Diversity Festival 2023

Keynote Speech and Panel Discussion | Tuesday 19 September | 3 - 4.30pm | Leighton Hall, John Niland Scientia Building

What does 'diversity' actually mean, and how can we move beyond this concept to better achieve equity? How do institutions need to change to dismantle structures of power and privilege?

Hear from the experiences of trans man and Olympic gold medallist Ellia Green OAM, followed by a panel discussion chaired by Peta MacGillivray and including UNSW community members Quinton Vea Vea, Osca Monaghan and Melissa Golby.

Organised by the Yuwaya Ngarra-li Partnership, the UNSW Disability Innovation Institute and the Division of Equity Diversity & Inclusion.

Panel Discussion and Networking | Tuesday 19 September | 5.00 - 7.00pm | Lecture Room G02, UNSW Law & Justice Building

How do people living with disabilities experience their work and workplaces, and more specifically, within the legal and justice professions? What practical ways can the workplace make the profession more accessible and inclusive?

This dynamic discussion will voice lived experiences of disability in the workplace - unpacking lessons that have been learned, the challenges that remain, and the importance of legal and justice professions working towards promoting inclusivity in the workplace.

There will also be an opportunity for a Q&A with the panel, followed by catered networking.

Organised by UNSW Law & Justice.

Presentation, Panel Discussion and Networking | Tuesday 19 September | 3.45 - 6.00pm | DesignNext Studio, Ainsworth Building  

The event seeks to bring together our energy researchers, students and technologists at UNSW to discuss how we can drive Australia's charge to net zero.

A keynote presentation from Dani Alexander, CEO of the UNSW Energy Institute, will be followed by a panel discussion with leading UNSW academics and industry experts. The panel will explore major questions underpinning Australia's role in the energy transition. How can we secure Australia's position as a global powerhouse? How can we deliver the future power system? And how can we support a customer-led energy transition?

Panel: 

• Professor Deo Prasad: CEO, NSW Decarbonisation Innovation Hub
• Associate Professor Anna Bruce: Co-Director, UNSW Collaboration on Energy and Environmental Markets
• Professor Alistair Sproul: Head of School, UNSW School of Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering
• Dr Emma Lovell: Senior Lecturer, UNSW Particles and Catalysis Research Laboratory
• Tahlia Nolan: Commercial Manager (Hydrogen), Iberdrola Australia
• Mark Twidell: Non Executive Director, AGL

Organised by UNSW Energy Institute.

Workout Classes | Tuesday 19 September | 9.00 - 10.00am | UNSW Fitness & Aquatic Centre

Get ready to move and break a sweat at our exclusive high-energy classes for the queer community! Embrace a healthier, happier you in a safe space at UNSW's Fitness and Aquatic Centre.

• Tuesday 19 September, 9am-10am HIIT Class
• Thursday 21 September, 9am-10am Spin Class

Organised by the Health Promotions Unit - PVCESE Wellbeing.

For more SEXtember events, visit here.

Creative Workshop | Tuesday 19 September | 11.30am - 2.30pm | Helen Maguire Lawn (Quad Lawn)

Join us on the quadrangle to make your own single line bead bracelet with colours that symbolize you! Spread positivity and awareness by wearing them throughout the week.

Grab the opportunity to snap a photo in front of our Super Wall.

Picnic setup available, all are welcome to bring snacks and enjoy the sunshine with us!

Organised by UNSW Arts, Design & Architecture (School of Education).

Stall | Tuesday 19 September | 11.00am - 2.00pm | Helen Maguire Lawn (Quad Lawn)

Diversified is a student-led project with the aim to elevate student voice in course design. 

The Diversfied team will be at this stall to: 

• interactively showcase and amplify the recommendations developed by neurodivergent students and the Diversified team in this report.
• identify student priorities and engage neurodivergent students and staff at UNSW who may be interested in being part of a project to develop an inclusive teaching toolkit and resources.
• talk to academics and foster a culture of greater inclusion around neurodivergence across UNSW.

Organised by UNSW Arts, Design & Architecture.

Giveaway | Tuesday 19 September | 12.00 - 1.30pm | Helen Maguire Lawn (Quad Lawn)

Join Arc on the Helen Maguire Lawn (Quad Lawn) for a free cultural food giveaway. Let's come together for a meaningful conversation about the profound connection between food and culture.

Organised by Arc.

Art Service | Tuesday 19 September | 12.30 - 2.30pm | Helen Maguire Lawn (Quad Lawn)

Life is too short for plain palms; let your hands become canvases of cultural artistry.

Join us in celebrating the South Asian art of Henna with BINDI BOSSES. Get adorned with intricate Henna designs while engaging in a thoughtful conversation about the nuances of cultural appreciation versus appropriation.

