Launch of the ALBA Declaration on Equity and Inclusion
© 2021 EPFL
The ALBA Network has launched the Declaration on Equity and Inclusion during a special virtual event on Tuesday 12th January 2021 on the occasion of the SfN Global Connectome. Prof Carmen Sandi, Chair of the ALBA Network and FENS immediate Past President, introduced the ALBA Network, its mission and its activities.
An international group of brain scientists has launched the ALBA Declaration on Equity and Inclusion. More than 100 major international scientific institutions have endorsed the Declaration, which aims to raise awareness and provide a concrete set of actions that individuals and scientific institutions can commit to in order to make their organizations more equitable and inclusive.
Created in 2018, the ALBA Network is committed to promoting equity and diversity in brain sciences. ALBA provides a global network for sharing best practices and providing better visibility, networking and mentoring opportunities to scientists from underrepresented groups.
As a major step forward to promote a fair and inclusive research community, the ALBA Network is proud to present to the neuroscientific community the ALBA Declaration on Equity and Inclusion. The ALBA Declaration aims to raise awareness of challenges faced by underrepresented groups in science and academia and to provide a concrete set of actions that individuals and institutions can commit to in order to make their organisations and research communities at large more inclusive.
Including collective feedback from dozens of organisations, the Declaration focuses specifically on overcoming two specific barriers to equity: implicit biases and workplace cultures.
More than 110 major scientific organizations from across the globe such as The Federation of European Neuroscience Societies (FENS), the International Brain Research Organization (IBRO), UCL, the European Brain Council (EBC), the FENSWKavli Network of Excellence (FKNE), Black in Neuro, several Max Planck Institutes, the EPFL Brain Mind Institute, Carney Institute for Brain Science at Brown University, and the Champalimaud Foundation, have already endorsed the ALBA Declaration. Institutions and individuals from around the world are encouraged to indicate their support by signing the Declaration.
Prof Carmen Sandi, Chair of the Network, on the Declaration: "This Declaration represents the backbone of ALBA's mission. We hope it will be a valuable instrument to help institutions and individuals implement key steps, to eventually ensure that all scientists have equal opportunities to thrive."
For more information, please visit the ALBA Network website: www.alba.network/declaration