Learning Festival: Inclusion for All

Main idea

The Learning Festival: Inclusion for All inspires staff to think about inclusivity and to take steps towards creating a more inclusive organisation. It also encourages them to share their knowledge and good practices, and to network.

Outline

The Learning Festival is a mandatory study day organized yearly at Artevelde University of Applied Sciences (AUAS) for all its staff members during a day on which no classes are being taught. So, it’s not just for lecturers, but also for administrative staff, cleaning staff, etc.

The main purpose of the Learning Festival: Inclusion for All is to inspire staff to think about inclusivity and to take steps towards creating a more inclusive organisation. Another goal is to encourage them to share their knowledge and good practices, and to network.

During the Learning Festival, AUAS invites its own experts and experts from other organisations to talk about a certain theme, lead workshops, etc. There’s a different theme each year. This theme is usually linked to AUAS’ strategic goals and is as broad as possible, so each staff member can learn something that’s relevant for them.

In 2023 the theme was ‘Inclusion for All’, linked to AUAS strategic goal ‘Full of Opportunities and Colour’.

Although the study day is mandatory, participants are free to choose which sessions to follow.

Timing and organizers

The Learning Festival is organized yearly at the end of March/the beginning of April by the Office of Human Resources Development at AUAS in collaboration with many other departments and staff members from all over the organization.

Goals

The concrete goal of the 2023 edition was to give staff useful knowledge, tips and tricks to work towards creating a more inclusive organisation.

Students involvement

Students weren’t involved in this edition of the Learning Festival.

Inspiration and evidence

The Learning Festival: Inclusion for All was based on AUAS strategic goal ‘Full of Opportunities and Colour’. AUAS wants to be as diverse as the city it’s based in and views diversity as an engine for quality and the growth of every student and employee. At AUAS, everyone is encouraged to challenge themselves and seize new opportunities.

Success criteria

• This edition of the Learning Festival inspired staff to think about inclusivity and to take steps towards creating a more inclusive organisation.
• This initiative encourages staff to share their knowledge and good practices, and to network.
• By letting staff members be experts on the Learning Festival, they feel appreciated for their knowledge.

Points of attention

• When organising a study day, it might be beneficial to plan interactive sessions and workshops in the afternoon instead of throughout the day.
• Not all participants see the link between the topic at hand and their daily work.
• The participants vary greatly when it comes to their job description, so it’s difficult to create a programme that’s interesting or useful to everyone. This also makes it difficult to formulate concrete goals per theme.
• The way the Learning Festival is currently organised, is not based on the principles of Universal Design. It might be beneficial to incorporate some of these ideas.
• Since the Learning Festival is for all staff members, there can be a lot of pressure on catering.

Evaluation

Each session of the Learning Festival is evaluated briefly. In general, this edition was positively evaluated. Participants are very happy with the opportunity to network and share their knowledge. Some participants mentioned wanting more active sessions in the afternoon.

Communication

• The Learning Festival is added to everyone’s Outlook calendar.
• It’s mentioned in newsletters. These newsletters are also used to encourage staff members to share their knowledge during the study day.
• There’s a SharePoint page about the Learning Festival.

 

Timing

The Learning Festival is organized yearly at the end of March/the beginning of April. Preparations start in September and the search for keynotes begins in December. In general, the busiest period when it comes to planning the Learning Festival is between Januari and March.

Resources

• A diverse group of experts and staff members to give insight about the theme and to brainstorm what topics should be discussed during the study day
• Diverse experts to give keynotes, lectures, and workshops about these topics
• A way to collect information on which experts are coming, what they will be talking about, what their session will look like…
• Adequate rooms, lecture halls and materials for each session (e.g., a beamer, a specific setup, post-its…)
• Catering
• Promo and communication material
• Technical staff
• Badges
• …

Transferability

We think it is quite easily transferable to other contexts or groups.

The concept of organizing a study day is easily transferable but reaching all staff members and finding a day on which teaching staff is free might prove difficult.

Universal Design

The design of this initiative was not based on the principles of Universal Design. The sessions are usually a traditional lecture/in a classroom setting, which might not be an ideal format for everyone. The organizers attempt to invite diverse speakers with diverse ways of sharing their stories, but it’s all in spoken language.