THEMES

Theme 1: Dimensions of Diversity
Theme 2: Governing Diversity — Community in a Globalising World
Theme 3: Representing Diversity — The Influences of Global Tourism and the Global Media
Theme 4: Learning Diversity — Education in a World of Difference
Theme 5: Working Diversity — Managing the Culture of Diversity

On each day of the conference, main speakers and and some of the parallel sessions will address one of the following areas:


Diversity Conference 2007, Amsterdam: Themes

  • ‘We’, the people: the possibility of multiple identities?
  • Immigrants, employment and unemployment.
  • Social cohesion and civil society; integration and diversity.
  • ‘Orientation’ to the host society - what is the core of civics?
  • Muslims in Europe.
  • Dimensions of diversity: gender, sexuality, disability.
  • How diversity can be the basis prosperity.
  • Diversity management in organisations and public institutions.
  • Diversity and social mobility.
  • Roles for local government: neighbourhood development and community capacity development.
  • The role of political and other leadership: setting a civic tone.
  • Diversity in urban and big city policy.


Theme 1: Dimensions of Diversity
  • Defining the dimensions of difference — ethnicity, gender, race, socio-economic, indigenous, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability.
  • Locating diversity — individuals, groups, intersections, identity layers, notions of place.
  • Intersections of difference and points of intensity.
  • Identifying the dynamics of diversity — exclusion or inclusion,assimilation or pluralism.
  • Localism, nationalism and globalism.
  • Inequalities: causes, effects and remedies.
  • Social Justice: economics, education and providing access to all.
  • Diversity and homogeneity in theory and practice.
  • The limits of diversity.
  • 'Political correctness' and its critics.
  • Marginalisation: its causes, processes and consequences.
  • Moving beyond the '-isms': racism, sexism, heterosexism, ageism, ableism, nationalism, capitalism, socialism and communism.
  • Cultural history, oral history and cultural 'renaissance': challenges and dilemmas.
  • Democracy and diversity: questions of representation and voice.
  • Between faith and state: religious freedom, intolerance or suppression.
  • Marriage: civil right or religious institution?
  • Globalising medicine: education, research, knowledge, socioeconomic factors, genetics, environmental factors, bio-ethics.
Theme 2: Governing Diversity — Community in a Globalising World
  • Responding to global human movement and its consequences — immigration, asylum seekers, refugees, diasporic communities and settlement.
  • Defining and assuring access to basic human rights: housing, medicine,immigration, food, water.
  • Responding to racism — its representation, causes, effects and remedies.
  • 'The Struggle': civil rights movements and human rights abuses.
  • Developing a public service for a diverse community — towards a civic pluralism.
  • 'Mainstreaming' versus services based on unique cultural identities.
  • First nations and indigenous peoples — strategies for community development.
  • The politics of community leadership — challenges for local government.
  • Truth and reconciliation — examining the past for the sake of the future.
  • The globalisation of human rights and local sovereignty.
  • Environmental justice.
Theme 3: Representing Diversity — The Influences of Global Tourism and the Global Media
  • The 'other country': tourism, culture and difference.
  • Cultural tourism and its consequences.
  • Levels of intervention: the nature of ecotourism.
  • Media representations of diversity and globalisation.
  • Representing the terror wars.
  • Non-English media: from Al Jazeera to Zee TV.
  • The media monoliths: from Hollywood to Bollywood.
  • Local media, community media, national media, transnational media.
  • Indigenous (and non-indigenous) representations of the Indigenous.
Theme 4: Learning Diversity — Education in a World of Difference
  • The civil right to education.
  • Multicultural, cross-cultural, international and global education.
  • Identity, belonging and the cultural conditions of learning.
  • Diversities in the classroom: cultural, gender, (dis)ability.
  • Education for first nations or indigenous peoples.
  • Education across cultural worldviews.
  • 'Mainstream' and 'minority' learning: redefining the terms.
  • Languages learning: 'foreign', ESL, bilingual, multilingual, global.
  • Civil Rights and education.
  • Education of women.
Theme 5: Working Diversity — Managing the Culture of Diversity
  • Managing diversity — what does it mean to talk about 'productive diversity'?
  • Managing and developing a diverse human-resource base.
  • Diversity measures — the future of equal employment opportunity and affirmative action.
  • Beyond legislative and regulatory compliance — disability, harassment,discrimination.
  • Mediation — cultural assumptions and practical outcomes.
  • Developing multicultural policies and practices.
  • Who manages culture? Celebrating differences while maintaining identity.
  • Levelling the playing field: global economics, fair trade,outsourcing, equal opportunity, and coping with global markets.