Virtual EDI Festival

Join us for a virtual EDI Festival, jointly organised with UoB’s EDI Ambassador’s and UvA’s Exchange Ambassadors.

The EDI Festival is a month-long celebration starting on 3 February 2021, bringing students and staff together to embrace the diversity of our community and ignite broader conversations about how we can foster a more inclusive student community.

Events

Inclusive Cities

Date: Wed 3 February 2021

Time 2:30 pm – 3:30 pm (GMT) / 3:30 pm – 4:30 pm (CET)

Please register here: https://inclusive-cities.eventbrite.co.uk

Dr. Eva Garcia Chueca from the Barcelona Centre For International Affairs will kick off the webinar to speak on advancing urban rights that underpin equality and diversity in the city. Birmingham’s Dr. Phil Jones will then chair a panel discussion, joined by Dr. Chueca and Dr. Justin Varney (Director of Public Health, Birmingham City Council), and Simion Blom (from the Amsterdam green party GroenLinks), to have a dialogue around community cohesion and inclusivity in diverse cities like Amsterdam and Birmingham.

Gaybourhoods in Amsterdam and Birmingham

Date: Tue 16 February 2021

Time 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm (GMT) / 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm (CET)

Please register here: https://gaybourhoods.eventbrite.co.uk

Amsterdam’s gay districts are unquestionably world renown. On the other hand, Birmingham also has an established Gay Village area in the city centre for decades. These “gaybourhoods” typically had a humble beginning at the rougher parts of the city centres when social attitudes and laws were at odds to LGBT inclusion. Steph Keeble, Director of Birmingham LGBT, and Bas Zwiers, business leader of Amsterdam neighbourhood initiative ‘Alle Kleuren Oost’ will have a conversation with the webinar audience about the meanings, the importance, and the future of these spaces and venues in face of urban redevelopment, changing communication habits, and the recent challenges brought by the pandemic. The webinar will also be part of University of Birmingham’s LGBT History Month programme.

Visualising the Diversity of Amsterdam and Birmingham

Date: Mon 22 February 2021

Time 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm (GMT) / 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm (CET)

Please register here: https://visualising-edi.eventbrite.co.uk

Amsterdam is globally known for its diverse culture. The history of Amsterdam tells the story of a trade city that attracted people from all over. Some only passed through, but others settled in the bustling city. Nevertheless, each left a mark on the city and its culture in their own way. Fast forward to 2021 and we find a city that is filled with influences from different cultures. Join this session to experience a virtual tour through Amsterdam, discovering different locations throughout the city and how the concepts of equity, diversity, and inclusion are present. This visual and interactive presentation will echo with Dr. Pen Mendonca’s upcoming project to co-develop an illustration of EDI and our two cities with the student ambassadors from UoB and UvA.

Embedding EDI: Students, Staff and City

Date: Wed 24 February 2021

Time 10:30 am – 11:30 am (GMT) / 11:30 am – 12:30 am (CET)

Please register here: https://embeddingedi.eventbrite.co.uk

Professor Jo Duberley and Dr. Anne de Graaf will jointly speak on the EDI research and initiatives from both institutions about embedding EDI for our students, staff, and cities. We will have a dialogue about the challenges on EDI in higher education, the impacts that are caused by the pandemic to our campuses and communities, and our vision of the collaborations between Amsterdam and Birmingham.