AUC lecturer Dr. Maxim Kupovykh is working on an SKO project focusing on diversity and inclusion in the AUC curriculum. In his project, Maxim investigates the meanings and applications of "diversity and inclusion" in AUC's 100-level foundational courses. His research looks at the current disciplinary and Liberal Arts and Sciences perspectives of individual professors and students on diversity and inclusion in the curriculum and classroom. His project aims to learn what AUC is already doing well and what can be improved in classrooms and across tracks. If you would like to know more, you can read the overview of Maxim’s project, or contact him by email at m.kupovykh@auc.nl.

New Diversity Coordinator

As of 31 January 2022, Sehida Begovic is leaving her position as Diversity Coordinator to start a new adventure in her field of work as a dentist. From 1 February 2022, Rowena van Asselt will be her successor. Rowena can be reached at diversity-auc@auc.nl with all questions related to diversity, the Diversity Working Group (DWG) and the DLG (Diversity Leadership Group). 

Diversity Working Group

Every month, a group of students and employees come together to inform each other about the status of their activities and initiatives in the field of diversity, equity and inclusion. The meetings are organised by the diversity coordinator and the diversity leadership group with the goal to keep each other informed and aware of recent activities, and help each other in our ambition towards a more inclusive AUC. Are you interested in getting involved? Contact the diversity coordinator!

Curriculum Conversations: next phase

During the Autumn semester, a few courses were selected to dive into the next step of our Curriculum Conversations. Some of the goals of this next phase are to redesign the participating courses using the VU Mixed Classroom Model as a framework, to develop a common approach for courses, and build a knowledge database based on a common vision that can be translated to other courses. Students will also be invited to share their perspectives on proposed changes in this phase. For more information, please contact AUC's Director of Education, Michiel van Drunen.

DivCom x Black Heritage Tours

Our students from the Diversity Commission (DivCom) partnered up with Black Heritage Tours and organised a lecture on Colonial Architecture for all students. The Diversity Commission strives to promote inclusivity, accessibility and equality in the AUC Student Association. They have initiatives such as the anti-racism initiative, the disability accessibility initiative, the pride initiative and more. Students from DivCom are actively involved in the Diversity Leadership Group and participate in the Diversity Working Group. DivCom can be contacted at diversity@aucsa.nl

Focus group with high-school students

Ydwine Zanstra, AUC's Outreach Coordinator, and Sehida Begovic, AUC's former Diversity Coordinator, collaborated with the student-initiative Family of Academic Minds (FAM) to discover insights about perceptions of AUC by first-generation high school students. The goal of the focus group was to discover potential future strategies for AUC to attract a more diverse (first-generation) student population. The focus group was held on 25 November 2021 at AUC. After a brief introduction, the students were given a tour by AUC student ambassadors. Afterwards, there was a guided discussion about what high school students want and need, what their first impressions of AUC were, and if they could foresee any obstacles to attending AUC. The focus group was summarised in a report by FAM. As FAM consists of first-generation university students from Amsterdam, they also shared some of their own insights and thoughts about the findings of this focus group. Curious about the report? Please send an email to the diversity coordinator!

Inclusive Teaching workshops with Beyond Equality

Last semester, together with Beyond Equality, AUC organised a series of five Inclusive Teaching workshops, as a means of further professionalisation for our core and partner faculty. The workshops addressed allyship, with the aim of improving the safety and inclusivity of classrooms, campus spaces and university culture. Topics focused on ideas such as privilege, oppression, and cultural biases. The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive from participants and consequently, the pilot programme will likely be repeated in the second semester with more announcements coming soon.

• Visit Beyond Equality's website

GIE Diversity Workshops

The annual diversity workshop was again organised for first-year AUC students within the Global Identity Experience (GIE) course in January 2022. This workshop was provided by VU LEARN! Academy as a follow-up to the workshop Diversity & Inclusion, which was mandatory for all first-year students as part of their orientation sessions in September. 

Disability Handbook

AUC Student Lisa Dondainas has worked on her project, the Disability Handbook, to give students, lecturers and tutors a more detailed overview of what health conditions or disabilities entail while studying in higher education, as well as offering suggestions and recommendations. Her project was recently launched on the following website: www.disability-handbook.com. 

