Subject: IAU EC WG Astronomy for Equity and Inclusion Newsletter #3 July 2020
IAU Executive Committee Working GroupAstronomy for Equity and Inclusion Newsletter#3 July 2020
1) New IAU EC Working Group Astronomy for Equity and Inclusion SubGroup on Management of Diversity and Inclusion in Large International Collaborations2) “Why the new UN Disability Inclusion Strategy is an opportunity for ITU”3) 30th anniversary of the Americans With Disabilities Act4) Hosting an Online Accessible Meeting: call for best practices references5) Host an accessible meetup with an IAU Astronomer6) AASWomen newsletter7) Relevant Reads Around the Web8) Sub Groups Established9) Subscribe to our Basecamp and join the discussion10) Share your News!
Dear friends,
We want to give a warm welcome to our new subGroup on “Management of Diversity and Inclusion in Large International Collaborations”, led by Prof. Simona Mei and encourage you to join.
In this issue of the IAU EC WG Astronomy for Equity and Inclusion newsletter, we highlight the 30th anniversary of the Americans With Disabilities Act, encourage you to contribute to a call for references in best practices on hosting accessible online meetings and to subscribe to the AASWomen newsletter.
Wishing you all our best,Lina Canas & Amelia Ortiz-Gil
1) New IAU EC Working Group Astronomy for Equity and Inclusion SubGroup on Management of Diversity and Inclusion in Large International Collaborations
Large international collaborations face challenges in management and inclusion of diversity. Each country has its own gender and diversity policies, culture and standards of communication. Often these policies and standards are different, might interact incoherently and can lead to a regression of practices towards minorities that are widely respected in their own countries.
Read more here. You can join this subGroup by reaching out to Simona Mei (simona.mei[at]obspm.fr].
2) “Why the new UN Disability Inclusion Strategy is an opportunity for ITU” article by Catalina Devandas-Aguilar, UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is the United Nations specialized agency for information and communication technologies (ICTs). You can read the full article here: https://news.itu.int/new-un-disability-inclusion-strategy-opportunity-for-itu/
Please find other relevant reads referenced in the article on ICTs and “Accessibility: UN collaborative efforts towards SDGs, CRPD and UNDIS implementation in Digital Accessibility” here. Learn more about the “United Nations Disability Inclusion Strategy” here and the “Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities” here.3) 30th anniversary of the Americans With Disabilities Actarticle by Judith Heumann and John Wodatch, on the New York Times
You can read the full article “We’re 20 Percent of America, and We’re Still Invisible.Disabled Americans are asking for true inclusion” here.
We wish to send a warm thank-you to Mike Simmons for sharing this article with us.4) Hosting an Online Accessible Meeting: call for best practices references
In order to best serve the growing needs of our community in best practices on hosting virtual meetups, talks and conferences, we are collecting relevant references on how to conduct online accessible meetings. Please read some of the suggested links below.
Hosting accessible online meetings, University of Washington https://www.washington.edu/accessibility/online-meetings/How to host an accessible online meeting, AbilityNethttps://abilitynet.org.uk/news-blogs/how-host-accessible-online-meetingHow to Host Effective and Accessible Online Meetings with Deaf Participants, National Deaf Centerhttps://www.nationaldeafcenter.org/news/how-host-effective-and-accessible-online-meetings-deaf-participants Hosting accessible online events, meetings and webinars, Autisticahttps://www.autistica.org.uk/what-is-autism/coronavirus/accessible-online-events
We wish to thank all of those that have been sharing these items with us. We hope to grow this list further and we welcome all contributions you may share with us via astro4inclusion [at] oao.iau.org.
5) Host an accessible meetup with an IAU AstronomerThe IAU Office for Astronomy Outreach is carrying the programme Meet the IAU Astronomers! that bridges IAU-member astronomers to students, astronomy-interest groups or museums through online meetups or talks. We encourage our WGs members to collaborate with Meet the IAU Astronomers! as advisors on how to organise accessible talks.
Read more: https://www.iau.org/public/meettheiauastronomers/
6) AASWomen newsletter
The AASWomen is a weekly electronic publication by the CSWA’s (American Astronomical Society Committee on the Status of Women in Astronomy). It consists of news items, advice solicitations and responses, and job postings relevant to women in astronomy. Relevant contributions and subscriptions to the newsletter can be found here.
7) Relevant Reads Around the Web
Inclusivity for all: How to make your research group accessiblehttps://www.sciencemag.org/features/2020/01/inclusivity-all-how-make-your-research-group-accessible
Too many senior white academics still resist recognizing racismhttps://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-02203-w?WT.ec_id=NATURE-20200730&utm_source=nature_etoc&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20200730&sap-outbound-id=0F63EEB4BCF263B787E4E195B6FFF107E028F8B6
‘First’ Māori astronomy school in the modern era opens in Bay of Plentyhttps://www.nzherald.co.nz/bay-of-plenty-times/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503343&objectid=12347439&fbclid=IwAR3LDsBijTa6O3uaWw8Wk2L-CYf_J1vLtZCJTob-3uHwz8StxfiktoHFDUA
8) Sub Groups Established
The IAU EC WG on Astronomy for Equity and Inclusion sub-groups are subsets of the working group created to focus, both discussions and actions, on the different fields across inclusion. The sub-groups Intend to build upon specific networks within IAU and bring in external expertise, with their members steering and informing the WGs global actions.Identify specific needs in the community and draft courses of action and guidelines, aligned with both the IAU Strategic Plan 2020-2030 and the Springboard of Action leveraging all dimensions of inclusion on research, outreach, education and development.Are in contact and close collaboration with each other through email, basecamp or online meetings, accessing the intersectionality aspects inherent to the field, avoiding duplication of the efforts carried. We would like to invite all of you to join one or more of the subWGs according to your particular interests and expertise. Further information about the subWGs can be found here.9) Subscribe to our Basecamp and join the discussionWe have set up a common Basecamp dedicated to all communications. As we understand that not all tools are 100% accessible we want to offer various channels tailored to our different needs. As all the actions carried by the WG, our suggestions are open for discussion and we intend to involve our members as much as possible. Therefore if you identify any tool that would suit you please kindly let us know and we will try to implement it. You can subscribe to our Basecamp by sending a message to Amelia Ortiz-Gil and Lina Canas with the subject: Inclusion WG Basecamp at astro4inclusion [at] oao.iau.org.10) Share your News!Reach out to us and share news, activities, articles, resources and events from the astronomy community for inclusion around the world. We are looking forward to reading your contributions!
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