Julia Huber
Researcher
Julia joined Demos as a researcher in June 2002. Her main research interests are in the area of demography, social change and learning. She is leading Demos' work on the ageing society and her Demos publications in this area include; together with Paul Skidmore The New Old: Why the baby boomers won't be pensioned off (2003); and together with James Harkin Eternal Youths: How the baby boomers are having their time...
- 1966 and more... Now I understand that 1966 is an important date for English football, it was a controversial game and England won the world-cup for the first and only time. However, I spent much of my walk down Tooley Street mentally composing a blog rant on why the English constantly have to mention it when they talk to Germans or about Germany. I have stopped counting the times when I was told - 'Well, but we won the second world war and the football world cup in 1966.' - and I simply don't understand... continue reading on 23rd March 2006
- Localism in the market place? Yesterday I came across this article about local breweries in South Africa not being allowed to sell their beer in the football stadiums during the 2010 World Cup, because they have been outbid by an American beer giant. This painfully reminded me of a passionate conversation I had with my friends in Munich a few months ago when they told me that the same was true for the World Cup in Germany this year. This means that in a country, Bavaria, that is famous for its variety of local brews and... continue reading on 28th February 2006
- Getting it right According to FastCompany, and in line with Duncan's thinking below, 'what defines an entrepreneur (as well as an entrepreneurial organization) is that relentless problem-solving approach, not the specifics of the problem itself.' And the winners of FastCompany's 2006 annual social capitalist awards show us how it is possible to be entrepreneurial and change the world at the same time. continue reading on 20th January 2006
- Respect...For Whom? When I heard last week about the government's new 'respect' agenda, I felt slightly disconcerted by the response it proposed to young people's so-called 'disrespectful' behaviour. My impression from the children I meet every week at KidsCompany (and many of whom wear 'hoodies') is not that they need more 'anti-social behaviour orders'. They need more of something altogether different - love and care. Anyway, while I was pondering these issues over the weekend, I came across this interview with... continue reading on 16th January 2006
- Deathly Silence In response to the setting up of the cross-party Dying Well group, which will focus on the improved provision and equal distribution of end-of-life care, I have written a comment piece for the Guardian arguing that as long as we don't talk more openly about death and dying it is impossible for us to enable a good death. In order for us to be able to articulate our specific needs when we die and make positive choices about how we do so, we need to feel comfortable talking about death more... continue reading on 12th January 2006
- Rize... ...is one of the most amazing documentary films I have seen. It portrays the emergence of a clown and dance movement among African-American youngsters in the poor ghettoes of LA. The movement started after the 1992 riots and has since offered young people a creative alternative to the gang and gun culture that predominantes in many of these disadvantaged communities. What is more, the film not only tells an incredibly powerful story about a developing social movement, but also makes a... continue reading on 3rd January 2006
- Broken silence You might remember that a few months ago the Met ran an advertising campaign targeting domestic violence offenders with the message that if someone is abusing their partner the police, if they have reasonable grounds, can arrest even without the victims statement. The campaign illustrated that many domestic crimes still remain unreported and one of the challenges we face is how to help victims 'break' the silence. One local government outreach initiative in the US tried to tackle this problem... continue reading on 31st October 2005
- Watch this! Tonight at 9pm there will be a one hour documentary on Kids Company on BBC2. From what I hear it is definitely highly recommended viewing and this is what Kids Company themselves are saying: 'After a year spent following the lives of children at Kids Company, filmaker Lynn Alleway presents a revealing documentary of our most vulnerable young people. This powerful portrayal follows the filmakers personal journey as she gets to know 'our tough kids'. It is an incredibly real and touching story... continue reading on 19th October 2005
- For the first time... Germany will have a female and eastern German at its helm. Finally, the two main parties have reached agreement and Angela Merkel will be the next German chancellor. But, if you thought, this was it, it's not, because now they need to work out who is going to get which post in the coalition government (and what will happen to Schroeder? deputy chancellor? foreign minister? backbencher?) and also a shared political programme for the next few years. So, dispatches and commentary from the German... continue reading on 10th October 2005
- The Unteachables No, this time it's not about German politics (although one could reasonably argue that, given how the leaders of the main German parties are behaving at the moment, they seem pretty 'unteachable'), it's actually about the new Channel 4 TV series The Unteachables. The programme brought together a group of young people with serious attendance and behavioural problems in school to take part for five months in an educational project intended on helping them find their way back into learning and... continue reading on 5th October 2005