AUC policy for instances of harassment, discrimination and sexual misconduct

AUC’s Management Team is working on a policy document for instances of harassment, discrimination and sexual misconduct. This policy document is part of a broader series of actions AUC is taking to uphold a diverse and inclusive academic environment. The document will be presented to the AUC community as soon as it has been finalised. 

Curriculum

Curriculum Conversations

As a community, we are working on further integrating diversity, equity and inclusion within and across our curriculum at AUC. This requires identifying potential existing gaps and the creation of clear learning trajectories. Therefore, the first steps of conversations among the AUC community about our current and desired curriculum will take place between April-June 2021. The first step will be a collaborative process of reflection, exchange and dialogue about how our commitment to diversity translates into our teaching. The conversations will result in a better sense of where we stand, where we want to go and concrete recommendations for curriculum design. Facilitators from VU LEARN! Academy will help us explore what an inclusive curriculum and classroom mean to our community and identify the next steps to get there.

Educational Development Initiatives for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and STQ

With Educational Development Initiatives (EDIs) we want to create more structural incentives and opportunities for our ambitions for the curriculum. EDIs create opportunities for lecturers to speak together with colleagues and students about possible strategies for enriching the diversity of their courses and sharing best practices within the context of AUC teaching. Currently, a few EDIs are in progress. Lia van Wesenbeeck is working on diversifying Economic Thought. Vessela Chakarova is working on diversifying the IR Curriculum and Mariette Willemsen is working on diversifying Philosophy. Ydwine Zanstra is collaborating with Forrest Bradbury and alumni Khaled Tamimy (Diversity Talks/SIC) on a summer school programme that connects the sciences and the arts for underprivileged kids. Marianne Riphagen is busy with a STQ on inclusion in the admissions process. Questions? Send an email to diversity-auc@auc.nl.

Admissions

Developing a vision for admissions and outreach

A new vision for admissions is being developed with a focus on bringing recruitment / outreach under the purview of the Admissions Committee. The aim is to re-define the mandate for the Admissions Committee to include overarching responsibility for the full range of activities from outreach to recruitment and admissions.

Unconscious bias training and HR

Our extended management team and supervisors from support staff participated in unconscious bias training offered by Rose Stories, with a focus on bias in recruitment of staff. Conversations have started with Rose Stories about organising unconscious bias training for the admissions tutors team. The training is intended to take place before summer 2021. Rose Stories’ experts continue to work with AUC HR on creating (guidelines for) inclusive vacancy texts and interview panels.

Developing a knowledge base

We aim to gain insight in diversity of our applicants and cohorts and to track the process of our FAPDEI implementation. Currently, we are examining relevant additional questions for AUC’s application form. This involves questions regarding socioeconomic status, first-generation students and migration background(s). We are in discussion with experts and colleagues are currently conducting desktop research.

Outreach

School network plan

A school network plan was formulated and has been implemented. The goal of the school network plan is to maintain relationships with secondary schools in the Amsterdam area and to familiarise potential prospective students with AUC and to provide opportunities to engage.

Focus group on diversifying the AUC student population

A focus group is being designed to get a deeper understanding of potential barriers to diversifying the AUC student population and what can be done about these. A focus group meeting will involve a diverse group of prospective first-generation students, currently enrolled in our network schools.

Outreach activities at UvA and VU

Currently, an inventory is taking place of VU and UvA outreach activities in which AUC already participates (and can participate in) to ensure further integration of AUC into VU and UvA outreach work. Notably we are partnering up with relatively new initiatives such as the Student Impact Centre and UvA’s Homework Hub. We will be actively disseminating these in the next CPI cycle. We are closely collaborating with the coordinator of the Student Impact Center (SIC) at FNWI, on all matters of student volunteering, student engagement, and establishing long-term relationships with civic partners in the local community.

Engagement Council

The Engagement Council forum has been reinstalled in the form of monthly office hours freely accessible and disseminated to interested parties (AUC staff, students, local neighbourhood organisations, and community leaders) who work with AUC student volunteers or are otherwise interested in working together with AUC.

