We are thankful

ELIA executive director, Maria Hansen reflects on the ELIA excitement and joyous occasions of the past few weeks before preparing for the winter break amidst more Covid uncertainty.

As the year draws to a close, many of you will be heading towards a well-deserved break. The pandemic continues to unfurl in unexpected ways, and it’s difficult not to experience the sense of ‘here we go again’. I’m sure you feel the same frustration and yet, we can look back on a year that has taken us forward in many ways. 

Just a few days ago, we had the third online session as part of the ELIA Academy. I have loved these events, that have given Academy participants the chance to grow as a community, while participating in the many interactive sessions and breakouts offered by colleague presenters from around the world. Thank you to all who contributed to these sessions that triggered our brains with innovative ideas and thoughts, but also showcased truly amazing ways to use online technologies such as Miro in inventive ways. Academy participants have the opportunity to watch recordings of all the sessions so no one misses out. And of course we are getting ready for the two-day Academy in Brussels at the beginning of February. 

An exciting moment just before the end of the year was the first meeting of our EDI Working Group. Equity, diversity and inclusivity are key topics for the ELIA community, and we are proud to have selected such a strong group of colleagues to drive the community conversation on EDI within ELIA. 

As part of this process the ELIA team and Representative Board are assessing ELIA operations as an organisation and we are delighted that the team and entire Working Group will participate in an EDI training programme led by Shades of Noir in 2022. I expect during by the time the ELIA Biennial 2022 in Helsinki comes around, we will be able to share much of this work in progress with you. 

And finally, I would like to give a huge thanks to the many ELIA members who have already completed our survey on ELIA’s global connectedness. ELIA is a globally connected European network, but what does that actually mean and what is it that our members need in this regard? I am delighted with the many responses from across the globe and hope that if you haven’t yet, you will consider filling in the survey. Surveys were sent to the main contact person in your institution and we are asking for only one returned survey per organisation. 

Exciting times for ELIA, but for the coming two weeks, we, too, will have a moment of Zen, celebrating the holidays as well as we can, given the Covid restrictions. I hope your holidays will be peaceful and blessed. See you next year again in this space!