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Diversity and Inclusion
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DIVERSITY & INCLUSION 

ELIA rejects racism and systemic discrimination on the basis of gender, sexuality, religion, race, class, ethnicity, age, and ability—among other categories—which unfortunately remain prevalent in our societies, and thus also influence our educational institutions. Visible effects of this are the relative homogeneity of the student populations in our arts schools, often conservative hiring strategies for our faculties, a lack of diversity in senior management positions, and the glass ceiling that still effectively exists within higher arts education institutions today.

ELIA raises awareness within the sector and beyond about the complex and intersectional aspects of anti-discrimination. ELIA aims to position itself as an example of best practice, serving as a bridge to other networks as well. ELIA organises events on this topic and webinars for specific professional groups at universities, and has created a peer-learning platform following the General Assembly 2020.

ELIA’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusivity Policy outlines ELIA’s approach to EDI within the organisation and across all aspects of the organisation’s work. As such, the policy introduces a set of additional policies: the ELIA Internal Anti-Harassment and Discrimination Policy, the ELIA Event Anti-Harassment Policy, the ELIA EDI Event Guidelines, the ELIA EDI Communications Guidelines, the ELIA Recruitment Process, and the ELIA Development Review Process. To highlight the importance of ensuring gender balance and in alignment with the EU’s Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025, ELIA has published a separate ELIA Statement on Gender Equity, Diversity and Inclusivity.

In June 2020, PIE – Platform Internationalisation ELIA hosted a webinar on internationalisation and diversity.

In February 2021, the ETHO Platform hosted an online event on Equal Opportunity and Diversity.

On 30 September 2021, ELIA’s Platform for Internationalisation – PIE hosted an event on EDI – Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.

The EDI Taskforce, led by Andrea Braidt, ELIA President, and composed of members of the ELIA Representative Board and the ELIA Team was established in February 2021. The taskforce’s aim is to study and develop ELIA's internal operations through an EDI lens.

In December 2021, the ELIA Equity, Diversity and Inclusivity (EDI) Working Group was formed under the guidance of Chair, Cecilia Roos, Professor in Artistic Practice at Stockholm University of the Arts. 

Members of the EDI Working Group include:

With the strategic focus – ‘Excellence through diversities: Equal Opportunities and Inclusivity' in mind, the EDI Working Group aims to promote good practice, strategies and initiatives that help ELIA members to:

  • Address equity, inclusion, and diversity within their institutions.
  • Raise awareness among leadership, staff, and students.
  • Connect to other relevant organisations/parties dealing with EDI.
  • Help ELIA raise its voice against discrimination in the HAE sector.

The EDI Working Group opened the discussion to the ELIA Membership for the first time at the ELIA Biennial 2022 in Helsinki. With the aim to facilitate the peer learning and knowledge exchange on the topic of EDI, the Working Group has designed a series of online events to engage and develop the ELIA EDI Platform. The first session, EDI Online Session: Opening Spaces for EDI, was held on 25 April 2023, led by Working Group members Cecilia Roos from Stockholm University of the Arts and Ali Şahin from Willem de Kooning Academy in Rotterdam.

The second EDI Online Session on inclusive curricula took place on 7 September 2023 and was hosted by Jyoti Mistri, Gothenburg University, Faculty of Fine, Applied and Performing Arts and Mata Ayoub, Kingston University London, Kingston School of Art, along with Riadh Ghemmour,The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.

On 25 January 2024, the EDI Working Group invited the community to the third EDI Online Session: Teaching in Different Gears. The conversation was led by EDI Working Group members, Mata Ayoub from  Kingston University London, Kingston School of Art  and Cecilia Roos from  Stockholm University of the Arts .

Join the EDI Platform online space to stay up to date with events, news, and resources on the topic.

The SHIFT Inclusion Handbook is designed to support cultural networks and organisations in navigating and engaging with diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. It is the companion resource to the SHIFT Annotated Bibliography on Inclusion, which comprises a selection of 101 resources, including toolkits, checklists, tests, articles, reports, and guides.
This publication has been created by the European Choral Association – Europa Cantat and the SHIFT partner networks as part of the inclusion strand of the SHIFT project (Shared Initiatives for Training).

Past Events