On 26 July, the first online meeting of the Erasmus+ BIP Programme Training Staff Week “The Challenges of Inclusion in Europe: The Contribution of Jesuit Higher Education” took place.
Twenty participants from the University of Namur, Universidad Loyola, Newman Institute, Akademia Ignatianum Kraków, ICAM, University of Deusto, Saint Joseph University Beirut, Jesuit Worldwide Learning (JWL), and the Faculty of Social Sciences of the Universidade Católica Portuguesa attended the meeting.
The event is part of the virtual component of the BIP training programme, which will have its in-person piece in Namur from the 2nd to the 6th of July.
The meeting aimed to have a preliminary discussion on diversity in Jesuit HEI, preparing the sessions, and exchanging best practices in Namur.
Isabella Fontana, International Relations Director of the University of Namur, pointed out that “approaches to inclusion and diversity are often superficial”. Thus, she highlighted the three main objectives of the BIP Programme to avoid this shallow reflection: first, deepen the knowledge about diversity and inclusion by inviting experts on the matter; secondly, become more aware of our bias; and in third place, share information and good practices from each institution.
A second online meeting will be held on 20 June 2023.