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Executive Board member Erica Schaper: "Signing the Diversity Charter is a logical formal step for us to strive for a diverse, equitable and inclusive university. The trick is to get clear where we want to go, take small concrete steps and continuously monitor whether progress is being made. We are convinced that a way of working (together), where we emphasise what unites us, where differences are valued, respect is the norm and people feel safe, contributes to the quality of our education, research and employment."
Results and challenges
Organisations can only join the Diversity Charter if they have a clear plan indicating who is working on diversity and inclusion goals, how and when. Progress is reviewed every year. According to Wiebren Jansen, policy advisor for Diversity and Inclusiveness at NHL Stenden, there are several schemes to provide fair opportunities for students and staff. "For instance, there will be a new procedure for fairer recruitment and selection of staff and a lot of attention will be paid to intercultural skills in education. We are also working on new education on diversity and inclusiveness. In addition, the IDARE platform offers workshops and lectures on these topics." IDARE stands for Inclusion, Diversity, Anti-Racism & Equity. Jansen points out that there are also challenges: ‘We do a lot, but we don't always know if it works. That is why we want to give more attention to measuring and evaluating our activities in the coming years, partly thanks to the Diversity Charter."
