For nearly 30 years, two surveys in Northern Ireland have monitored changing attitudes to equality issues and relations between the two main religious communities during periods of conflict, peace-building and devolution.

In our latest Feature - Community Relations/Good Relations in Northern Ireland - Gillian Robinson highlights how data from the Northern Ireland Social Attitudes Survey (1989-1996) and Northern Ireland Life and Times (1998 onwards) provide monitoring statistics on how the public of Northern Ireland has viewed community relations. The Feature also explores the link between data, events and policy.

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10th April 2018 marked the 20th anniversary of the Good Friday/Belfast Agreement. CAIN (Conflict Archive on the Internet) provides a wealth of material on the conflict and peace process in Northern Ireland, including the text of the Agreement. In addition, the site includes statements and speeches reflecting local reactions to the 20th Anniversary of the Agreement.

However, there are 7 other seven agreements that came into force between 1973 and 2015, and again, relevant material is available on CAIN.

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On 23 May, we will launch the findings of two surveys recording the attitudes of children and young people to key issues affecting their lives. The 2017 Young Life and Times (YLT) and 2017 Kids' Life and Times (KLT) surveys explored issues such as bullying, community relations, shared education, volunteering and much more.

The event will take place in Queen's University Belfast. The event is free, but places must be booked in advance. Full details are available online.

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The findings and data from the 2017 Northern Ireland Life and Times survey will be launched on Wednesday 13 June. Full details will be available soon on the Events section of the ARK site.

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Recent work by the ARK Ageing Programme has focused on the effect of Brexit on pensioners. Gemma Carney and Katy Hayward have given presentations at the annual conference of the Civil Service Pensioners Alliance (Northern Ireland), as well as to an ICTU Retired Workers Seminar.

We are delighted that Elizabeth Martin from the ARK Ageing Programme passed her PhD viva. Her important research focused on older women's use of substances in the context of domestic abuse. Congratulations Dr Martin!

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We are very pleased to announce that Professor Ann Marie Gray (ARK Co-director) has been conferred as a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences (AcSS). Each AcSS Fellow has made an outstanding contribution in their respective field and demonstrate the vital role played by social science in addressing some of the most pressing public issues.

Ann Marie has also been appointed to the Social Work and Social Policy sub-panel for the 2021 Research Excellence Framework (REF).

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ARK is a joint initiative between Queen's University and Ulster University, and began in 2000. Our mission is to make social science knowledge on Northern Ireland easily accessible to the widest possible audience. Most of our dissemination is via our website at www.ark.ac.uk, which is divided into four main areas:

• Surveys
• Conflict, Politics and Elections
• Policy, Research and Resources
• Outreach, Dissemination and Training - including publications and events

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