What is diversity? What does it mean to the individual? What does it mean for the collective? How is it constructed? How diversity is viewed and understood is, in itself, diverse. Every November, the Institute celebrates diversity, taking a deeper look into its different facets.
MESSAGE FROM AISHWARYA TENDOLKAR, GISA PRESIDENT
“When you try finding your unique identity and voice amid a chaos of other voices, you know what diversity looks like. Letting other voices silence us, and forcing us to adopt new identities is the reality of today.
Diversity is about taking the myriad of experiences, cultures, sexualities, religions, nationalities, and everything that is making of ‘us’ and giving it a space of its own. Our differences are what makes us stand out, and finding a space to learn and adapt to these differences is what shapes humankind; it is what makes us inclusive.
Diversity Month is a celebration of these unique identities, voices, and experiences that may be lived realities for some, but shocking revelations and a learning point for others. It is about acknowledging each other, and learning to grow from each other. The events in this month offer a stepping stone to enter a world of being more inclusive, and kinder to one another.
Let’s view the Graduate Institute’s Diversity Month as a ‘working month’, to imagine and reimagine how our spaces can be more inclusive."
Click here for GISA’s student-led events calendar. Please participate if you are faculty and staff.
Top header image credit: Mural by Keith Haring
