This notable three-way partnership is centred on creative health and will help to foster a deeper academic and cultural exchange between Japan and the UK in this area of research. It will form the basis for future research collaboration and knowledge exchange.

Greater 91ֱ�� (GM) is recognised as a national and world reference for creative health. Building on a long history of arts and health work, GM launched its Creative Health Strategy in 2022, with ambitions for GM to become the world’s first Creative Health City Region. The GM Creative Health Place Partnership continues to support the development and delivery of creative health activity across Greater 91ֱ��.

As part of this MoU, the three partners (UoM, the ART-based Platform for Co-creation, and NCAR), will work collaboratively with the Greater 91ֱ�� Combined Authority (GMCA) GM Place Partnership, to strengthen international research collaborations.

The agreement will be formally signed in Tokyo on 23 May 2026, following the , at The National Art Center, Tokyo, where colleagues from The University of Manchester will present on creative health initiatives in Greater 91ֱ��.

Whilst in Tokyo, The University of Manchester and GMCA colleagues have been invited to speak at the , alongside academics from TUA and NCAR.

The University of Manchester is proud to work collaboratively with a number of renowned teaching institutions across the globe, with several partners located in Asia including 91ֱ��-Chinese University of Hong Kong, 91ֱ��-Ashoka University, 91ֱ�� O.P. Jindal Global University, 91ֱ��-IISC Bangalore and 91ֱ��-Manipal Academy of Higher Education.

The University collaborates with other institutions around the world at a faculty level through impactful MoUs, ensuring colleagues can collaborate with global peers in their field and access the resources they need to co-create cutting-edge research.

The Faculty of Humanities was a founding member of the Global Humanities Alliance, a partnership that includes the University of Melbourne, University of Toronto, University of Nairobi, Ashoka University, Mahidol University, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Universitas Gadjah Mada and The University of Manchester.

The University of Manchester is globally renowned for its pioneering research, outstanding teaching and learning, and commitment to social responsibility. We are a truly international university – ranking in the top 50 in a range of global rankings – with a diverse community of more than 44,300 students, 12,800 colleagues and 585,000 alumni. 

Their testimony draws on their which found that there have been clear and stark ethnic inequalities in infection and mortality rates, testing, monitoring, and vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 infection, and health, health behaviours and healthcare.

People from ethnic minority groups also experienced detrimental impacts of the pandemic in other ways, such as on their finances, housing, social networks, experiences with the police, and education. These factors are important social determinants of health and wellbeing. The unequal impacts of the pandemic on these factors have led to ethnic inequalities being exacerbated as a result of the pandemic.

James and Laia’s expert report shows how ethnic inequalities result from historical and ongoing racism, which meant that before the pandemic hit, people from ethnic minority groups were more likely to be poorer; have poorly paid and insecure employment; live in overcrowded housing; and live in deprived neighbourhoods with high rates of concentrated poverty and increased pollution. All of these social and economic factors contributed to inequalities in Covid-19 infection and mortality.

The report also criticises the ‘colour blind’ approach taken by political and administrative decision-makers, which meant that they did not take into account the extra social and economic vulnerabilities experienced by ethnic minority groups. This resulted in unequal impacts experienced as a result of social distancing and lockdown measures introduced to control the spread of the pandemic. This included impacts on mental and physical health, in part as a result of limited access to necessary healthcare, in part as a consequence of poorer housing conditions, the greater likelihood of living in deprived areas with limited access to green space and exercise, and in part as a result of the disruption of social and community sources of support. The more vulnerable employment and financial situation of some groups of ethnic minority people prior to the pandemic also meant that they experienced greater negative financial impacts from lockdown measures. 

Led by sociologist Professor Sophie Woodward, Air Spaces: Getting the Measure of Air will explore the social, scientific and environmental dimensions of air quality, focusing on communities in 91ֱ�� where pollution levels are significantly above WHO guidelines.

Air pollution does not affect everyone equally. Housing conditions, neighbourhood geography, transport infrastructure, and work environments all contribute to unequal exposure. Yet research and policy responses often rely on narrow or fragmented datasets. This project seeks to address that gap by combining:

• atmospheric sensor data
• qualitative research
• creative and heritage-based methods
• community knowledge and participation

By developing a new framework for understanding “air inequalities”, the team aims to inform more inclusive and effective approaches to air quality policy and public health intervention.

The research will work closely with community groups and local authorities and brings together UoM academics across multiple faculties: Dr Jenna Ashton, Dr Andrew Balmer, Dr Thomas Bannan, Dr Steve Hicks and Dr Vladimir Jankovic. The project was selected by UKRI as a featured award within its latest Cross Research Council Responsive Mode scheme which is a highly competitive call highlighting breakthrough interdisciplinary ideas. The project partners include Ardwick Climate Action, Love Old Trafford, 91ֱ�� City Council, Transport for Greater 91ֱ�� and Trafford Council.