Student Ambassadors

A workshop for our Student Ambassadors has been scheduled to provide ambassadors with diversity training focused on language, bia, and awareness via the UvA’s CDO team. The focus is on inclusive language, accessibility and tools for Student Ambassadors to use during ambassador activities.

Student Experience

Diversity workshops within the Global Identity Experience course

A diversity workshop was organised for our first-year students within the GIE course. This workshop was provided by VU LEARN! Academy and a follow-up session will take place in June 2021.

Summer preparatory programme for incoming students

We are currently liaising with VU Better Prepared and UvA Get Ready! to implement a similar programme for incoming AUC students. This involves a summer programme prior to the start of the academic year. The programme will focus on supporting new students in navigating AUC’s environment through workshops and exercises, and in particular for students who (or whose family members) are not familiar with studying at a university.

Informal opportunities for engagements between students and staff

Our Diversity Leadership Group and Diversity Coordinator are in regular conversations with student representatives from AUC Student Council and AUCSA. Our Diversity Coordinator also hosts a monthly engagement moment for students to discuss diversity at AUC. For more information send an email to diversity-auc@auc.nl.

Community involvement in AUC’S Framework and Action Plan

As we believe it is important that the entire AUC community has a chance to be updated on AUC’s Framework and Action Plan for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion we are organising the first Diversity Forum. The date for this event is Wednesday 17 February from 15.00 to 16.30. During this forum, we will discuss recent progress on FAPDEI and showcase some initiatives related to FAPDEI. If you are curious to hear about the plan’s midway progress, you can sign up by sending an email to our diversity coordinator Sehida Begovic (s.begovic@auc.nl).

New AUC Diversity email

We have recently established a new diversity email address, diversity@auc.nl. We encourage AUC staff, students and external parties to contact us via this email address if they have any ideas, questions or concerns regarding our commitment to strengthening inclusivity and diversity at AUC.

Monthly Diversity Working Group meetings

As announced in AUC’s Framework and Action Plan for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, a Diversity Working Group was created. This group of involved AUC staff and students meets monthly to discuss and advance the implementation of the plan.

Upcoming Lecture on Colonial Architectures in Amsterdam by Jennifer Tosch

AUCSA’s Diversity Commission has been working on organising a lecture on colonial architectures in Amsterdam in collaboration with Jennifer Tosch, founder of the Black Heritage Tours. This lecture will be scheduled soon and is open to the entire community.

Diversity workshops for all first-year students

Continuing efforts of last academic year, first-year students took part in diversity workshops provided by VU LEARN! Academy. This is part of the Global Identity Experience course for all first-year students. The trainers use intersectionality as a metaphor and prism to help students unpack their own backgrounds, values, assumptions and views on education. Within these workshops, students gain knowledge of intersectionality and are able to use it as a framework of understanding.

AUCSA connecting with VU Bridging Success

Our student association AUCSA has recently participated in a virtual event on ‘’Diversity and student’s mental health during COVID’’. During this event, student associations active at VU (and some at UvA) shared best practices and success factors on connecting with their members during these times. The main focus was to discuss how to maintain mental health and well-being amongst students since this academic year has presented unique challenges. This event was supported by VU Diversity Office, with the ambition to bridge existing gaps between diverse student groups within the wider programme of Bridging Success.

VU Courageous Conversations

During the COVID quarantine period starting March 2020,  VU's 3D has launched a series of Courageous Conversations in collaboration with VU Diversity Office. 3D is the center for Dialogue, Debate and Diversity at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Programmes in 3D include social debates and conversations on themes such as freedom of speech, racism, decolonisation, mental well-being and student engagement. AUC staff and students are welcome to participate in these Courageous Conversations. More information and a calendar can be found via the link below.

Introducing the Coordinator for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

AUC has appointed Sehida Begovic as the Coordinator for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. This is a new position at AUC, created to support and report on the implementation of the Framework and Action Plan for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. She gained her experience on these topics while working for VU Diversity Office since 2017. Her experience includes themes such as student leadership, inclusive recruitment and decolonisation. She'll be working to help develop initiatives and further develop policies related to diversity, equity and inclusion at AUC.

