DI4ES @ICAR ‘23: Diversity & Inclusion for Excellence in Science
DI4ES panelists
June 8, 2023 at ICAR 2023-Chiba (also shown: NAASC member Mentewab Ayalew)
About 150 participants at ICAR 2023 (Japan) attended the recent panel discussion organized by NAASC with colleagues from the UK &Japan.
Moderated by Dr. Keiko Torii (USA & Japan), the objective of the panel was to talk about how Diversity & Inclusion in science and academia is viewed in various parts of the world. Panelists were from the United States (Terri Long, Keith Slotkin, Andrea Ramirez), the United Kingdom (Yoselin Benitez-Alfonso), Argentina (Gaby Auge) and Japan (Kanako Bessho-Uehara, Hironaka Tsukagoshi).
Panelists reflected on how their governments aided or interfered with Diversity & Inclusion efforts, how D&I is affected by political climates, and the best approaches to encourage D&I.
Many audience members shared their views of efforts in their respective countries including actions that were successful.
Some shared thoughts were:
Sharing stories of our lives with each other- beyond our science- is a highly effective way to bring diverse community members together
There must be efforts made by ALL people to support D&I and inclusion and belonging- not just by those that themselves have been excluded
Specific actions- beyond talking & sharing- are essential
Top-down initiatives- such as by funders or by Universities or governments- are needed to advance more quickly
We must highlight how DIVERSE communities BENEFIT innovation and we won’t solve societal challenges without contributions by diverse members of our community
