Empowerment @ UniBE: Connect – Recharge – Transform

Safer and braver spaces for university members with experiences of racism

Empowerment @ UniBE offers safer and supportive spaces for university members (staff and students) with experiences of racism. The program enables exchange, self-empowerment, visibility, networking and community building.

The Program includes community gatherings as well as workshops and sessions for deeper thematic engagement. Participation is voluntary and flexible, you decide how many events you attend. What matters most is caring for one another and creating a respectful, mindful and responsible environment.

We are aware that even spaces like Empowerment @ UniBE are not entirely free from power dynamics that can perpetuate intersectional discrimination. Still, our goal is to include as many perspectives and voices as possible and to continuously improve the program.

Events

Empowerment means actively exercising, cultivating, and using our strength and self-determination, both individually and collectively. Across six meetings throughout the year, we will focus on strengthening personal resources and well-being, sharing experiences and perspectives, and building community within the university.

The Empowerment-Series are open exclusively to all university members who experience racism (prejudice, exclusion, or disadvantage due to skin color, ethnicity, religion, nationality, migration experience, or legal status). If you are unsure, please feel free to contact us.

• Thursday, 15 January 2026
  Community-Building Lunch
• Thursday, 5 March 2026
  Self-Care Workshop and Community-building 
• Thursday, 7 May 2026
  Community Gathering: Forest bathing (Shinrin Yoku) – mindfulness walk in the forest with the community 
• Thursday, 25 June 2026
  Community Gathering
• Thursday, 24 September 2026
  Racial healing and transformation Workshop
• Thursday, 12 November 2026
  Community Gathering