Community involvement in AUC’S Framework and Action Plan

On 25 September 2020, we distributed AUC’s Framework and Action Plan for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Following this, we are organising several open discussions with students and staff which will start in the month of November.

Folia article written by Marianne Riphagen

Marianne Riphagen, our Head of Studies Academic Core, recently wrote an opinion piece addressing the importance of diversity in (higher) education which was published in Folia. You can read the full article here. Unfortunately, it is only available in Dutch.

Baldwin Series 2020-2021: The intersection of Race, Gender, Class, and the Nation

In the upcoming year, AUC will host a series of lectures centring James Baldwin’s work. In the second lecture of this series, Dawn M Skorczewski will be discussing James Baldwin's "Stranger in the Village”. The lecture is on the 25 November, from 18:00 to 19:30, more information can be found here.

STQ Project: Fair Access to Higher Education

Marianne Riphagen, Head of Studies Academic Core, just commenced her senior teaching qualification at the VU Learn Academy. Her STQ project focuses on realising fair access to higher education. More specifically, Marianne explores possible changes to AUC’s admissions procedure, in line with AUC’s Framework and Action Plan for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

EDI project: Diversifying the International Relations Curriculum

In the Spring semester 2021, Vessela Chakarova, lecturer International Relations, will be working on an Educational Development Initiative focused on diversifying the IR curriculum at AUC. With the support of a group of students, Vessela will explore non-Western IR sources, which could potentially be included in existing or new IR courses.

AUC Student Activities

Our students are also working on diversity at the university. For updates on the work of the AUC Student Council, you can follow their Instagram page. To see what the AUCSA Diversity Commission is organising in the upcoming months for the anti-racism initiative in collaboration with AUC’s Health and Well-Being Team, you can check out their Instagram page as well.

AUC Student CPI Opportunities

AUC’s Community Projects and Internships (CPI) team has a range of opportunities on offer that focus on diversity, inclusion and community building. AUC students can find these opportunities on Canvas (> AUC student information > Community Projects and Internships: Opportunities). In addition, the CPI team is currently liaising with diversity and inclusion projects at the UvA and VU to see how AUC can be involved.

On Friday 25 September 2020 we shared AUC’s Framework and Action Plan for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion with the AUC community. This Framework and Action Plan outlines the importance of diversity at AUC and the targeted measures we are taking to make AUC an inclusive community. It is the result of work conducted following the 11 June commitments made by AUC’s Management. On that day, AUC’s Management acknowledged the prevalence of institutional racism in our society and committed to a new approach.

The Framework and Action Plan combine to provide a living document, an invitation to the community to remain involved, and will evolve and adapt over time in response to our continuing conversations and reflections. At the same time, the plan also serves as a tool for increased transparency and accountability for the commitments we have made, by introducing concrete milestones, actions and a regular reporting mechanism.

Our commitment to diversity and inclusivity: a new approach

We must do more and we must do better: AUC commits to a new approach

In June 2020, students and colleagues called for more progress and more decisive actions on diversity at AUC. In a series of forums, focus groups and conversations, members of our community expressed the need for us to reflect on our own practice, and to establish the path we will take to do more and to do better.

On 11 June 2020, the members of AUC’s core management team addressed these concerns in a statement published to colleagues and students. We commit to a new approach and to concrete actions. In doing so, we acknowledge that the actions taken by our college so far have not been sufficient or gone far enough. We apologise sincerely to members of our community, past and present, who have experienced discrimination or racism.

Our next steps working together with the community

The momentum for change is an opportunity for AUC to learn from past mistakes and work together on a new approach. This implies common responsibility, clear and accountable leadership, timely progress, and transparent and participatory dialogue. Building on these foundations, we will launch a comprehensive AUC Action Plan on Diversity and Inclusivity in the coming semester. This initiative is already informed by the expertise, experience and passion of voices in our community, the counsel of professionals in our universities, and the guidance of reports and resources, including the 2016 Let’s do diversity report.

