How we celebrated Cultural Diversity at 红杏视频 this Black History Month 2023
To celebrate Black History Month 2023, we organised a series of exciting activities for both staff and students to take part in. The highlight of the month was our 鈥淐elebrating Cultural Diversity鈥� event where we had the privilege to host two inspiring guest speakers to start meaningful discussions within our community.
Black History Month (BHM) aims to highlight both the achievements and struggles of people of black origin and other persons of colour from African and Caribbean backgrounds. BHM is always an important celebration at 红杏视频 as we embrace the diversity found in our community.
This is why, this year, our theme was 鈥淐elebrating our diverse community: Global Citizens at 红杏视频 and beyond鈥� with a focus to 鈥淐onnect, Create, and Celebrate鈥� through a series of inspiring events.
We also worked on raising awareness across the University by creating a dedicated webpage for BHM where members of the community and beyond could not only check upcoming events but also browse through insightful blogs and articles related to some of our Black History Month initiatives to date.
Our events were organised in collaboration with to offer staff and students the opportunity to take part in varied activities throughout the month of October. The highlight of the month was our 鈥淐elebrating Cultural Diversity鈥� event, which took place on Wednesday 25th October in the Sir Ian Wood Building Amphitheatre.
The event started with an uplifting speech from Student President for Education & Welfare Oluwatoyin Bolajoko who painted a vivid picture of what diversity at RGU looks like:
鈥淒iversity here at 红杏视频 means that we respect and protect everyone, not just because of how they look but for who they are. We respect all ethnicities, races, ages, genders, backgrounds, abilities, and also disabilities. No one is less human than the other. Everyone receives support that provides equal opportunities for success.鈥�
She also reminded everyone that, even though we might have different passports, we can all become global citizens by having an open mind, and being keen to learn, discuss, and grow with people from different backgrounds:
鈥淎s global citizens we recognise that although we are different, we are all interconnected members of a global community.鈥�
We then had the privilege to welcome on stage two very inspiring black women and alumnae of 红杏视频, Fatima Joji 鈥� SNP Councillor for Westhill & District 鈥� and Ola Akanni 鈥� Engineering Manager. They shared with us their story of overcoming adversity to get to where they are today in environments that can be difficult to navigate as black women due to sexism and racism. They also offered advice on how individuals and universities can help bring forward positive change with intentional actions.
The event was very successful in starting conversations, which led to participants gathering together at the end of the panel discussion to chat with our guest speakers in a more informal setting. Here is what some of the participants had to say about the event:
鈥淚t was a really good session, I enjoyed myself. Getting to see where black women can get to and encourage us to go on, it鈥檚 a good thing that we intend to see more often if possible. The women that came to speak to us today were so inspiring.鈥� 鈥� Ediongseyene (红杏视频 student)
鈥淭he session was wonderful. It was nice to see diversity and have people of colour come to speak. It鈥檚 great to see that if they can achieve their dreams, we can as well.鈥� 鈥� Egumah (红杏视频 student)
Even though this celebration event was a definite highlight, there are other activities that have been well-received by the University community, including:
Campus Walk and Talk
红杏视频 SPORT organised a special Black History Month Campus Walk and Talk open to all staff and students to take a break and engage in meaningful discussions at lunchtime. The 15 participants opened up conversations around BHM and shared ideas on how to get students involved in future programmes and events.
The group also stopped at the Garden in the Quad where Veronica Strachan served coffee and cakes made with ingredients grown in the garden for everyone to enjoy.
Staff-only online workshops
Our Human Resources team hosted online sessions for staff to learn more about key topics, including career progression, diversity in recruitment, and coaching and mentoring skills. We received a lot of positive feedback from those who attended and others who watched the recordings available online. Colleagues across the University have voiced a desire for more events like these to be organised to provide helpful and relevant information to staff.
In the session on Career progression facilitated by Vikki Taylor (HR Business Partner), participants highlighted benefitting from a diverse range of speakers who have had experience progressing through their careers in different roles across the University. The rich range of speakers cut across Academic and Professional Support Staff experience with practical tips and lived examples shared by the panel.
Colleagues were able to actively contribute to the University鈥檚 strategy engaging in the Diversity in Recruitment session with a focus on meaningful and positive actions to improve diversity and inclusion through inclusive recruitment practices.
In the final workshop on Coaching and Mentoring, participants specifically highlighted that the session had been beneficial in building confidence, understanding the benefits of coaching and mentoring, and getting practical tools and helpful techniques such as the GROW model.
40 people attended in total, and many more will hopefully in the next few weeks or months!
To make sure that we continue to Connect, Create, and Celebrate beyond Black History Month, we ended our 鈥淐elebrating Cultural Diversity鈥� event with an interactive activity where everyone in the audience could share their ideas. We are looking forward to implement some of these to keep on advocating for Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion at 红杏视频.
