EPICUR EDI Toolkit

Actions – On Diversity in EPICUR
Next to gender, disability is a recent and widely regulated area of discrimination. Mainly in all countries laws
on disability have contributed to the structuring of the mechanisms and actions to be implemented within
institutions. In higher education, measures to promote disability are cross-cutting and concern HR resources,
teaching, research and university life for students or digital services for accessibility and management. The
EPICUR alliance should share best practices and make every effort to ensure greater accessibility and inclusion
of persons with disabilities.
The criterion of origin is a central element in the field of nondiscrimination. Several criteria are directly or indirectly
applicable: the origin, membership an ethnic group, physical appearance, the place of residence, nationality,
name, religion. Promoting cultural diversity and encouraging research in this field is necessary and
training will offer all students and staff the opportunity to deconstruct prejudices and bias related to the origin.
Tools to avoid this discrimination are necessary and mechanisms to collect and treat complaints. Moreover, the
international offices may play an important role in the reception of international staff and students. They can
promote intercultural meetings and contribute to this cultural diversity.
Furthermore, the EPICUR alliance should display its commitment against hate and discrimination against
LGBTQ+ people and put in place mechanisms for the prevention and treatment of discrimination based on sexual
orientation or gender identity. It is recommended to organize different events and promote dialogue on
these subjects, facilitate the deconstruction of stereotypes and encourage more inclusive communication. This
includes the allowance of usage of the preferred/usual name on internal documents for transgender people,
throughout their schooling and professional careers.
Transgender activities
Gender identity is the intimate and personal experience of gender experienced by everyone, regardless of their
biological characteristics. Transgender people are people whose gender does not correspond to the sex assigned
to them at birth. They can, at any time in their lives, decide to embark on a transition path or refuse the
female/male binary.
The EPICUR alliance must guarantee the right to personal development
and to the physical and moral integrity of transgender
and transsexual persons, in line with the European Convention for
the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. To
this aim, we recommend using as little as possible the gendered
mentions in our individual and collective communications, by addressing
the persons by their full name, and not by their civilities
(First name, Last name, more than Madame, Mister). Moreover, all
the partners should provide a process, when registering students,
to include the given name and use the given name in the student’s
and staff internal administrative documents. This includes
student card, school certificate, academic email, lists, internship
agreement, mobility documents. Furthermore, one must provide
in surveys an agender or non-binary option. The French HE ministry
provides a package with tools to fight against discrimination.
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