Equità in INAF
The group is engaged in a number of activities aimed at increasing INAF colleagues' awareness of the significance and potential of practices that lead to more welcoming and accessible environments and resources, both in terms of work in institutional settings and in planning activities for general public and schools.
Following are the activities carried out in this area.
Collaboration for institutional consolidation of equity and inclusion practices in INAF
Already in 2020, just a few months after its inception, the UNIVERS@LL group activated an interaction and collaboration with INAF Committee for Equal Opportunities and Wellbeing (CUG) to share the experiences gained by group members on equity, diversity, and inclusion in institutional settings outside INAF, both nationally and internationally, and to practice continuous alignment between our equity practices towards schools and society and the vision of INAF as a whole. In 2020, the group collaborated on the revision of the Three-Year Positive Action Plan.
Currently, two members of the group are also part of the INAF CUG 2023-2027.
Systematization of INAF's educational and outreach offerings in terms of inclusion
The group helped produce a survey for collecting the INAF educational and outreach activities and a list of keywords for identifying their specific inclusive characteristics.
These tags were identified both on the basis of INAF self-assessment of experience and with the support of experts who work with (or represent) disadvantaged groups and/or special educational needs (SEND), with the aim of identifying the inclusive potential of the teaching and outreach activities available in INAF.
Besides tagging existing resources, these tags are also meant to be supportive parameters, in terms of inclusivity, in the design and validation of new activities and for the improvement of awareness on these issues by practitioners in astronomy public engagement
Survey of Journals for Publication of Research in Public Engagement
The group has identified a lack of specific journals and reference standards at the national and international level for the submission and publication of research papers on equity, diversity and inclusion in astronomy, but more generally in the public engagement field of astrophysics. This lack of standards leads to extreme difficulty in the publication and wide dissemination of results, with an obvious issue for validation and professional recognition processes at all levels. We therefore conducted a survey of existing journals within professional field and shared the results of this survey with the rest of the INAF community working in Public Engagement.
The introductory page of the “Inclusion” section on EduINAF online magazine
Publications on the EduINAF online magazine, with creation of the focus Inclusione section ("Focus on Inclusion"), later in which news, insights, interviews, stories and teaching resources with inclusive potential are highlighted. The initial overview introduces the theme of the universality of Astronomy, understood as “a stimulus to rethink one's position in the world and the Universe, an invitation to consider oneself as one of many, side by side with billions of other beings with different cultures, histories, environments, conditions” with whom to develop and deepen interaction and dialogue.
In early 2021, a number of thematic releases have been drafted: these include examples of the use of storytelling in disadvantaged contexts (Shall we make it a better world?); resources for promoting gender equality (The kind of science we would like); video content for enhancing the iconicity of the Italian Sign Language (LIS) in communicating astrophysics (The Universe in LIS); and resources and activities for promoting intercultural and multicultural dialogue and awareness through the universality of astronomy and astrophysics (The Skies of the World with Shadow Theater, Parallel World Map).
On EduINAF, there is also a variety of content written by members of the group on UNIVERS@LL working themes: interviews, book reviews, insights and event reports on various issues related to equity and accessibility of scientific knowledge.
Some examples:
a number of articles in the “Universe World” column, featuring interviews with people involved in astrophysical research and public engagement in different countries around the world (Among the Stars, Thinking of People; Decolonizing Astronomy; Getting Out of the Bubble: How to Bring Science and Astronomy to a Wider Audience; Scientific Capital and the Aspirations of Young People);
three issues of EduINAF's Beyond the Horizon column on the working themes of the UNIVERS@LL group: The PISA survey, 15-year-olds and the economic model of reference; Aliens and I; The Story of Priscilla and Edith;
book reviews on the working themes of the UNIVERS@LL group: Science is equal for all. And for all? (book: Inferior); Children of the Same Heaven; The Universe in Our Fingers.