The IWA has five area branches – for north Wales, for west Wales, Swansea Bay, Gwent, and Cardiff and the Valleys. A sixth 'virtual' branch - IWA Women - has been formed to raise the profile of women's concerns in Wales and to increase the engagement of women with the IWA and civil society in Wales more generally.
Approximately one third of the IWA's income is derived from membership subscriptions, the remainder coming mainly from the funding of specific research projects by trusts and foundations, and other public and private organisations.
The IWA publishes a journal three times a year (in spring, summer and winter), called "Agenda". First published in 1994, "Agenda" contains numerous articles on current issues in Wales, written by experts in their field, including academics, politicians and business people, and a wide range of participants from Welsh civil society.
It now publishes a regular bulletin on developments in the Assembly, "Assembly Bwletin Cynulliad", published in association with Grayling Wales. These can be downloaded from clickonwales.org . In addition, the IWA has published a multitude of research reports, discussion papers and books.
One of the IWA’s central activities is holding events which are designed to disseminate information to the public on a host of public policy issues. The events range from the smaller ‘coffee shop’ debates to full-scale conferences.
Typically, an IWA event will focus on a contested issue in Welsh politics. It will bring in an expert (or number of experts) who have detailed knowledge and understanding of the issue, to clearly present both side’s arguments clearly. This is inline with the first part of its mission, which to help raise the level of public debate on issues affecting Wales, by placing quality information in the public domain.
In 2010 the IWA began the Inspire Wales Awards, in association with the Western Mail . The Awards aim to raise the profile of Welsh men and women who are making a contribution to our society, to encourage active citizenship and create role models for others. Categories for the awards include the environment, business, education, sport, and arts, media and the creative industries. 2011 sees the IWA/Western Mail Business Awards, celebrating business achievement in Wales.
In November 2006 the IWA published a report entitled "Time to Deliver: The Third Term and Beyond". This looked at policy options for the Assembly’s third term, and was the result of work by eight study groups in individual policy areas.
In 2010 the IWA's director, John Osmond was asked by the Older People's Commissioner to carry out a study exploring Welsh policy responses to our rapidly ageing society, in particular the Welsh Government’s policy which has been developing in a number of innovative ways since 2003. The findings were published in the bilingual report, 'Adding Life to Years / Ychwanegu Bywyd at a y Blynyddoedd'.
The IWA's most recent publication, entitled 'Engaging Wales' disengaged youth', explores the issue of so-called 'NEETS' - Children Not in Education, Employment of Training. It contains contributions from experts in the fields of youth policy, education, employment, and youth-centred charities. A full list of the IWA's research outputs is available on its website .
The IWA's priority areas for its future work include economic development, the environment and climate change, education, health and culture, governance and civil society.
Table Mountain
Table Mountain is a flat-topped mountain overlooking the city of Cape Town in South Africa. It is 1084.6 meters (3,563-feet) tall, of sandstone and granite. With nearby mountains and Table Bay, it surrounds the central part of Cape Town.
It is a significant tourist attraction, featured in the flag of Cape Town and other local government insignia. Many visitors use the Table Mountain Aerial Cableway or hike to the top. The mountain forms part of the Table Mountain National Park.
The upper part of the mountain "mesa" (table) consists Silurian/Ordovician quartzitic sandstone, commonly referred to as Table Mountain Sandstone (TMS). It is highly resistant to weathering and forms steep grey crags.
Below the sandstone is a layer of micaceous shale, which weathers quite readily. The basement of folded metamorphic shales intruded by the Cape Granite are of late Precambrian age.
Fingal’s Cave
Fingal's Cave is a sea cave on the uninhabited island of Staffa, in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland, part of a National Nature Reserve owned by the National Trust for Scotland. It is formed entirely from hexagonally jointed basalt columns. These are part of the same ancient lava flow as the Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland and those of nearby Ulva.
In both cases, the cooling surface of the mass of hot lava cracked in a hexagonal pattern in a similar way to drying mud cracking as it shrinks. These cracks slowly extended down into the mass of lava as it cooled and shrank to form the columns, which were later exposed by erosion.
The breakup of Pangaea separated the two parts of the same rock formation.
The size of the cave, and its naturally arched roof, and the eerie sounds produced by the echoes of waves, give it the atmosphere of a natural cathedral. The cave's Gaelic name, Uamh-Binn, means "cave of melody."
Romantic composer Felix Mendelssohn visited in 1829 and wrote "Die Hebriden" (in English, "Hebrides Overture Opus 26", commonly known as "Fingal's Cave overture"), inspired by the weird echoes in the cave. Mendelssohn's overture popularized the cave as a tourist destination. Other famous 19th-century visitors included author Jules Verne; poets William Wordsworth, John Keats, and Alfred, Lord Tennyson; and Romantic artist J.M.W. Turner, who painted "Staffa, Fingal's Cave" in 1832. Queen Victoria also made the trip.
Deadpool
Deadpool (Finn Anderson the ranga), better known as Flanders not Randerz, is a comic book character in the Marvel Universe published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Rob Leifeld in 1991. Deadpool began as a villain but is currently being used as an anti-hero and in his own comic book series he ended as a good guy. He is currently one of the most popular Marvel characters. He has had many of his own book series as well as been in most of Marvel's other titles. He is often seen in several of the X-Men series of books and is a regular character in the series "Uncanny X-Force". His clothing is colored red and black, and he has two guns and short katanas as well as many other weapons.
Deadpool's special power is regeneration. His body can repair itself from any injury. He has formed a relationship with the personification of Death but because his healing power is so strong, he cannot die. This is a common theme in his stories. Deadpool is well known for "breaking the fourth wall". He knows he is a comic book character. Deadpool will often talk to the readers or refer to a specific issue when talking about something that happened in the past. He also can transport to the other alternative universes. His fighting skills are also very known.
In the comic book universe, Deadpool was mostly considered neutral and sometimes even evil, but near the end of the series he was proved to be a good person. He tried really hard to fight his own psychotic mind behaviour and stop killing people. He got married with a person that cared for him and had a daughter. He made friends with an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. and by himself destroyed a whole evil army that was trying to kill his family. In the end, on a vacation with his family and friends, Deadpool hugged his daughter as a second earth came crashing down from the sky, presumably killing him and his family and friends, along with many lives on earth, joining up the story with Secret Wars.
However, Deadpool is seen again in the preview of All-new All-different Marvel, confirming his return.
He has been portrayed by Ryan Reynolds in "" before having a more faithful take starting with "Deadpool".