In early December 2022, our university hosted the sixth edition of the ECHO summit Opportunities for a More Inclusive Higher Education. Together with ECHO, Diversity Policy Expertise Center, we put the spotlight on a.o. inclusive education, internship discrimination and outreach.
Pravini Baboeram of ECHO led attendees through the two-day program. The official opening (and the start of the plenary part) was in the hands of our rector magnificus - professor Annelien Bredenoord. She emphasized the importance of engaging in open dialogue, even when it is difficult. A continuous commitment and open mind to engage in dialogue remains important. Furthermore, the rector addressed the importance of paying attention to diversity and inclusion at our university.
D&I Office becomes IDEA Center
Our Chief Diversity Officer - professor Semiha Denktaş - took the audience through the route the D&I Office has taken to where it is today; a team of passionate professionals, including a large team dedicated to Outreach. And much has already been accomplished. "The question here at EUR now is no longer whether we are going to do this, but how we are going to do it. The majority is positive about it." On our website, for example, we have created a knowledge platform on inclusive education that provides tools for everyone to use.
Semiha Denktaş also shared a scoop. By January 1, 2023, Diversity & Inclusion will no longer be a program at EUR; it will have a structural place within our organization. The D&I Office will become IDEA Center where IDEA stands for Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access.
Professor Abel Valenzuela of UCLA (University of California - Los Angeles) presented his research on (migrant) day laborers in LA, examining race, inequality, migration and the differences between and within neighborhoods in Los Angeles. He emphasized the importance of outreach, and actually going into neighborhoods and involving day laborers in his research projects and data collection - "Get off campus and enter the real world”.
For example he researches neighborhoods by objectively noting what resources a community has in a neighborhood. His researchers note whether there is a hospital, whether there is a cultural center, what kind of stores there are, whether there are schools, playgrounds, pharmacies. Thus, they do not focus their research on "poor neighborhoods"; they portray how neighborhoods differ from each other, based on objective characteristics.
His research is considered unique and there were few (financial) resources available in the beginning, but this has improved in later years. Working on diversity and inclusion requires patience - a word often mentioned during this summit. Attention to diversity and inclusion has fortunately moved from incidental to structural in recent years - both in the USA and the Netherlands.
Pravini Baboeram: "The discussion is about how to achieve the goal, the goal is not to have a discussion about whether or not we should work on diversity and inclusion."
Following this plenary session, the afternoon included several parallel sessions on various topics, including outreach, social safety, data about diversity and inclusion and institutional exclusion mechanisms.
Students Wahhab Hassoo (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam), Marjolein de Beus (Utrecht University of Applied Sciences) and Aki Negate (Erasmus University Rotterdam) - as a conclusion of day 1 of the summit - discussed with each other and with the audience opportunities and challenges in countering racism, sexism and other mechanisms of exclusion in higher education.
Important topics discussed included coaching and training for teachers on terminology and dealing with certain discussions that may occur during lectures and in working groups. Outreach, making opportunities visible and accessible for children in primary and secondary school, was also emphasized.
There was also discussion about student independence versus support for students during their studies. In higher education, students are often reminded of their own responsibility and that they must work independently. Yes, working independently is important, but some students do need help to learn to work independently because, for example, they do not get help or support from home, while other students do. It is important to see students as human beings, with their own struggles, each with their own background. Asking for help is not always easy for students. Having a coach, mentor or counselor can help. Ask students more often what they need and make sure they learn how to study independently.
On December 2, professor Vinod Subramaniam, president of Diversity and Inclusive Higher Education and Research (DIHOO) opened the program with a quote from John Lewis "Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble." Vinod Subramaniam: "Committing to diversity and inclusion is not a matter of a day's work, or a week, or a month, or a year. It's a journey that requires you to take a long breath. Which sometimes gets you into trouble, but these are good troubles. We are doing this for a good cause".
Vinod Subramaniam engaged attendees in a conversation about data, the cultural barometer and the importance of repeating your message. Semiha Denktaş indicated that without data, she cannot have conversations about diversity and inclusion. You have to be able to back up your story.
To discuss internship discrimination, a panel of Ugoeze Anyanwu Podler (Landelijke Studenten Vakbond), Ercan Büyükçifçi (De Haagse Hogeschool), Dr. Tjitske Lovert (Inholland University of Applied Sciences) and Mourad Ouari (CoachEmUp) joined a panel on this second day. They emphasized that working together is of great importance for a successful approach to internship discrimination. In The Hague there is already a lot of cooperation in this field. Tjitske Lovert: "It is not only an issue for higher education institutions. Nor is it only an issue for the student, nor only for employers. It all fits together, it's all connected. And that is why a joint approach is so important. Important components of our collaboration in The Hague are an awareness campaign about the urgency of internship discrimination, guiding, coaching and training of professionals in education and employers, and monitoring and fact finding."
Ercan Büyükçifçi indicated that (internship) discrimination is not a new phenomenon. This has been going on for years. And we already know a lot from research. If you apply for an internship position with a foreign-sounding last name, you have a 40% less chance of getting the internship. With an Arabic-sounding last name even 60% less chance.
Mourad Ouari: "There are so many opportunities. Now too, with the tight labor market. There must be action now, the government must really get to work on this too. Entrepreneurs and employers need to find out more and learn more about opportunities that interns and trainees offer them."
Ugoeze Anyanwu Podler: "There are calls for applying to a job anonymously, but I don't think that's really an option, because then people have to deny their background. Why shouldn't they be allowed to use their own wonderful name? Moreover, it is not just about getting an internship position, but also about discrimination and microaggression during internships. If students report this at their higher education institution, it is very important to show that their report is taking seriously. Show what happens with reports, tell them about the process."
Semiha Denktaş: "We have to be careful that when a student makes a report, this student does not become the problem owner. It is very good to see how institutions are picking this up."
Niek Putman of ECHO explained their plan of approach and work program on internship discrimination: "At ECHO we also have several tools in development, aimed at teachers, internship coordinators, students and the work field. In our program, we will work on this in six steps. Among other things, we are creating a roadmap for students, we are going to organize regional meetings on this topic and we are developing a campaign aimed at teachers. January 26 is the official kick-off of our work program."
The second and last day of the summit ended with a lunch where there was a lot of talk and connections were made for various follow-up projects.