Transforming Educational Spaces: Confronting Racism, Embedding Intersectionality
A collaborative project within the framework of the program «Equité - Promouvoir l’égalité, la diversité et l’inclusion à tous les niveaux des hautes écoles» (2025-2028) by swissuniversities
Abstract
The project Transforming Educational Spaces: Confronting Racism, Embedding Intersectionality promotes equal opportunities in Swiss universities by developing systematic approaches to combating racism and embedding intersectionality (the interconnectedness of racism with other forms of discrimination and exclusion, such as sexism, homophobia, classism, and ableism) into teaching and everyday academic life. At its centre is the engagement with historical and contemporary dimensions of racism as well as the practical implementation of inclusive education strategies. Thereby, particular emphasis is placed on the historical contextualization of racist structures and the role of universities in their perpetuation. Following an internal preparatory workshop in the fall of 2025, a conference will take place in the spring of 2026, featuring five expert presentations and a concluding panel discussion. The securing and sustainable anchoring of the results occurs through the reprocessing of the contents via podcasts, videos, and a booklet, which are available long-term to universities on the Gender Campus. The materials are easily accessible, provided with explanatory content, and broadly applicable in academic teaching. This ensures that the insights gained, and the strategies developed will remain effective beyond the project duration.
Participating institutions
- Universität Bern
Interdisziplinäres Zentrum für Geschlechterforschung (IZFG)
Gender Campus
(Leading house) - Universität Luzern
Seminar für Kulturwissenschaften und Wissenschaftsforschung - Haute école spécialisée de Suisse occidentale HES-SO
Haute école de travail social - Genève
Centre de recherches sociales (CERES) - Fachhochschule Nordwestschweiz FHNW
Pädagogische Hochschule
Fachstelle Gleichstellung und Diversity &
Institut Forschung und Entwicklung - Berner Fachhochschule BFH
Departement Soziale Arbeit
Abteilung Soziale Systeme