The plan includes a review of current and prior policies and addresses areas including: supporting students, admissions to alumni, staffing, curriculum and classrooms. Each of these contains specific, achievable, accountable and time-lined actions. In this way, the aims we share as a community – learning that accounts for decoloniality and intersectionality; a safe and supportive environment; employment and student recruitment practices informed by social justice – will become part of all aspects of our activity.

In September 2020, there will be opportunities for students and colleagues to help improve the plan in forums and discussions, and we look forward to announcing details of how to participate at the start of the semester.

Amsterdam University College believes that everyone has the right to live, study and work in a safe and supportive environment, free from abuse, harassment and/or assault. We are committed to creating and nurturing an inclusive, supportive and safe environment for all, and to working to better support and educate the entire AUC community.

Our aim is to:

• enable frank, open and honest discussion
• provide clear signposting, training and support for all
• create a clear, robust system for disclosure, reporting and seeking support
• build relationships based on trust and respect
• foster a culture where there is zero tolerance for sexual harassment, violence or hate crime against anyone
• take every disclosure seriously
• establish and follow fair and transparent processes
• reflect and review, to promote positive change

AUC encourages everyone in the AUC community who has experienced or witnessed an incident of harassment, discrimination, or sexual misconduct at AUC to submit a report or complaint through the Complaint/Reporting Form for Harassment, Discrimination and Sexual Misconduct. The link to the form can be found in Canvas (AUC Student Information, page for Harassment, Discrimination and Sexual Misconduct). It is possible to make a report anonymously.

Support services available if you have experienced or witnessed an incident of harassment, discrimination or sexual violence

AUC Student Life Officer (SLO)

• For AUC students. Can provide emotional support and help with safety planning, coordinating accommodation, referral to community agencies and university services, to medical services, and/or emergency financial assistance.
• Email: studentlifeofficer@auc.nl

AUC Senior Tutor

• For AUC students. Can help coordinate academic accommodation
• Email: seniortutor@auc.nl
• Location: Academic Core teachers room 2.27

Emergency Services

• (Police, Fire Brigade and/or Ambulance)
• Telephone: 112

Police (non-emergency)

• Can put you in contact with a specialist or you can visit the specialised facility immediately to formally report the incident.
• More information.
• Telephone: 0900 8844,
• Text phone for persons who are deaf or hard of hearing: 0900 1844
• Address: Elandsgracht 117, 1016 TT Amsterdam

Sexual Assault Centre (SAC)/ Centrum Seksueel Geweld (CSG) 

• SAC is a national organisation that provides guidance, advocacy, and support for survivors of sexual assault. In particular, the Centre offers information about help and treatment; case management; forensic, medical, and psychological care; and guidance on contacting the police, only if desired. Anyone who has been sexually assaulted, raped or has suffered any other form of sexual assault is assigned a personal case manager.
• More information (with an anonymous chat option).
• Email: You can email questions to csg@ggd.amsterdam.nl (this email address should not be used to report assaults).
• Telephone: 0800 0188 (available 24/7)

GGD (Public Health Service of Amsterdam)

• Can help connect you with support services, including testing for sexually transmitted infections.
• More information.
• Telephone: 020 555 5911
• Email: info@ggd.amsterdam.nl
• Address: Nieuwe Achtergracht 100 1018 WT Amsterdam

UvA Confidential Advisors

• Offer guidance and support if you are experiencing discrimination, sexual intimidation, bullying, aggression, violence and/or stalking
• More information.

The Student Disability Platform

• As part of UvA, AUC students have access to The Student Disability Platform. This platform consists of students with a disability who collectively want to ensure that every student has the chance to get as much out of their studies as possible without experiencing any obstacles arising from their disability.
• More information.

Switchboard

• An online platform providing free support and services for members of the LGBTQ community in the Netherlands, including information on coming out, sexual identity, gender identity, clubs and events as well as contact with specific services providers such as doctors, lawyers, and therapists.
• Specific times for calling provided on the website, as well as a chat or email option.
• More information.
• Telephone: +31 (20) 623 65 65
• Email: info@switchboard.nl

Slachtoffer Hulp Nederland

• General website concerning help with any kind of victimization: threats, theft, fraud, intimate partner violence, assault, stalking, traffic accidents, missing persons etc. The website provides basic guidance on legal processes, as well as providing various help-seeking resources, and forums for sharing experiences and contacting other survivors of similar occurrences. While the site itself is in Dutch, two specific numbers are provided for help and advice in English (with an anonymous chat option)
• More information. 
• Telephone for non-Dutch visitors: 116-006  (in the Netherlands) OR +31887460000 (outside of the Netherlands)
• General telephone: 0900-0101

Dutch Support Services

These services are provided entirely in Dutch in principle, but some indicate that they can respond in English to those calling the hotline for advice and help.

