- Employee , Student
- 04/10/2022
Diversity Week kicks off: breakfast with strangers
Diversity Week, which takes place between October 4 and 11, kicked off early this morning with a breakfast in Atlas. Some fifty people sat down for croissants, coffee and a talk with strangers. Because that was a condition: sit down at a table with someone you’ve never met before. Visitors were welcomed by Eva de Bruijn, TU/e alumna and current chair of Groenlinks in the Eindhoven municipality, and TU/e’s diversity officer Lara Hofstra.
“It’s good to find out where your own perspectives come from, and what the perspectives of other people are,” De Bruijn tells her listeners. There are coins on the tables with symbols on them, which De Bruijn uses to start conversations with under her supervision. “What does success mean to you? When did you feel not represented at TU/e? And how do you define inclusivity?” There isn’t enough time for everyone to tell their full story, but the first steps have been taken.
The breakfast ended with a giant diversity cake made by students from Summa College, the first slice of which was cut by TU/e’s executive board president Robert-Jan Smits. Perhaps not the best way to conclude a full breakfast, but the Summa College students, accompanied by a few TU/e students, will walk across campus later this morning and early in the afternoon to give as many people as possible a taste of their colorful vegan cake.
Conversation
Organizer Lara Hofstra looks back on Diversity Week’s first activity with satisfaction: “It’s nice to see people engage in a conversation this way. And we will continue with this. All those who were present this morning will receive an email inviting them to continue the conversation. But we also hope to welcome new people.”
Still, people aren’t necessarily moved by the games, no matter how useful these are to get a conversation started. The first assignment, whereby by people are asked to choose a photograph taken during the past week that has great meaning to them, instantly offers greater insight into other people’s lives. People who had never met until this morning are no longer strangers to each other. And that seems to be the message of Diversity Week: engage in a conversation. It takes an effort to understand one another.
Did you miss the breakfast, but would you like to learn more about the topic? Several other activities regarding this topic will take place throughout the week.
Discussion