Irish universities come together to talk about racism
A network of Irish universities have come together and signed on for an Irish version of Marshalls Lets Talk about Race course, which is tailored to the cultural context of Ireland.
Marshalls are excited to announce that following the launch of their EDI in Higher Education training programme for Irish University staff in April 2021, that the IUA Vice Presidents for EDI, who have been mindful of the issue of race equality, have signed on for a new Irish edition of their popular ‘Let’s Talk About Race’ course. Within this version, the content has been tailored to fit an Irish context, as naturally different countries will have different cultural contexts, laws, and dynamics with regards to race.
Their ‘Let’s Talk About Race’ race equality training course has been designed to teach learners that racism is not just about explicit racist language, abuse, or discrimination, but it can take the form of inequality and inadvertent bias ingrained in the way organisations and society is run.
David Marshall of Marshalls said "We’re so happy to see so many universities in Ireland see the value of a course tailored to the Irish context. It’s really important to us that our content is relevant for the people taking the course, and this is a great example of that”
The course is kicked off by some great insight from Professor Philomena Mullen, an assistant professor of Black Studies at Trinity College Dublin, who clearly outlines the difference between “individual acts of racism and structural racism’. It’s great to see an expert in the field give their views regarding such key issues.
It’s really pleasing to see that the Irish Universities have come together to partake in this course as it will help learners to:
- understand what unconscious racial bias is;
- describe what is meant by white privilege;
- list the differences between ‘in groups’ and ‘out groups’;
- recognise racial microaggressions;
- describe how an organisation can either reverse or perpetuate racial bias depending on its actions/inactions.
Dr. Marie Connolly – Director of Human Rights, Equality, Diversity & Inclusion from the University of Limerick, is someone who they have worked alongside to put the course together. She says “We are very pleased, following the culmination of many months work in collaboration with our eLearning provider – Marshall eLearning- to commence the roll-out of an online training programme ‘Let’s Talk About Race in the Higher Education Sector’ in Ireland. This programme for staff and students is a key initiative in building the intercultural understanding and competence required to achieve systemic change. Let’s Talk About Race in the Higher Education Sector will complement the existing race awareness and education activities of the universities.”
To find out more information about this course, drop them an email at [email protected]