Promoting Diversity and Inclusion at the 2024 SEFI Annual Conference

Last December, Joelyn de Lima (Pedagogical Advisor) and Siara Isaac (Scientist), both members of the Center LEARN, surveyed over 120 researchers from around the world to guide the implementation of initiatives aimed at supporting these values and mitigating systemic barriers that hinder access to this type of conference for certain groups or individuals.

Joelyn has propelled this project, by conducting the literature review that informed this data collection, drawing inspiration from measures taken by EPFL to become a more inclusive institution, and relying on her own personal experience.

"We asked participants from previous years what barriers they had encountered during the submission process or when registering. No specific barrier stood out; we did not identify huge issues. However, we found that people felt the conference was not entirely representative of the diversity of the community that we’re serving. We had to seize the opportunity to organize this edition on our campus to push these efforts a little further," explains Siara Isaac.

As a result, a series of initiatives have been rolled out for the 2024 SEFI Annual Conference, including a scholarship for early-career students or researchers, sponsored childcare, "inclusion ribbons" to create a visible support network during the conference, morning wellness activities, and a training breakfast for allies.

"It was really important for me not only to put these initiatives in place but to demonstrate that there is indeed a need for these initiatives. The community has been very lovely; we’ve got several emails saying “I don’t need it at this point but there was a point in my life when I needed it and I really appreciate it and thank you for this initiative” recounts Joelyn.

Developing these concrete actions required meticulous planning that began at the end of 2023. "There is no single solution that will make a conference more inclusive; it's a bunch of small things. We staggered the various steps because we knew, for example, that we needed to offer childcare early enough for potential beneficiaries to make arrangements. And we were able to announce this service in January, around the same time submissions opened, giving participants at least three months to write their papers and six months to organize their travel. Offering this support too late would also have skewed the data on the initiative's usefulness," explains Joelyn.

"We tried to reach as many demographics as possible. We targeted underrepresented countries within the European Union to broaden horizons and also targeted low- and middle-income countries according to the World Bank. So, we are targeting people who have lower financial resources but also increasing the geographic diversity of people coming to SEFI."

The SEFI community will be surveyed again during the conference held from 2 to 5 September at EPFL. The goal is to adopt an evidence-based approach and ultimately integrate these practices into the conference handbook. The data collected during this fall's conference will be published, and a workshop will invite participants to think and brainstorm more ideas. The two researchers hope to start an ongoing dialogue that will continue beyond this edition.

"It should be noted that these initiatives are strongly supported by our local organizing committee and more broadly by EPFL, which has significantly facilitated smooth and effective decision-making, which allowed us to act in a timely manner. We didn't have to convince them; they were immediately on board," concluded Siara.

More details about these initiatives are available on the SEFI 2024 website.