Equal treatment as a principle and as a practice is often discussed in the context of minorities. The emphasis has been on the integration of foreigners and providing a more fair starting point to individuals who might fall under the category of a ‘vulnerable group.’ However, equal treatment does not always circle minorities and assure either equality or equity. It is as much linked with majority groups as with minority groups. Furthermore, equal treatment is not always equal to all the individuals involved. It can cause more harm than good in the short- and long-term whether we keep in mind the wellbeing of individuals, their connection with the local government or the state, or providing constant wind for the propaganda mills of populists or extremists.
Objective
This winter school focuses on opportunities and difficulties in providing equality and equity in contemporary Europe, focusing on the states of ENLIGHT universities. The design of the course follows the understanding that to comprehend a challenging system, for instance, climate, you must learn about the system from different perspectives. Moreover, only through thorough understanding, there will be some hope to provide sustainable solutions for its problems. Therefore, students can learn various aspects of the issues related to equity and equality through case studies, experiences of practitioners, and studies of researchers, and slowly try to create their system without the problems we are facing today. Education and medicine are two systems that a big part of the population is in contact with, whether they originate from a majority or minority group(s). Because of that, they are taken as example systems to provide context for discussions.
The interactive winter school contains keynote speeches, panel discussions between experts from ENLIGHT universities and participating students, and group works where participants are solving real-life problems. It especially focuses on creating systems, organizations, and programmes where equity and equality are cornerstones.
In the end of the programme, the participant:
- understands the phenomena of equity
- understands the phenomena of equality
- understand the difference between the named phenomena
- is aware of how equal treatment can be practiced in medicine
- is aware of how equal treatment can be practiced in education
- has an overview of how to create an organization, programme, or system where equity and equality are practiced at every step of the way
Participation
A 5-day winter school involves requiered and additional reading materials, preparative tasks, keynote speeches, panels, and group works. At the end of the course, each group will present their work. Up to 2 weeks after the winter school (deadline the 3th of December), students must submit a reflective essay (4000 words) about the theoretical frameworks, case studies, examples, and discussions that they experienced and what they will take along from the winter school.
The organizer will provide certificates of attendance to all those who participate during the full program and 3 ECTS. Please contact your programme manager prior to registration to see whether the credits are transferable to your programme.
Participants should sign up before October 31th. The participation is limited up to 50 students.