How can we engage with the concepts of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI)?
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As citizen observatories continue to make important contributions to environmental monitoring and governance, it is crucial to embed equity, diversity, and inclusion into their fabric, such that the collaborative and participatory practices of COs can achieve long-lasting and sustainable outcomes that benefit all of society.
Equity
Unlike equality that limits itself to providing the same access to resources and opportunities to people, equity seeks to address the barriers that some people or groups face which impedes them of making use of the same resources and opportunities. Equity lies at the heart of building a fair and just society. Citizen observatories can promote equity by ensuring diverse groups have equal access to participation opportunities, resources, and benefits. To achieve this, observatories should actively seek to facilitate the engagement of diverse communities, including marginalised and vulnerable groups. Collaboration with community-based organizations, grassroots movements, and local leaders can help identify and address barriers to participation. Furthermore, the co-design of projects and the integration of diverse perspectives in decision-making processes can ensure that the outcomes reflect the needs and aspirations of all stakeholders.
Diversity
Diversity refers to the inclusion and recognition of different perspectives, knowledge systems, and experiences. Citizen observatories can embrace diversity by encouraging the involvement of individuals from various socio-cultural backgrounds, age groups, genders, ethnicities, and abilities. Efforts should be made to create inclusive spaces where participants feel safe and respected. By adopting flexible and inclusive activities, citizen observatories can tap into the wealth of local knowledge and enhance the quality and relevance of the data collected. Moreover, collaboration with diverse stakeholders can foster interdisciplinary approaches, enriching the understanding and interpretation of environmental issues.
Inclusion
Inclusion involves creating an environment where everyone feels valued, heard, and actively engaged. Citizen observatories can promote inclusion by adopting participatory methodologies that empower people to co-create and co-govern projects. Emphasizing transparent and accessible communication channels can facilitate the exchange of ideas and ensure that information is disseminated in a manner that is understandable and relevant to diverse audiences. Building capacity and providing training opportunities can enable individuals from marginalised and vulnerable communities to actively contribute to monitoring efforts, data analysis, and decision-making processes.
Benefits of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
By actively engaging with equity, diversity, and inclusion, citizen observatories can reap numerous benefits. Firstly, they can enhance the quality and reliability of data by capturing a broader range of perspectives and knowledge systems. This inclusive approach can uncover unique insights, improve the accuracy of findings, and inform more robust decision-making. Additionally, citizen observatories can foster social cohesion by facilitating interactions between diverse groups, promoting dialogue, and fostering mutual understanding. For example, inviting local residents from diverse backgrounds to co-facilitate the trainings and workshops were found by Rickenbacker et al. (2019) to be crucial in promoting environmental justice among peers and empower participants. In addition, according to Turbridy et al. (2022), there are important issues surrounding the measurement and production of knowledge about air pollution that directly connects with inequality and power.
Start by seeking local groups or communities in your location who are active on the themes of EDI, who you can engage with for insights and collaboration.
✓ Seek local groups or Communities of Practice (CoP) in your city, location, or country to join where you can share ideas and learn about these topics.
✓ Seek international/global CoPs that you might want to join, such as the , the , the , or the .
Prepare your CO and team for EDI practices.
✓ Organise a CO and team meeting to have structured conversations on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion through workshops.
✓ Select an online MOOC or video workshop to watch together as a team, such as the GlobeScape “Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) in Science Communication” workshop listed in the resources below. [N.B. This section is a work-in-progress where more videos and MOOC materials will be referred to]
✓ Place equity and inclusion at the heart of your communication and engagement strategy and setting clear strategic priorities for overcoming structural inequalities when planning activities.
✓ Use the concept of centering racial equity to advance the CO strategy, build understanding, strengthen relationships, and support in reaching collective goals.
Examples (in resources):
The Diversci Spark Self Evaluation Workshop
The GlobeScape “Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) in Science Communication” workshop
The DiverSci EDI Strategy Development Checklist
Racial Equity Toolkit
(Not yet identified)
WORKSHOP: The GlobeScape “Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) in Science Communication” workshop is intended to be an opportunity for science communicators from different regions of the world to see how issues of justice, equity, diversity and inclusion can factor into their practices. This resource has formed the basis of our own LNOB Workshop slide-deck, adjusted to the context of Citizen Observatories and their activities rather than that of Science Communicators (as described in Section 1.1.). The original source material contains workshop templates to augment the workshop slides, and a complete filmed version of the workshop that can thus be followed online in one's own time.
COMMUNITY: The Diversci Community of Practice (CoP) provides opportunities for peers to share both good practice and failed attempts through a participative dynamic, in which everyone is welcome. The CoP meets regularly in an informal and open setting, discussing and sharing ideas, point of views and testimonies that allow each of the participants to find their own approach to an equitable, diverse and inclusive organisation. .
COMMUNITY: The Partos Platform Leave No One Behind from PARTOS consists of organisations and actors in the field of development cooperation. They develop, share and promote knowledge, innovative solutions and policies that contribute to ending poverty and exclusion. The Platform meets regularly to discuss several issues related to the topic Leave No One Behind. .
COMMUNITY: The CoP on Inclusive Communication from PARTOS is a community where participants can explore ways to make communication work more ethical, inclusive and equitable in all senses. Members and partners can explore the impact and value of inclusive communications relative to their vision, mission, goals, relations and target audiences, as well as concerning the sector through various activities. .
CHECKLIST: The DiverSci EDI Strategy Development Checklist consists of strategy indicators of progress in the organisation to place equity and inclusion at the heart of the organisation's strategy. It also contains direct actions that you can take with respect to your strategy and several resources for more in-depth reading.
TOOLKIT: The Racial Equity Toolkit is designed to support backbone staff and partners to operationalize racial equity throughout their collective impact work. Through a mix of personal reflection exercises, conversations, and activities, this toolkit will help teams explore how centering racial equity can advance their strategies, build understanding, strengthen relationships, and support in reaching their collective goals. Please note that the website requires sign-up. .
TOOLKIT: Bond's Anti-racism and decolonising. A framework for organisations. This framework maps out how racism cuts across all areas of our organisations and shows the necessity of an anti-racist and holistic approach to decolonising our organisations to create a fairer, more equitable and racially just sector.
TOOL: The DiverSci First Aid Kit. This short guide offers a quick fix for situations that have been encountered frequently: Do you need help right now? Where to start? How to convince your team on diversity and inclusivity?
WORKSHOP: The DiverSci Spark Self Evaluation Workshop is a tool for collective reflection and internal evaluation. It helps organisations to have structured, yet difficult conversations on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion and to measure their institutional knowledge and practices regarding social justice. Spark is not just a self-evaluation tool: it is a means to committing to and implementing change. .
Bond. (2023). Anti-racism and decolonizing. A framework for organisations.
Chase, J., Russo, P., Roche, J. (2023). GlobalScape Workshop Materials: Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) in Science Communication.
Collective Impact Forum. (2023). Racial Equity Toolkit. (Requires sign-up)
Diversci. (n.d.).First Aid Kit. Diversci.
Diversci. (n.d.). Our Community. Diversci.
Diversci. (n.d.). Spark Evaluation Workshop. Diversci.
Diversci. (n.d.). Strategy: Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Indicators in your organisation (checklist). Diversci.
Partos. (n.d.). Community of Practice on Inclusive Communication. Partos.
Partos. (n.d.). Leave No One Behind Platform. Partos.