‘There’s Nothing for you Here: Finding Opportunity in the 21st century’. We also discuss her work on Russia but please note that this podcast episode was recorded in November 2021. Please see the show notes below for a series of recent sources with Fiona’s analysis on the current events in Ukraine.

Resources mentioned:

There is Nothing for You Here: Finding Opportunity in the 21st Century

Brookings Institution

Recent media and events:

The Economist Asks Podcast with Dr Fiona Hill – 3 March 2022

The Ezra Klein Show (The New York Times) with Dr Fiona Hill – 8 March 2022

Metropolitan State University Denver – President Speaker’s Series with Dr Fiona Hill – 18 March 2022

We are delighted to bring you another SAHA Conversation. Our guest this week is Catherine Stihler, CEO of Creative Commons. 

Catherine Stihler OBE has been an international champion for openness as a legislator and practitioner for over 20 years.

Born in Scotland, Catherine was educated at the University of St Andrews, where she was awarded a Master of Arts (MA) with Honours in Geography and International Relations, and later a Master of Letters (MLitt) in International Security Studies. She also has a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from the Open University. In October 2014, Catherine became the 52nd Rector of the University of St Andrews, and today serves as the Chair of the governing body, University Court. In 2018 she was awarded an honorary doctorate (DLitt) in recognition of her service to the university.

She stood for election as a Member of the European Parliament for Scotland in 1999, representing the Labour Party. At the European Parliament she became one of Scotland’s longest-serving and most respected legislators.

Catherine was elected Vice-Chair of the European Parliament’s Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee, founded the Campaign for Parliamentary Reform and the Parliament’s All-Party Library Group, and was instrumental in securing graphic health warnings on cigarette packets across the EU.

In 2019, Catherine was awarded an OBE by Her Majesty the Queen in recognition of her services to politics. That same year, she stood down from the European Parliament to become the Chief Executive Officer of the Open Knowledge Foundation. During her 18-month tenure at the Foundation, Catherine redefined its vision and mission to produce a new strategic direction, re-engaged its global chapters and increased the worldwide profile of the organisation.

In August 2020, Catherine was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Creative Commons, a non-profit organisation that helps overcome legal obstacles to the sharing of knowledge and creativity to address the world’s pressing challenges.

This SAHA Conversation covers several subjects, including reflections on Catherine’s career trajectory and her role as Chair of the University of St Andrews' Court. We also discuss the link between arts, humanities and digital technologies, open data, sharing knowledge and the creative commons.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Creative Commons

Creative Commons licences

Galleries, Libraries, Arts and Museums (GLAM) Programme

Climate change and biodiversity research campaign

(Podcast cover profile photo: "Catherine Stihler" by Martin Shields (martinshields.com) licensed under CC BY 4.0)

We're delighted to bring you a new SAHA Conversation podcast. Our guest this week is Adam Bruce.  Adam is Head of Corporate Affairs at the global renewable energy company, Mainstream Renewable Power. He leads a team responsible for managing political and regulatory risk, public policy and analysis, sustainability, and the company’s brand, reputation and communications. He joined Mainstream in 2008 following the £1.8bn sale of Airtricity, where he was UK Chief Executive. Prior to Airtricity he worked as a solicitor in private practice for twelve years.

He was appointed by the Scottish and UK governments as the first chairman of the Offshore Wind Programme Board, is a former chairman of RenewableUK and a former vice-chairman of WindEurope. He is a Board member of the Global Wind Energy Council. He has previously served on the advisory boards of RE100 and the Coalition for Action of the International Renewable Energy Agency.

Adam is a Trustee of the National Museums of Scotland. He sits on the Development Board of Oxford University’s Maths, Physics and Life Sciences Division. In 2008 he was appointed Unicorn Pursuivant at the Court of the Lord Lyon, and was promoted in 2012 to Marchmont Herald. He read history at Balliol College, Oxford and law at Edinburgh University.

In our SAHA Conversation Adam reflects on his career and education as well as on the types of insights a humanities graduate could bring to work in different contexts. We also discuss the important contribution of arts and humanities to policy making and important debates such as climate change.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

In this new SAHA Conversation we are joined by Christine Wilson, Interim Director of Research and Policy Insight at the British Council. Christine has been with the British Council since 2004. She is responsible for a global research and insight portfolio spanning education, arts, youth and skills, as well as exploring the role of cultural relations in supporting the UK’s soft power and foreign policy. She is series editor of the Cultural Relations Collection, which encourages new thinking in this field.

She was previously Head of Research, responsible for global standards and practice, ethics and networks. She led the Next Generation research series, which aims to engage youth voices around the world and contribute to improved policy making, and has covered countries including Nigeria, Myanmar, Lebanon, Poland, the UK and Vietnam. In 2016-17, Christine was Director of the Hammamet Conference, an international platform for leaders from North Africa and the UK to engage in dialogue following the Arab Uprisings. In 2018, she co-chaired the steering group for Peace and Beyond, an international conference to encourage new thinking and research in peacebuilding and reconciliation, and edited the conference publication.

Christine is an Advisory Board member at the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities (IASH) at the University of Edinburgh, and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (RSA). She has previously served on the board of the Scotland-Malawi Partnership, and on the Scotland Committees of the UNESCO UK National Commission and of the RSA. She has studied at the Universities of Edinburgh and Ulster, and the Open University. Prior to joining the British Council, Christine was a journalist focusing on politics and civil society in Scotland.

As it has become customary by now in this SAHA conversations we ask Christine to reflect on her career trajectory but we discuss other subjects also, such as her work on international cultural relations, decolonisation and ongoing research exploring young people’s ambitions and aspirations across the world.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities (IASH)

Next Generation research series

The Climate Connection

International Cultural Relations Research Alliance Conference 2021

The latest episode in the SAHA Conversations series includes an insightful discussion with Professor Sally Mapstone FRSE. As Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of St Andrews, Professor Sally Mapstone directs the University’s Strategy and is responsible for the University’s operations. She is also Vice-Convener of Universities Scotland, a board member of Universities UK, a trustee of UCAS and of the Europaeum, Vice-Chair of the Board of the Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland, and Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Higher Education Policy Institute. Sally is a medievalist with expertise in medieval and Renaissance Scottish literature. She is President of the Saltire Society, which champions Scottish culture. Sally is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, our SAHA member.

In our SAHA Conversation Professor Mapstone reflects on her career trajectory and her work on medieval Scottish literature. We also discuss the advantages of having a humanities education today.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Lockdown Tales

Universities Scotland

A Sonnet a Day by Sir Patrick Stewart

Humanities Graduates and the British Economy: The Hidden Economy