Collaborative Futures Academy 2023: Ethics and Equity in Engagement - Review
How can we strive for a more inclusive, equitable and ethical engagement practice? What skills, attributes and structures do we need? And how can we cultivate a wider culture of care and support in our field?
These were some of the questions at the centre of the Collaborative Futures Academy 2023. Over 80 participants, contributors and partners from 19 countries came together in May to reflect, share and learn in a supportive online space.
Our shared Engagement Landscape
During the Academy we worked with artist Ellie Shipman and the metaphors of maps and landscapes to visualise our collective engagement experience. Based on individual and group explorations, Ellie has created a shared map, with landmarks and features that resonated within the group.
Art & Illustration: @ellieshipman
From Values to Everyday Practice
Through a wide range of sessions, from expert conversations and workshops to peer learning sets, the group collectively interrogated different dimensions of ethics and equity. These included
- the individual values and commitments we bring to our practice
- meaningful processes for inclusion and dialogue at different scales
- possibilities for mutual support and allyship in the face of systemic injustice
Across the weeks, the power of personal stories, the need for resilience and care, and the importance of ethics as an everyday practice stood out. The experiences in the group reiterated the common challenges faced by engagers in different parts of the world - but also highlighted crucial differences related to systemic biases.
Take a look back at the Programme:
About CFA
The Collaborative Futures Academy is an annual intensive programme for researchers who are looking to deepen their engagement practice. It works with cohort learning model based on a diverse group of participants from different disciplinary, institutional and cultural contexts. Each year has a unique theme which acts as a shared lens for reflection and development. The programme seeks to provide a space to pause and exchange, and to find new pathways and skills to nurture Public Engagement with research. It specifically invites researchers with previous experience in Public Engagement, Science Communication, participatory research and related fields. Prefrence is given to those with fewer training and professional development opportunities.
The next Academy will take place in Spring 2024.
About the Hosts
CFA is a collaboration between the Berlin School of Public Engagement and Open Science at the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin, the University of Cambridge Public Engagement team, Stellenbosch University, the Kavli Centre for Ethics, Science and the Public and Wellcome Connecting Science.
