Press: Local Paper Covers Project

Have you ever wondered what it would be like if UEA was more readily involved in your local community? Our interview with Eastern Daily Press covered the reasons, aims, and details of our Civic Mission across Norfolk and Suffolk.

“Anchor institutions have power to affect the quality of life in their region but we need to make sure that power is used effectively,” Laura Bowater, project leader, explained to EDP interviewers. “Universities need to demonstrate their value within society – in the local community as well as internationally.”

In order to do this, our project team has planned a journey across the Norfolk/Suffolk region. Using a democratic meeting format, we are aiming to gather local ideas on what civic activities could do for local areas.

Project intern Katja Taits explained this to EDP interviewers:

“By the end we’re going to have an encyclopaedia of ideas from across Norfolk and Suffolk,” says Katja. “We will then distil the essence of all those conversations down to just one paragraph explaining what a civic university means to the region.” 

“It’s an adventure to find out what people want from us as a civic university. So please, come along and surprise us.”