UQ Diversity Week 2010 planning underway

Globalisation will come under the spotlight during The University of Queensland’s eighth annual Diversity Week celebrations, to be held this year from May 24-28.

The theme of Diversity Week 2010 will be Our Global Community.

UQ Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Michael Keniger said that any focus by the University community on the benefits of globalisation would inevitably highlight and celebrate the cultural diversity of students, staff, alumni and partners.

“This is an apt theme for Diversity Week during UQ’s Centenary, because international students, staff and alumni helped shape the University and its achievements during its first century.

“Almost 9000 of our 40,000 students are international, hailing from more than 120 countries, and the network of almost 180,000 UQ alumni stretches around the globe.

“Now, as we start the second century, a key aim of the University is to share the benefits of learning and discovery with international communities,” Professor Keniger said.

UQ was the first Australian university to hold a week to celebrate and raise awareness of the diversity of its own people and broader communities.

Each year, students and staff are encouraged to organise events and other activities, and the University invites widespread community participation.

Diversity Week 2010 will generate discussion around the potential directions of globalisation and its impacts on a multicultural university and society.

A highlight will be the Vice-Chancellor’s Equity and Diversity Awards on May 27.

This will feature guest panellists discussing the topic Our Global Community — reflections and predictions — and will be followed by cocktails. This is a free event for UQ staff, students and the public.

People interested in attending the Vice Chancellor’s Equity and Diversity Awards can register at http://www.uq.edu.au/diversity-week/index.html or contact diversityweek@uq.edu.au.

Media: Jan King at UQ Communications (07 33651120)