Antidicriminatiebureau

• Government body for official complaints, which provides advice and support , and helps in processing this complaint. Can also function as an intermediary body working with the police and other institutions. The site also provides chat and email options as well as an app. Further connected to a specific body for online discrimination.
• More information.
• Telephone: 0900 - 2 354 354
• Email: info@discriminatie.nl

Rozen in Blauw

• Police contact point specifically for members of the LGBTQ community, aiming to lower the threshold for the provision of information and support in instances of discrimination and violence.
• More information.
• Telephone: 088-169 1234 (24 hours a day)

Sensoor

• Mental health focused organisation aiming to provide a listening ear to people in moments of distress. 24/7 contact via chat, email or phone to talk about topics such as loneliness, depression, mourning, self-harm and eating disorders, or any other topic.
• More information.
• Telephone: 0900-0767

We work together with:

• Diversity office of the University of Amsterdam

• Diversity office of the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

• Department of diversity at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

We participate in:

• Aurora Universities Network

[Online] Decolonizing sexuality, disrupting epistemologies, shattering the subject by Dr. Rachel Spronk

Dr. Rachel Spronk will deliver this lecture as part of "The Emotional Turn in Contemporary Public and Academic Debates' series taking place at AUC. 

If decolonising sexuality means a fundamental disruption of our theoretical repertoire, it implies that we have to question something that carries immense intellectual and emotional significance for many of us: the possible unfavourable effects of the human rights discourse. We all recognise the global fight against homophobia and for social justice regarding sexual diversity and how solidarity and recognition are important vectors to work towards an equal world. Yet, we must also come to terms with the fact that the production of knowledge about sexuality in/on African societies is embedded in asymmetrical relations of power on a global scale, and that there may be particular ethnocentric tendencies in our research agendas. In this lecture, I will tackle the intellectual and emotional dilemmas in which the work of decolonizing sexuality in the spirit of lgbt+ emancipation is steeped.

[Online] “I Am Not Your Negro” by Dr. Jonathan Gill

Dr. Jonathan Gill will deliver this lecture as part of "Baldwin Series 2020-2021: The intersection of Race, Gender, Class, and the Nation" taking place at AUC.

Raoul Peck's BAFTA Award-winning documentary I Am Not Your Negro (2016) explores the history of race in the United States today. Based on James Baldwin’s unfinished manuscript Remember This House Peck explores Baldwin’s recollections of civil rights leaders Medgar Evers, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King Jr. In this webinar Dr. Jonathan Gill (AUC) focuses on the struggle for civil rights, the personal writings of Baldwin, and the transcendent power of the archive.

Engagement Council monthly meetings

The Engagement Council is a central platform for organisations with goals related to outreach and community engagement. Both external and internal parties involved with AUC will be able to share information about what their organisations are doing and discuss opportunities for collaboration and support.  Any organisations that are not yet involved, but have relevant goals or plans (for example, are planning an event that involves inviting members of the local community) can look to the Engagement Council as a resource for meeting others now or throughout the year. There are monthly meetings and newsletters, and we also plan to host a networking event in the early new year. Please get in contact if are interested in participating

Digital Who’s in Town: Gloria Wekker in conversation with Nancy Jouwe

On 16 June 2020, Global Identity Experience lecturer and cultural historian Nancy Jouwe hosted anthropologist and emeritus professor Gloria Wekker in her online class. The panel conversation was moderated by historian Wim Manuhutu (VU). During their 90-minute conversation, they discussed the concept of intersectionality and its relation to the social movement for women’s rights in the Netherlands; how colonial history informs current race relations & the current attention for the Black Lives Matter movement; and the 2016 report “Let’s Do Diversity”, published by the University of Amsterdam’s Diversity Commission, which was chaired by emeritus professor Gloria Wekker. Many AUC staff and students attended the panel conversation.

