About Us
Diversci is a collective of science engagement professionals advocating to push inclusion, equity, diversity and social justice to the top of the strategic agendas of science engagement organisations so that we no longer fail an important part of our audiences and our co-workers. We aim to harvest the collective experiences, efforts and commitment within our network and beyond. Our group is a self-organised, bottom-up initiative that started after the European science centre and science museum conference (Ecsite) in 2016, following a challenging keynote speech by Liz Rasekoala. In 2019 it was awarded a collaborative grant by Ecsite. Since then, it has supported institutions and individuals driving such changes by providing: structured and specific resources, community and capacity building and advocacy.
We do not claim to have all the answers, and we know this work takes a lot of effort and is never complete. We do, however, share a lot of experience and are honest and committed to inspiring individuals and institutions. We invite them, and you, to join this movement for social justice.
Goals
- To provide criteria to evaluate the status quo, progression and subsequent development towards an institution that embeds equitable practice across all organisational areas.
- To support leadership and staff in initiating the processes of change in organisational cultures and the employment of best practice across equity, diversity and inclusivity.
- To promote practices that nurture an organisation-wide culture of equity, diversity and inclusivity.
- To promote this culture through strategy implementation, content and activities development, partnership searches, staff involvement and access provision.
Mission statement
- We are taking a stand and together we are creating new structures in science centres and science museums. These structures enable the participation of all people, regardless of their background.
- We believe that science is about and for everyone and therefore everyone should be able to access it.
- We believe that equity, diversity and inclusion are values that should be a part of every organisation. They allow both individual and collective development in a fair, balanced and beneficial way.
- We believe in continuously reflective and transparent practices to avoid perpetuating inequalities. We maintain our accountability. We want to implement deep and sustainable approaches.
- We hope to inspire others beyond our own field, and hope that our institutions become examples of inclusive spaces for all.