BINDI BOSSES, a contemporary arts company, is dedicated to amplifying marginalized voices through their culturally progressive work. They seamlessly blend Traditional Indian Classical and Folk dances with influences from South Asian cinema and street dances worldwide, empowering diverse artists to collaborate through dance, costume design, henna art, styling, photography, videography, and more.

This workshop will take place on the Helen Maguire Lawn (Quad Lawn). 

Organised by Arc with support from the Division of Equity Diversity & Inclusion.

Workshop | Tuesday 19 September | 1.30 - 3.00pm | Online

Join the conversation in silence with your fellow peers and learn Australia's official sign language!

Arc is bringing back AUSLAN workshops by popular demand. These workshops are designed to help you communicate effectively with Deaf and hard of hearing individuals. These online sessions will be led by Expression Australia, known experts in services for the Deaf and hard of hearing community.

The journey begins on Tuesday with Deaf Awareness Training (DAT). In this session, you'll gain insights into working and communicating with Deaf individuals. You'll gain strategies and knowledge to foster inclusivity and effective communication. Following your DAT experience, you'll dive into AUSLAN workshops on either Wednesday or Thursday.

Tuesday 19 Sept – Deaf Awareness Training (DAT) @ 1.30PM | Online (All Registrants)

Then, a choice between dates:

Wednesday 20 Sept – AUSLAN Workshop @ 1.30PM | Online

OR

Thursday 21 Sept – AUSLAN Workshop @ 1.30PM | Online

Expression Australia is dedicated to empowering Deaf and hard of hearing individuals, helping them overcome life's challenges and make choices that align with their preferences.

These workshops will take place online via Zoom with a 1:30PM start for all sessions.

Organised by Arc with support from the Division of Equity Diversity & Inclusion.

Workshop | Tuesday 19 September | 12.00 - 2.00pm | Helen Maguire Lawn (Quad Lawn)

Are you a seasoned pro with crochet hooks? Maybe you're the type to be perpetually stuck on WikiHow pages on how to get the basic stitches right?

Regardless of where you sit on the skill spectrum for arts and crafts, join the Joy and Mischief project for a working bee where you can play a part in designing a larger sustainable artwork while picking up new creative skills at your own pace. Don’t stress about what to bring; your enthusiasm and love for nature will be just fine!

The Joy and Mischief project is all about using materials we already have to make beautiful crafts. This craftivist collective is known for hosting local community workshops, and events focused on designing upcycled crafts. At the heart of it, they're set on making social and environmental justice campaigns more accessible, inclusive, vibrant and creative.

This workshop will take place on the Helen Maguire Lawn (Quad Lawn). 

Organised by Arc.

Workshop | Tuesday 19 September | 1-3pm | Helen Maguire Lawn (Quad Lawn)

Join this workshop for your opportunity to paint and decorate a little house for bees to adventure into!

The Producers will share with the UNSW community all there is to learn about how to support the bee populations in the local ecosystem and the benefits of bee hotels, in aid of biodiversity and sustainability. 

Organised by the UNSW Producers, Arc.

Workshop and Stall with Interactive Activity | Tuesday 19 September | 11.00am - 2.00pm | Helen Maguire Lawn (Quad Lawn)

The Student Ambassador Program (SAP) at UNSW aims to empower students, emphasizing the importance of their voice, encouraging self-agency, and promoting co-design and co-production within courses. This initiative highlights the value of diversity and inclusion, both in the academic landscape and in broader university life.

During the event, attendees can expect to:

• Gain insights into the achievements and contributions of student ambassadors. 
• Engage in productive dialogues, offering feedback on what aspects of their courses are working effectively and where improvements can be made.
• Engage with an interactive word cloud generator and take part in an online survey - to feedback on course-specific challenges, propose solutions, and share ideas for enhancing student engagement and inclusivity.
• Learn from BABS course convenors about how the SAP supports students of all backgrounds and abilities and encourages a culture of inclusivity and diversity.
• Discover opportunities to join the SAP.

Organised by UNSW School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences (BABS).

Hula Hooping Event | Tuesday 19 September | 1.00 - 2.00pm | Helen Maguire Lawn (Quad Lawn)

Tried hula hooping lately? Do you think it’s just for kids?

The School of Health Sciences will transform the way you move with this fun, rainbow-packed, music-pumping hula hooping activity on the Helen Macguire (Quad) Lawn. As part of Diversity Festival, we will be celebrating diverse sexualities, sexes and genders whilst promoting physical activity and fun.

