Authors: Carina Bossu, Viviane Vladimirschi
Institutions: The Open University, E-connection
Countries: United Kingdom, Brazil
Topic: Global Collaboration, Strategies, & Policies in Open Education
Sector: Higher Education
UNESCO Area of Focus: Inclusive OER
Session Format: Presentation
Abstract
Diversity, inclusion and equity are almost taken-for-granted concepts in the broader context of open education initiatives, projects and practices. How can an Open Education initiative be ‘open’ while also embracing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI)? Are these concepts understood in a similar way across different regions of the world?This paper reports on the second phase of a project that seeks to scope diversity, inclusion and equity in the context of the Global OER Graduate Network (GO-GN). Founded in 2013, GO-GN is a network of PhD candidates around the world whose research projects include a focus on open education (i.e. OER, OEP, MOOC). These doctoral researchers are at the core of the network; around them, over two hundred experts, supervisors, mentors and interested parties connect to form a community of practice.
The first phase of the project took place in 2019, where we started the development of GO-GN DEI strategy, with the support and participation of African stakeholders and experts. This process gave us a great insight of DEI for open education in Africa. During the second phase, we look at understanding these DEI insights from a Latin American perspective and point view.
This paper presents the progress of phase two so far. It discusses some of the impact of the current pandemic on the project, including opportunities and challenges that emerged. We will explore some of the preliminary analysis of phase two and discuss some of the similarities and differences between both phases. We hope that this project will assist better representation from the Global South and Global in GO-GN, and that we have the strategy and implementation tools in place to fulfil our aims in an intercultural, connected and open world.
Keywords
GO-GN, DEI, Diversity equity and inclusion in OE, DEI in Latin America
