Arqus Open Conference on Inclusion and Diversity: “An impact that matters” 

The Arqus Inclusion & Diversity Hub is organising an Open Conference on Inclusion and Diversity under the title “An impact that matters: care, creativity, training and community engagement in action towards a more inclusive European higher education”.

The event will be hosted by the University of Lyon 1 on Wednesday, 6 November 2024, from 15:45 to 17:45 CET, as part of the first Arqus Staff Week on Inclusion and Diversity. It is open to anyone, both in person and online. It will feature short presentations and leave ample space for a panel discussion, engaging both the speakers and the audience.

The Open Conference will be chaired by Dorothy Kelly, Arqus Coordinator. It will bring together speakers from different European University Alliances –Arqus, CHARM-EU, EUTOPIA, Una Europa, and YUFE– plus the Academic Cooperation Association, an organisation deeply engaged with inclusion in the European higher education sector through the Inclusion ACAdemy. 

Speakers from the Alliances will discuss their different approaches to inclusion and how they translate into practice: topics will range from staff and students’ training to inclusive mobility; from workshops for the leadership to decolonisation of higher education; from the Universal Design Approach to education to an award for projects supporting the implementation of the Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

The event aims at nurturing the relationship among Alliances and strengthening their synergies on the topics of inclusion and diversity; discussing shared challenges and common opportunities; engaging in a conversation on present, past and above all future joint actions to make higher education more inclusive. It also intends to identify areas of action and recommendations for relevant stakeholders at the local, national and European levels on how to better mainstream the inclusion and diversity agenda in education in a meaningful and impactful way.

Registration for online participation is required and will stay open until the start of the event.

Venue for in-person attendance

University of Lyon1 |LyonTech-la Doua Campus

Bldg. Darwin, Aisle D, Theater Fontannes

43, Boulevard du 11 Novembre 1918 – Villeurbanne

Programme

Speakers / panelists

• Arqus | Lucia Gennaro | Co-lead of the Arqus Inclusion & Diversity Hub
• CHARM EU | Ágnes Sarolta Fazekas-Vinkovits | Lead of the CHARM-EU DEI Office (online) and  Florian Bergonhe | CHARM-EU DEI Office Team Member (in person)
• EUTOPIA| Catherine Gillo Nilsson | Coordinator, EUTOPIA MORE Inclusion Group (in person) and Marie Marchand | Lead for DEI strategic area in Task 2.5 “Transformation through Sustainable Development” (in person) 
• Una Europa | Ishimwe Marie-Aimée Ntawukulityayo | Policy Advisor on Equity, Diversity & Inclusion in Higher Education (online) and Anna-Leena Riitaoja | Chair of the Una Europa Diversity Council) (online) 
• YUFE | Karen Bush | Strategic Lead for Equity, Diversity and Inclusivity (online)
• Academic Cooperation Association | Martin Bogdan | Co-chair of ACA’s Thematic Peer Group “Widening Inclusion in Higher Education”(in person)
• Chair: Dorothy Kelly | Arqus Coordinator

Meet the speakers!

Lucia Gennaro | Arqus

Lucia Gennaro is the head of the Strategic Partnerships Unit at the University of Padua. She is the Arqus Institutional Coordinator at her university and co-leads the Arqus Inclusion & Diversity Hub.  Before entering the higher education sector, she worked and studied around the world (South America, UK, US, Spain), in particular in international development cooperation and inclusion-related issues.

Agnes Sarolta Fazekas-Vinkovits | CHARM-EU

Agnes Sarolta Fazekas-Vinkovits is an assistant professor at the Eötvös Loránd University Bárczi Gusztáv Faculty of Special Needs in Budapest, Hungary. She is the lead of the CHARM-EU DEI Office. Agnes was elected to the EAIE General Council 2020-2022. In this role, Agnes supported inclusive approaches for the EAIE to change the higher education landscape successfully. She was the chair of the EAIE Expert Community Access and Diversity from 2018 to 2020. Agnes holds a Master’s degree in Social Policy and has acquired extensive additional skills throughout her international professional experiences in inclusive education, diversity, and disability. She completed her PhD research on the access & inclusion of people with disabilities in Higher Education.

Florian Bergonhe | CHARM-EU

Florian Bergonhe (University of Montpellier) CHARM-EU DEI Office Team Member.