Hula hoop is an activity for people of all walks of life - join our experienced hula queen for this fun and interactive session or cheer and dance from the sidelines.

EveryBODY is welcome!

Organised by UNSW Medicine & Health.

Workshop | Tuesday 19 September | 10.00 - 11.30am | MCIC Makerspace (G19)

The MCIC Makerspace is an amazing place where everyone is welcome and anyone can create! We will help you use vector design tools to create a file that can be laser cut! You will walk away with a piece of jewellery or a badge that represents you! This is a chance for you to express yourself.

No experience required!

We want to empower you to to feel confident in the makerspace and hopefully come back to make more awesome things! We promote a safe and inclusive space where all we want is for people to have fun making things together. By seeing what everyone makes we can celebrate both our similarities and our differences. Let's foster people sharing their experiences, identities, and backgrounds!

Organised by MCIC Makerspace, Division of Research & Enterprise.

Workshop | Tuesday 19 September | 2.00 - 4.00pm | Gallery 1, John Niland Scientia Building

In an era where digital resources are the cornerstone of education - further intensified by the Covid-19 pandemic - it is crucial that all students have equal access to learning materials. This includes the 4.4 million Australians living with disabilities, and the 11% of students requiring special educational support. Join this workshop to learn the skills to create accessible digital learning environments, including: 

1. How to identify common accessibility issues and understand their impact on student learning.
2. Step-by-step demonstration and hands-on practice for creating accessible Word, PowerPoint, and PDF documents.

This workshop welcomes everyone. Educators, staff, education designers, and students can all benefit from learning accessibility skills.

Organised by UNSW Business School.

Workshop | Tuesday 19 September | 10am - 3pm | UNSW Library Exhibition Space, Level 5

Crafting Stories of Care is a drop-in workshop run by UNSW Library Artist-in-Residence, Michele Elliot, as part of the exhibition Care is a relationship. Participants will stitch their stories about giving and receiving care to contribute towards the production of an artwork exploring caregiving through craft. Elliot will facilitate the creative session, providing guidance and hands-on instruction - no previous sewing experience is required. The resulting collaborative artwork, titled A Cloak of Care, will evolve over the duration of the exhibition and students can revisit the show to see their story in the tapestry documenting and collecting diverse perspectives.

Organised by UNSW Library.

Live music | Tuesday 19 September | 1 - 2pm | Roundhouse Beer Garden

Join this special edition of Live @ Lunch for a live music performance by Colette Estelle, a professional singer, songwriter and musician based in Sydney, Australia. 

Organised by Arc.

Panel | Thursday 21 September | 5-6.30pm | Galleries, John Niland Scientia building

Join writer and curator Sabina McKenna for a discussion about what it’s like to experience a cultural identity that doesn't match what other people see.

Australia is made up of generations of culturally and linguistically diverse people and home to the oldest continuous Indigenous cultures in the world. Yet stereotypes, historical pressures to assimilate, feelings of internalised racism and racial imposter syndrome are just some reasons, among many, that black and brown people struggle to find a sense of belonging.

What if you identify with more than one culture at home? Or you don’t connect to your parents' ethnic origins at all, because you were raised in another country to them? What does it mean to be part of a diaspora?

How can we find a sense of community and belonging through other people who are like us?

Unpack these questions in a panel discussion with local BIPOC creatives and speakers this Diversity Festival.

Organised by the Division of Equity Diversity & Inclusion.

Seminar and Q&A | Thursday 21 September | 10.00am - 12.00pm | Gallery 2, John Niland Scientia Building

Inclusive Education comprises practices that make teaching and learning more accessible to all students. It is framed by the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) to increase the accessibility of tertiary education to a wider population of students.

UNSW educators who teach inclusively will present their work at this showcase, followed by a Q&A. The showcase is a unique opportunity for the UNSW teaching community and others to learn about different inclusive technologies and practices and how to incorporate them into their teaching and learning to make them more accessible.

Organised by UNSW Arts, Design & Architecture and UNSW Disability Innovation Institute.

Pecha Kucha presentations | Thursday 21 September | 1-2pm | Library Lawn

Intersections between the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) policies and practices are complex. Sustainable development research, education and practices are often scientifically and technologically focused, and may overshadow issues, agencies and impacts associated with equity, diversity and inclusion of communities and environments.

Come and witness Pecha Kucha presentations by 10 UNSW luminaries – ranging from students, postgraduates, academics, professional staff and university leaders – who will demonstrate how their approaches to EDI intersect with the SDGs. Each speaker will have 10 slides and 20 seconds on each slide to make their case, akin to 3-minute thesis presentations on steroids!

UNSW's progress towards and promotion of the SDGs is measured by the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings. By attending this SDGs event, you will be directly contributing to our university’s Impact Rankings!

