28 October 2019
Bore da a chroeso cynnes i brifysgol fetropolitan Caerdydd. Fel is-ganghellor mae'n fraint cynnal cynhadledd heddiw.
Good morning and a warm welcome to Cardiff Metropolitan University. As Vice-Chancellor it is a privilege to host today's conference.
This is the first in a series of events hosted by the Learned Society of Wales in partnership with universities across Wales. These events seek to develop greater understanding of the ways in which Wales can harness its soft power influence and impact around the globe, enabling us to realise the potential of soft power as a catalyst for inclusive growth at home and peace and prosperity around the world.
Today's event coincides with the development of the Welsh Government's International Strategy and we are delighted that the Minister for International Relations and the Welsh Language, Eluned Morgan, will address delegates and take questions later this morning.
We are meeting only a few days after the publication of Portland's 'The Soft Power 30: A Global Ranking of Soft Power 2019' which stated clearly that 'for smaller states that want to make a positive impact on the world stage, soft power provides the optimal means to do so'.
In 2018 the British Council Wales commissioned the Wales Soft Power Barometer to evaluate Wales' soft power relative to that of nine other small nations and regions. Wales was ranked sixth out of 10 with its highest ranking in the field of sport, just behind Catalonia. Wales also scored well in digital technology and enterprise but less well in education and we were in the lower half of the table for culture, liveability, friendliness and cuisine. Speaking as someone who has only lived and worked in Wales for the last three years, and who continually makes comparisons with other small nations in which I've lived or worked, this seems somewhat harsh but perhaps belies the challenge that we have here at Cardiff Met where I tell colleagues we need to be more 'shouty' in promoting the things we are internationally- and even world-leading in.
Our challenge is to develop synergies between our assets of education, culture, sport and digital technology to promote Wales as an outward looking nation with global values and world-leading levels of innovation that can be harnessed to tackle global challenges both here in Wales and around the globe.
Our universities are pivotal to such efforts and here at Cardiff Met where creativity, diversity, freedom and innovation form our core values and where we are consistently in the top 10% of UK universities for graduate start-ups, sport, and food technologies, we stand shoulder to shoulder with Welsh Government keen to share our knowledge, expertise and networks to develop our soft power assets through cultural diplomacy and into international trade.
We are a University of 20,000 students where over 9,000 of those students are studying Cardiff Met degrees at 16 international partner institutions around the globe including in major economies such as India and China, in emerging economies such as Vietnam, Bangladesh and Ethiopia, and in countries still struggling with cultural and religious conflict such as Lebanon, Egypt and Sri Lanka.
Our students come from 140 countries, 12% of our students come from countries beyond the EU and 24% of our total student population are postgraduates. We have a wealth of ambassadors for Wales as well as a network of connections with Ambassadors and Ministers of Education and Economy around the globe. In Hyderabad in India last month I met two of our MBA students who graduated in 2011, they have established their own businesses and now employ 350 people between them; each of these employees knows about Wales. In Oman this time last week I graduated 550 students in business-related degrees and every one of them has a positive impression of Wales. In Sri Lanka we will graduate over 1,400 students next month and I gather it is no longer possible to enter a bank in Sri Lanka without encountering a Cardiff Met graduate.
We have seen through the Rugby World Cup what Nelson Mandela described almost 20 years ago when he said; 'Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. It speaks to youth in a language they understand'.
As a relatively small university we have seen the power of sport to develop cultural relations. Over a third of Wales' 2016 Commonwealth Games squad were Cardiff Met students, staff or alumni. We have Olympic gold medallists, world and European champions among our alumni and current students; they are our nation's soft power.
As a small nation we have enormous power and we need to use influence to enhance our impact across our respective organisations, sectors and nations to reinforce existing networks and build new alliances of cultural diplomacy and international relations to unlock this potential for the benefit of the culture, the economy and the people of Wales. This, delegates, is our call to action.
I would like to thank the Learned Society of Wales and Sir Emyr for inviting Cardiff Met to host today's event. I'd also like to thank the Cardiff Met events team for all their work behind the scenes and I wish you, the delegates, a positive and productive day.
