Diversity and Social Justice at the School of Design, Film and Art

^{Learn more at: Social Justice und Radical Diversity}

Our Diversity Team at the School of Design, Film and Art consists of Maher Akraa (Research Associate), Phila Bergmann (Lecturer), Anna Bessler (Head of Project, Dean’s Office) and Annalisa Rompietti (Student Associate).

If you have questions or want to talk about diversity, equity or discrimination, get in touch with us via diversity.dfk@hslu.ch.
We will be happy to offer advice and help you find additional resources. In addition to providing counselling services, our aim is to promote an anti-discriminatory understanding of diversity at the School of Design, Film and Art.

Diversity

Diversity means variety, being radically different, the distinctness of individual people and the heterogeneity of people overall. Diversity denotes that people are different: people think differently, one person’s feelings don’t match what others feel, people eat different things, and they learn, sit, play, and grieve in different ways.  

Above and beyond

The concept of anti-discriminatory diversity goes beyond simply describing what constitutes human diversity. Diversity is not about “enrichment”, not a resource to exploit with a view to enhancing productivity. Radical diversity revolves around the questions of why some people experience structural discrimination while others enjoy privileges. Structural discrimination refers to different layers of personal, institutional and cultural discrimination that intermesh and exacerbate each other’s effects.

Anti-discriminatory diversity shines a light on the social realities of structural discrimination that emerge from the interplay of power dynamics and relations. It also challenges existing political and economic structures and their role in creating realities that engender discrimination.

Anti-discriminatory diversity goes beyond mere analysis, critique and rejecting any form of discrimination — it asks you to take an active role.
^{Source: Praxishandbuch, Social Justice und Diversity. Theorien, Training, Methoden, Übungen. Leah Carola Czollek, Gudrun Perko, Corinne Kaszner, Max Czollek.}

^{Diversity Reader at the Library of the Llucerne School of Design, Film and Art Shelfmark 215 Diversity}

Fields of action

We, the Diversity team of the Lucerne School of Design, Film and Art, are working towards eradicating discrimination in as many areas as we can. We have identified two main fields of action:

1. A strategic review of the university’s structure and that of its constituent units (e.g., regulations, codes of conduct, processes, access, etc.)
2. Promoting in house-training for members of the School of Design, Film and Art through talks and workshops. Here, the focus is on learning to identify privileges, dealing with instances of discrimination, and on understanding the root causes.

Goals

1. Equal access for prospective students
2. Equal access for prospective employees
3. All members of the School of Design, Film and Art know where to turn if they have experienced discrimination and they feel empowered and motivated to take an active role in shaping the School.

We commit to using every chance to help raise awareness for the topic and to make our School more diverse. We keep each other in the loop both within the School and across the HSLU, and through the Diversity Group. The latter provides a space for members of the School wishing to stand together against discrimination and to promote diversity.

We are on track and always pleased to welcome new allies! 
The meetings of the Diversity Group are open to all students and employees of the Lucerne School of Design, Film and Art. It is a venue to exchange observations, experiences and ideas and to offer mutual support. The group typically meets twice a semester. We publish the dates on this website and notify you via email and on the Teams channel.

^{Illustrations: Nali Rompietti Illustration}