Organised by UNSW Arts, Design & Architecture.

Film screening and Q&A | Thursday 21 September | 5.00 - 6.30pm | Ritchie Theatre, John Niland Scientia Building 

Directed by Dr. Natalia Ortiz Ceberio and Javier Castro.

About 700 Spanish women arrived in Australia during the early 1960s supported by an informal agreement between the regime of Francisco Franco (1939-1975) and the Australian Government of that time. This agreement was known as the Martha's Plan (El Plan Marta). The women came to Australia with the expectation that they were coming to work as domestic servants when the real intention of the plan was to balance the gender makeup of the mostly male Spanish community in Australia. The agreement was in effect for several years and received the support of the Catholic Church in Spain. These are the stories of some of the brides.

Introduced by Ms Rebeca Chantal GUINEA STAL- Consul-General of Spain

Presenter: Timothy O'Leary, Head of School Humanities and Languages

Film and Q&A with the Director and protagonists.

Organised by UNSW Arts, Design & Architecture (School of Humanities and Languages).

Food Stall | Thursday 21 September | 11am - 2pm | Amphitheater, Canberra campus

Get ready to embark on an epicurean adventure like no other! UNSW Canberra presents the highly anticipated International Food Fete, a celebration of cultures, cuisines, and connections. This is your exclusive invitation to a gastronomic and cultural soirée that will tantalise your taste buds, uplift your spirits, and expand your horizons.

Organised by Arc Canberra.

Workshop | Thursday 21 September | 1-4pm | UNSW Canberra

Art therapy provides us with many benefits. Relaxation and de-stressing, a safe social environment, self-expression and easily accessible for many people to name a few. With this in mind, EDI has teamed up with Marrawuy Journeys Indigenous Art Therapy to offer UNSW CBR students and staff the opportunity to immerse themselves in an afternoon of culture, artistic expression and fun to create their own unique print that will look schmick in your home!

No equipment required. Just bring yourself and a smile!

Organised by UNSW Canberra.

Social Media Campaign | Online, UNSW Culture 

This campaign brings together students from diverse cultural backgrounds to share a simple yet powerful message: their names. In a series of engaging videos, these vibrant voices will introduce their names and cultural backgrounds, share stories, and offer a warm invitation to the audience to join them in embracing cultural diversity. The campaign's central theme is to encourage correct pronunciation while acknowledging the beauty that lies within every name.

You can expect to be moved by the authenticity and pride with which each student introduces themselves. As you watch these videos, you'll experience a sense of connection and unity, realizing that our campus is a vibrant mosaic of identities, languages, and stories.

Organised by UNSW Culture.

Exhibition and Interactive Makerspace | UNSW Library Exhibition Space

How might we care better for ourselves, each other, and the places we hold dear? Care is a relationship is an exhibition that draws from research projects led by the Black Dog Institute, Maridulu Budyari Gumal SPHERE, and UNSW’s 3C (Career Coaching for Carers) program. Each explores different aspects of care, and the social, emotional and environmental relationships at the heart of health and wellbeing. Part exhibition, part interactive makerspace, the project invites audiences to learn about and share all kinds of experiences - from caring for a loved one with dementia, caring for our own and others' mental health, to caring for country in the face of climate collapse.

Showing at UNSW Library Exhibition Space, Level 5, from 4 September to 17 November 2023.

Organised by UNSW Library.

Microscopy Art Exhibition | Foyer space, John Niland Scientia Building 

Come along to "The Illuminators: Scope for Change" microscopy art exhibition to celebrate the beautiful, creative work of a scientifically and culturally diverse group of female microscopists from UNSW and learn about all the different ways we can use microscopy to answer scientific questions and make new discoveries.

We hope that by attending this exhibition you are not only exposed to the world of scientific research, but also see that being a scientist doesn't mean you have to look a certain way.

There will also be an opportunity to vote for your favourite microscopy artwork!

Organised by UNSW Medicine & Health, School of Biomedical Sciences.

Display | Kensington and Paddington Campuses

The UNSW Arts, Design & Architecture Linguistic Diversity Project is designed to explore and understand the linguistic experiences within the faculty. The display aims to present any obstacles that staff from linguistically diverse backgrounds may encounter in their professional life and highlight the contributions made by our multilingual colleagues. It also includes proposed recommendations to the faculty about how linguistically diverse staff can be supported and their contributions acknowledged. 

Staff can view the display in the staff kitchen area of Level 3, Morven Brown Building (C20) on Kensington campus and at the Courtyard on Paddington campus. 

Organised by UNSW Arts, Design & Architecture.