The University is committed to promoting equality, diversity, and inclusion in all its activities, and to creating a working and study environment that is free from all forms of discrimination, harassment and victimisation prohibited by the Equality Act 2010.
A range of equality, diversity, and inclusion training opportunities are available to ensure Northumbria’s staff have the knowledge and tools to feel empowered in building a truly inclusive community.
All University colleagues are required to complete Northumbria University’s online Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Training. The module introduces the staff to the key principles of equality, inclusion and diversity, and explains the potential impact of bias and the ways we can mitigate against it. It also covers the key legislation and its implications, our rights and responsibilities, and guidelines for ensuring that equality, diversity, and inclusion are embedded in our community.
Other more comprehensive EDI- related training courses for staff and students include ‘Active Bystander’, 'Allyship', ‘Understanding Race Bias’, and 'Understanding and Tackling Gender Bias' and 'Inclusion Essentials'.
Colleagues are able to take advantage of awareness, learning and development opportunities across the year. Access is available on the staff intranet.
NU EDI Conference 2024
Northumbria hosted its inaugural EDI conference on Wednesday 5 June 2024 which was attended by around 200 colleagues and students.
The intention of the conference was to showcase the intersectional and interdisciplinary approaches the Northumbria community takes to ensuring the University is an inclusive place to work and study. Eager to facilitate a day that had been crafted by the voices of our community, the EDI team were delighted to receive so many expressions of interest to contribute and were happy to be able to offer the opportunity to be part of the conference to all those who reached out.
The conference featured a variety of key-note speakers, workshops, presentations, seminars, and a project library and initiative showcase. To enable sharing of knowledge and learning to those unable to attend, a selection of recordings, slides and posters are provided within a dedicated conference webpage.
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Calendar 24-25
Our list highlights day, weeks and months of note that will be marked/observed by the EDI Team at Northumbria this year. This calendar is updated annually and as such the dates included may differ based on our annual plans and our colleague requests, further activities and events may also be added throughout the academic year. Many days and weeks of note change year to year, and some may be observed at different times across the world, please let us know if you have any queries about any of those identified on the list below. This list does not include any dates of religious significance or religious festivals, instead we would encourage you to visit the Gateshead Council Multifaith Calendar, for a comprehensive and up-to-date list of religious festivals.
- Monday 23 – Sunday 29 September: National Inclusion Week
- Monday 23 September: Bi Visibility Day
- Tuesday 1 - Thursday 31 October: Black History Month
- Tuesday 1 October: International Day of Older Persons
- Thursday 10 October: World Sight Day
- Friday 11 October: Coming Out Day
- Saturday 12 - Saturday 19 October: Hate Crime Awareness Week
- Friday 18 October: World Menopause Day
- Sunday 20 - Saturday 26 October: Invisible Disabilities Week
- Monday 21 - Sunday 27 October: National Adoption Week
- Wednesday 13 - Tuesday 19 November: Trans Awareness Week
- Thursday 14 November – Friday 20 December: Disability History Month
- Tuesday 19 November: International Men's Day
- Monday 25 November - Wednesday 10 December: 16 Days of Activism against Gender Based Violence
- Sunday 1 December: World AIDS Day
- Tuesday 3 December: UN International Day of Persons with Disabilities
- Monday 27 January: Holocaust Memorial Day
- Saturday 1 – Friday 28 February: LGBT+ History Month
- Monday 3 – Sunday 9 February: Race Equality Week
- Monday 17 - Sunday 23 March: Neurodiversity Celebration Week
- Saturday 8 March: International Women's Day
- Friday 21 March: International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
- Monday 31 March: International Day of Trans Visibility
- Wednesday 2 - Tuesday 9 April: Autism Acceptance Week
- Monday 5 - Sunday 11 May: Deaf Awareness Week
- Wednesday 14 May: National Day for Staff Networks
- Thursday 15 May: Global Accessibility Awareness Day
- Saturday 17 May: International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia
- Sunday 1 – Monday 30 June: LGBTQ+ Pride Month
- Sunday 1 – Monday 30 June: GRT History Month
- Friday 20 June: World Refugee Day
- Tuesday 1 - Thursday 31 July: Disability Pride Month
