German Diversity Day 2023
On 23 May, 2023, RWTH and FH Aachen University jointly celebrated German Diversity Day with a lecture on "Criticism of racism: What do I need to know? What can I do? What can Aachen universities do?" by Prof. Dr. Karim Fereidooni.
In the context of a poster exhibition of the activities of the Integration Team of RWTH as well as the Prorectorate for Diversity and Equal Opportunities Aachen, it was possible to find a joint entry into Diversity Day 2023, which FH and RWTH celebrated together as Aachen universities.
Prof. Dr. Ulrich Rüdiger welcomed as Rector of RWTH Aachen University and emphasized that the celebration of Diversity Day and the joint commitment to the Diversity Charter is essential to value diversity in research, teaching and work and to be able to use all potentials.
Dr. Ralitsa Petrova-Stoyanov, Head of the Integration Team, welcomed the participants and, together with Prof. Dr.-Ing. Martina Klocke, Prorector for Diversity and Equal Opportunity at FH Aachen University of Applied Sciences, and Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Sabine Brück, Vice-Rector for Human Resources Management and Development, was able to talk about the relevance of actively addressing racism at universities.
Prof. Dr. Karim Fereidooni, political scientist at the Ruhr-Uni Bochum, held a 45-minute lecture, which summarized in a short time many topics from the field of racism research, discrimination research as well as suggestions, approaches and measures; for example, how to address and reduce racism on an individual as well as organizational level. In doing so, he first illuminated how our socialization, our school education, but also the topics and content we are confronted with in university studies are shaped by racist knowledge. Furthermore, he addressed which steps and also phases of anti-racist learning can lead to preventing racism in one's own environment, making situations of discrimination addressable and making universities more diverse and less discriminatory.
After the presentation, questions were asked and ideas were exchanged among the participants. The discussion was moderated by Thorsten Karbach, head of the department for press and communication.
The participants agreed that the event was a good start to further exchange and engage on the topic of Anti-Racism at Aachen's higher education organisations.