Diversity awareness workshops for first-year students

As part of the Global Identity Experience course, all first-year students will be given workshops on diversity and inclusivity awareness. The workshops are given by Siema Ramdas and Amrita Das and revolve around an exercise called “Stepping in the Circle.” The workshops aim to make students aware of different levels of diversity and the dimensions these take within the AUC context.

LGBTQ+ awareness month

Throughout February, the AUC Well-Being Team and several AUCSA committees are organising events in honour of LGBTQ+ Awareness Month. The month aims to raise awareness for issues around acceptance and intersectionality, as well as celebrate the LGBTQ+ community of AUC. 

Black History Month at AUC

In honour of Black History Month, AUC's Student Life Officer and the Well-Being Team, with the assistance of many AUCSA committees, are organising a number of events that will take place throughout October. There will be different cultural events that aim to celebrate racial diversity in AUC's student body including film screenings, a focus group, discussions, debates and art activities.

Current issues of diversity and inclusivity in higher education

This will be a tutor meeting dedicated to the topic of diversity. The newly instated discrimination and complaints procedure will also be addressed. Covering inclusivity and diversity, this meeting will cover what’s different now, what are the most relevant issues and what have we learned in terms of practical advice and best practices.

Faculty meeting breakout session

Dr. Anne de Graaf (Chief Diversity Officer, UvA) will host a breakout session during the AUC faculty meeting where participants will discuss classroom situations and individual interactions with students where they felt uncomfortable or not sure how to handle them. The outcome of this session is to get an impression of the kind of challenges faculty face and to raise awareness of implicit bias.

LGBTQ+ History month

Celebrating the lives of all within our diverse community, this February AUC will host LGBTQ+ History Month. With the recent controversy surrounding the Nashville statement throughout the Netherlands, we believe this is vital to building positive connections, experiences and memories for more equitable and harm-free LGBTQ+ history.

Panel discussion: How can institutions effectively respond to racism?

As universities and other institutions are trying to creating respectful, inclusive and diverse environments, they should have clear methods on how to acknowledge racism and effectively respond to racist behaviour. In this panel discussion, experts from various fields will provide theoretical and academic knowledge, tips on the development of awareness, and practical methods. The panel aims to answer the questions which institutions face when moving towards a more diverse and inclusive community. Guests are welcome to voice their opinions on the questions raised during the panel and contribute with their ideas.

Let's talk. A workshop on anti-polarisation skills

Fierce debates about the refugee crisis, racism and our identity have become an everyday reality. The ‘grey’ middle ground with countless personalities, different world-views, and actual room for nuance is being drowned out by the extreme voices of today. The learning goals of this workshop include anti-polarisation skills, unconscious bias, conversation skills (addressing racism), resilience, promoting productive and respectful discussions, and acknowledging different points of view. The goals also include being able to challenge and defend points of view in ways that lead to mutual learning and finding common ground. This workshop is "train-the-trainer" style, meaning that participants will be able to pass their skills on to others.

Diversity training for community representatives workshop

This workshop will begin with an interactive lecture on intersectionality, racism and privilege, to raise awareness. Topics that will be addressed include LGBT+, classism, racism and disability. Inclusion is discussed and the ways in which organisations fail to effectively implement inclusivity. The lecture will take around 1,5 hours. After the lecture, there will be a privilege walk and a roundtable discussion. The goal of the training is humanisation through dialogue and building bridges through realism. Furthermore, the workshop will work toward building (working) relationships on the basis of mutual empathy and promoting self-reflection and awareness. The maximum number of participants is limited to 30.

Diversity & inclusivity and the curriculum workshop

This is a training session for AUC's Heads of Studies. The workshop will be specifically tailored to questions and challenges that are relevant to managers in higher education. Topics will include ‘moeilijke gesprekken’, curriculum analysis, etc. This will take place after the discrimination and harassment complaints procedure and policy is crystallised. The maximum number of participants for this training is limited to 16.