Inclusion & Diversity week

Our Inclusion & Diversity Staff Week builds on the workshop “Making Barriers Visible,” turning insights into action. This Staff Week is designed for mid-level administrative and academic staff and focuses on measures and projects for university staff.

We will connect colleagues across units to exchange best practices and learn from each other. Together, we aim to develop a common understanding and shared language around inclusion and diversity, and agree on concrete next steps. 

One of the expected results is to enlarge the network and to get insight into the inclusion and diversity activities of other HEI. We also aim at sharing our experience and projects under the umbrella "making barriers visible". 

28th April – 30th April 2026

CIVIS Staff Week: Making barriers visible

Day 1: Identifying challenges and common goals of cooperation

• 09:00 – 10:00 | Arrival, registration and welcome coffee   Relaxed arrival and first talks over coffee and snacks.  
• 10:00 – 11:30 | Opening and introduction
• 11:30 – 12:15 | Keynote speech by Professor Zoe Lefkofridi, Mag. MA MAIS Dr.
• 12:15 – 13:00 | Discussion round: Challenges for staff and universities   Discussing the major challenges for staff in the field of Inclusion & Diversity
• 13:00 - 14:15 | Lunch break   Joint lunch and networking.  
• 14:45 - 15:45 | Workshop: Make Barriers Visible II Sharing tools and resources among the CIVIS alliance – a continuation from CIVIS Days Rome
• 15:45 - 16:15 | Coffee break   Opportunity for informal exchange and networking.  
• 16:15 - 17:00 | Workshop: Make Barriers Visible II – agreeing on next steps Identifying the next steps of cooperation
• 19:00 - 21:00 | Dinner and informal networking (optional; self-payment) Dinner together and opportunity for informal networking.

Day 2: Strategies and cooperation  

• 09:00 - 09:30 | Welcome coffee   Relaxed arrival and initial discussions over coffee and snacks.  
• 09:30 – 11:00 | Workshop Sessions Part I: Input session

1. HEI as a place of work: Accessability & Inclusion
2. HEI as a place of work: Respectful communication and anti-bias strategies 

• 11:00 – 11:30 | Coffee break   Opportunity for informal exchange and networking.  
• 11:30 – 12:30 | Workshop Sessions Part II: starting point for cooperation

1. HEI as a place of work: Accessability & Inclusion
2. HEI as a place of work: Respectful communication and anti-bias strategies 

• 12:30 - 14:00 | Lunch break   Joint lunch and networking.  
• 14:00 – 15:00 | CIVIS Expert Group Inclusion & Diversity institutional set-up and objectives

(for non-CIVIS Expert Group participants: alternative networking format)

• 15:00 – 16:00 | Conclusion: presentation of workshop results Workshop participants and Expert Group present results, discuss possible and next steps
• 15:00 - 15:30 | Farewell networking   Network meeting and farewell to the participants.  
• 16:00 – 17:30 | Tour of Salzburg’s old town “shifting point of focus”

Info: the tour is designed to be as accessible as possible, please let us know if you have any questions concerning accessibility

Day 3: Job-Shadowing 

• 10:00 – 15:00 | Job Shadowing “Uni Salzburg Inklusiv” & “+Respekt” 
• Participants are invited to shadow the FGDD Team working on projects of accessibility, inclusion and respectful communication at University of Salzburg

Professor Zoe LEFKOFRIDI. 

Mag. MA MAIS Dr. Zoe Lefkofridi is University Professor of Politics & Gender, Diversity & Equality at the Department of Political Science at the University of Salzburg. This professorship of political science represents and promotes gender studies in research and teaching and constitutes the first professorship for gender studies at PLUS and in the Salzburg higher education area. Lefkofridi researches and teaches on democracy, diversity, and equality, focusing on the causes and consequences of unequal political participation and representation.