Join the 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. 

“Inclusion has been a priority for Arqus since the very beginning, and it is enshrined in its Mission Statement as one of the core features of the Alliance. The Open Conference marks an important milestone for Arqus: it comes at a time when it is important to take stock of the current state of the art around the topics of inclusion and diversity not only within the Alliance but with a wider perspective, embracing the whole European higher education sector. We aim to bring Alliances together to identify common areas of action and recommendations for relevant stakeholders on how to better mainstream the I&D agenda in education in a meaningful and impactful way. I am sure this event will strengthen further collaboration across Alliances around a topic that is extremely relevant for the future of the European Universities Initiative”, says Dorothy Kelly.

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.

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

Check more info on the venue, the programme and the speakers here.

News prepared by Lucia Gennaro, Co-Lead of the Arqus Inclusion & Diversity Hub and Head of Strategic Partnerships Unit – Projects and Mobility Office, International Relations Division, University of Padua.