Catherine Gillo Nilsson | EUTOPIA

Catherine Gillo Nilsson is a Coordinator at the University of Gothenburg and has almost three decades of experience in higher education. She is currently coordinating the EUTOPIA MORE project Inclusion group.  She has coordinated the University of Gothenburg’s mission on widening access and participation in higher education, which embraces close collaboration with students and staff as well as the surrounding society in widening access, promoting diversity, equality/equity and inclusion. Furthermore, she has set up peer support programs and mentoring schemes in higher education and beyond, e.g. in collaboration with external government agencies and civil society.  She has vast teaching experiences in mathematics and engagement in international development cooperation and institutional policy development, as well as facilitation of interactive, experiential training workshops for students and staff (including train the trainer workshops) in the area of peer support, study and career counselling, intercultural communication and stereotype reduction. Her academic background includes MSc. in Scientific Subjects Education, Master of Africa and International Development Cooperation, and Master of Social Science in Project Management. In 2019, she joined EUTOPIA and represented the University of Gothenburg in the Inclusion work package, which resulted in the EUTOPIA Inclusion Framework and EUTOPIA MORE Inclusion Manifesto.

Marie Marchand | EUTOPIA

Marie Marchand has been Equity-Diversity-Inclusion and student success Project Manager at CY Cergy Paris Université for 2 years and is currently leading EUTOPIA’s Inclusion Group. While preparing her PhD in British Political Sciences, she used to be President of EUTOPIA’s Student Council. Marie is deeply committed to issues of societal transition, diversity, and inclusion, ensuring that all individuals within academic institutions feel fully integrated, valued, and treated fairly, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, or background. With a professional background that spans Human and Social Sciences research, marketing, communication, and digital design, she combines practical skills with a strong knowledge of English-speaking cultures, European institutions, and the academic world. Her empathy and diverse international experiences fuel her dedication to fostering open-mindedness and inclusivity.

Ishimwe Marie-Aimée Ntawukulityayo | Una Europa

Ishimwe Marie-Aimée Ntawukulityayo serves as a policy advisor for KU Leuven’s Diversity Policy office. Her career has been shaped by a diverse international experience, having studied and worked in eight countries. Her journey has allowed her to develop an intercultural, feminist and anti-racist global outlook on social justice issues in higher education, health, public policy, and arts and culture. In addition to her professional role, she is actively involved in community work, youth mentoring, and out-of-school programs, where she applies her skills to address social justice issues in her communities. 

Anna-Leena Riitaoja | Una Europa

Anna-Leena Riitaoja is a Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Educational Sciences, Affiliated Member, The Centre for Research on Ethnic Relations and Nationalism (CEREN) and, previously, Research Coordinator, Helsinki Inequality Research Initiative (INEQ), all at the University of Helsinki. She is also Chair of the Diversity Council, Una Europa, a consortium of 11 top-tier European universities. Her research and teaching agendas converge on the dynamics of othering, belonging, exclusion and marginalisation within institutional and governmental policies, formal practices, and everyday social interaction. She has actively participated in DEI boards, projects and initiatives at the faculty and university levels, emphasizing how to incorporate anti-racist policies and practices in a university culture.

Karen Bush | YUFE

Karen Bush has worked in leadership roles in ED&I in Higher Education for over 15 years. She works at the University of Essex in the UK and is currently YUFE’s Strategic Lead for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusivity. Karen regularly designs and delivers workshops which focus on creating a culture of inclusion and leading with kindness.

Martin Bogdan | Academic Cooperation Association

Martin Bogdan is a Policy and Project Coordinator, who first started working for ACA in 2019. He is the co-chair of ACA’s Thematic Peer Group “Widening Inclusion in Higher Education”, which is discussing the management of national and European funding to increase participation of underrepresented groups in international higher education. He is currently coordinating the Inclusion ACAdemy, a tailor-made training series on the topic of inclusion and widening participation in international programmes. He coordinated ACA’s work in projects supporting researchers with refugee background (CARe) and Internationalisation of higher education for society (IHES), as well as capacity building trainings on inclusion for HEIs and NAs. Prior to ACA, Martin worked in the European Commission, in several NGOs working with open access policies, migrants, arts, and media. He also briefly taught in an international school.

Dorothy Kelly | Arqus

Dorothy Kelly is a professor of Translation at the University of Granada (Spain), where she was also Vice Rector for Internationalization from 2008 to 2023. She was Chair of the Executive Board of the Coimbra Group of Universities from 2010 until 2017 and was a member of Spain’s national Bologna Experts Team from 2010 to 2013. She was a member of the Board of the Committee for Internationalization and Development Cooperation at the Spanish Rectors’ Conference between 2008 and 2023. She is a member of the Advisory Group on Higher Education to the Steering Committee for Education (CDEDU) of the Council of Europe. Since 2018, she has been the coordinator of Arqus, one of the first 17 European University Alliances to be approved by the European Commission and composed by the universities of Graz, Leipzig, Lyon 1, Maynooth, Minho, Padua, Vilnius and Wrocław, along with Granada.