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UNESCO Chair on Diversity and Inclusion in Global Science


November 9th, 2022

UNESCO Chair Logo

The Centre for Science and Technology Studies (CWTS) at Leiden University is delighted to announce the establishment of a UNESCO Chair on Diversity and Inclusion in Global Science. The goal of the chair is to reinforce and develop expertise on fostering pluralism in scientific topics, broadening participation in science and to widening the social distribution of the benefits from scientific advances.

The focus on the diversity and inclusion from a global perspective is fully aligned with UNESCO’s recent commitments on science, the 2017 Recommendation on Science and Scientific Researchers and the 2021 Recommendation on Open Science. These stress the understanding of science as a common good and the right of all humankind to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress and its applications.

Together with the UNESCO and partner organisations in various continents, the Chair aims to carry out research projects and to organise science policy meetings and training events that explore how to:

  • Develop qualitative and quantitative methods, tools and processes for monitoring diversity and inclusion
  • Support the adoption of appropriate evaluations of diversity and inclusion across a variety of contexts in particular in career development and co-production processes
  • Foster development of more inclusive scholarly communication, including infrastructures, so as to broaden access and pluralise visibility
  • Gain understanding on the relationship between diversity and inclusion, and the contributions of science to wellbeing and sustainable development.

The UNESCO Chair group is led by Ismael Rafols. Ingeborg Meijer leads policy-oriented efforts for monitoring inclusion, and Rodrigo Costas leads the development of a multi-perspective observatory of scholarly communication with an emphasis on diversity and pluralism.

Kathleen Ferrier, Chair of the Netherlands Commission for UNESCO, says: "Working toward a scientific practice that is more diverse and more inclusive is a priority to the Netherlands Commission for UNESCO. We look forward to supporting the Chair in realizing its ambitious agenda."

Sarah de Rijcke, scientific director of CWTS, adds: "UNESCO plays a crucial role in the global research system. We see strong synergies between the strategic vision developed by UNESCO, for instance in its recent Open Science Recommendation, and the mission of our centre. We are proud to contribute to the work of UNESCO through the newly established Chair."

For more information about the Chair, read this blog post on Leiden Madtrics by Ismael Rafols, Ingeborg Meijer, and Rodrigo Costas.

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