Exhibition “Journeys into Diversity”

In September 2017 we - Noortje van Amsterdam, Emmeline Besamusca, Mary Bouquet and Elena Valbusa - started the project "Making Journeys. Building Blocks for Diversity" funded by Utrecht Stimuleringsfonds Onderwijs. As Utrecht University (UU) teachers and support staff we were intrigued by the ways in which diversity plays out in our everyday work context and in the ways it is perceived and discussed in the UU community at large.

‘Diversity’ is often understood in terms of multiple nationalities, cultures, or ethnicities occupying teaching and learning positions in the classroom. As such, ‘diversity’ seems implicitly to only relate to minorities; for the majority of students, teachers, and support staff at UU, it could generate a sense that “diversity is not about me”.

We carried out a series of workshops, interviews, and creative collaborations with refugee students and their fellow students, in order to grasp how diversity is experienced and lived within the UU community. This research results in an exhibition, a series of workshops, and a report for the late UU Taskforce Diversity.

The exhibition "Journey into Diversity" comprised photos, drawings, videos, objects, and paintings made or brought by refugee students, their fellow students, and teachers. It aimed to make visible and tangible experiences in and around UU education, related to the question: ‘What does diversity mean within UU?’. Visitors were invited to provide their input towards answering this question from their own unique, individual perspective. 

The findings of the research team are available in the English version or Dutch version of the report.