DIVERSITY

Inclusive governance and diversity management are essential to us: our organisation has to look like the world we’re trying to help.

Dr.Tilmann DisselhoffPresident
There’s no successful fight against climate emergency and species extinction without the acknowledgement of diversity in our society

In many ways, Europe is astonishingly diverse – culturally, socially, ethnically. Eurosite’s membership is reflective of this diversity. Our network consists of individuals and organisations with various backgrounds, traditions, experiences, and perspectives. We see this diversity as a core strength of our community – we celebrate and embrace it! What would be the point in the international exchange of ideas and knowledge if we were all the same?

The same is true for biological diversity. We need to be mindful of nature, respect it and give all its populations, species, and ecosystems the space they need to thrive. Humans are not apart from nature, but part of it. We need the other parts for our own survival.

Taking full account of our diversity, we at Eurosite are united in a shared belief in the European idea as a peace project. In an age of rising authoritarianism, nationalism, and intolerance, we aspire to be representatives of an open, humane, and inclusive transnational civil society. Diversity needs protection. Because people’s identities, perspectives and values differ, we need civility, tolerance, and public accountability to ensure peace and freedom for everyone.

We aim to cultivate a conscious, respectful, and appreciative approach to diversity in our network. This means, for example, that no matter the age, gender, religion, social background, sexual orientation, physical and mental condition of a person, he/she is valued and treated with equal respect and has the same right and opportunities to participate in our network.

We enjoy diversity as beautiful part of our lives. How could we fight for the protection of biodiversity, but refuse to include our own human diversity in the picture? Yes, diversity can be challenging. It is not always easy to find common ground if you perceive the world and speak about it in different ways. And admittedly, we are far from perfect in this regard. But we try to get better every day. Fostering diversity and inclusion in our governance structure, the workspace of our secretariat, and at our various networking activities remains a key priority for the development of our organisation. We at Eurosite do that because diversity has always been a part of our genes. It comes with our job — naturally.

This website is co-financed by the EU’s LIFE Programme