Celebrating Black History Month 2024

Celebrating Black History Month 2024

Dear colleague

I am delighted to invite you to take part in events taking place at the University in celebration of Black History Month 2024.

This year's theme is Reclaiming Narratives which encourages everyone to take ownership of their stories - ensuring that voices are heard, experiences acknowledged, and contributions recognised. Black History Month is not just a time to reflect on the past but also to celebrate the present and look forward to a future where diversity and inclusion are at the forefront.

Details of the events, created in partnership between staff and students, are available via our  Black History Month webpage. The events include an African drumming workshop and a PGR CommuniTea addressing the inequalities experienced by underrepresented groups. We will also be screening a film, a roundtable discussion on FinTech and Digital Markets in Africa and much more.

I encourage everyone to engage with the events and help us foster a deeper understanding and appreciation of the diverse tapestry that makes up our community.

The University of Aberdeen is committed to addressing racial inequalities and creating an inclusive culture and environment where people can thrive, irrespective of their race or ethnicity. Our vision, aligned with Aberdeen 2040, is to become an antiracist University by supporting our community to recognise racism and actively fight against it.

Over the last five years, we have been building momentum around our antiracism work and promoting a range of activities with staff, students and external partners. These have included listening sessions to understand the challenges experienced by staff and students from Racialised Groups, delivering tailored race literacy and antiracism sessions, ensuring that routes for reporting racial harassment are clear and accessible and leading a Regional Antiracism Roundtable with our local partners including Police Scotland and others.

In 2022 we launched the University Antiracism Strategy and in 2024 we became the third Scottish University to hold a Race Equality Charter Bronze award in recognition of our robust foundation for eliminating racial inequalities, developing inclusive cultures and moving from commitments to sustainable and integrated bold and ambitious action. The University will implement its Antiracism Action Plan in the next five years.

Combating racism is everyone’s responsibility and you can help to stop it by recognising and reporting it.

Where to get support and help?

If you are a victim of or witness racism, you can speak to a member of our EDI Team by emailing edi@abdn.ac.uk or one of our Race Equality Champions or you can report it by using our Online Reporting Tool

If you wish to report hate crime please contact our Human Resources Team hr@abdn.ac.uk or Student Support student.support@abdn.ac.uk. We are a Third-Party Reporting Centre, and we can help you to report a hate crime incident to the Police.

Best wishes

Bhatty

Professor Siladitya Bhattacharya

Vice-Principal Global Engagement and Chair of the Race Equality Strategy Group