Welcome To The Leek College Art Department Blog

we are inspired....

Tuesday, 14 July 2015

'Celebrate Diversity'

Foundation Diploma in Art & Design
Buxton & Leek College

"Working together

to create communities that celebrate diversity

by actively practicing and promoting

dignity, respect and inclusiveness."


The students as part of their course work completed a project entitled 'Celebrating Diversity'.
One of their outcomes was to design a poster to be displayed on the BLC campus and on the screens that promotes and celebrates Diversity, that celebrates differences and stops discrimination.

Bethan Hartwell

Equality is about treating people with respect and dignity, and providing everyone with opportunities to fulfil their potential.

Diversity brings a huge range of benefits for the college.  The more diverse we are, the more we will all benefit due to the  rich mix of backgrounds, heritages, ages, experiences and skills that spark innovation and create a rewarding and vibrant community.
Inviduals need to understand that even though we belong to groups, we are all different in many ways. Relationships are improved by our appreciation for diversity and rejection of stereotypes.



The students researched the 9 strands of Equality & Diversity: 
age
disability
gender reassignment
marriage and civil partnership (but only in respect of eliminating unlawful discrimination)
pregnancy and maternity
race – this includes ethnic or national origins, colour or nationality
religion or belief – this includes lack of belief
sex
sexual orientation

The students designed the poster working in their own specialism and created a poster in a graphic design context.

Below are the posters produced by the Foundation Diploma in Art & Design students:

Sophie Maskell

Katie Wardle

Theo Mattinson

Lee Martin

Luke Sharpley


Finn Sylvester-Edwards

Sophie Southgate


Vicky Whieldon

The brief: 

'We want you to think about celebrating, promoting and appreciating the global diversity of our society. Also, to foster and further our understanding of the inherent value of all races, genders, nationalities, age groups, religions, sexual orientations, classes and physical disabilities. For you, as students and as individuals, to respect differences among people in your community and around the world. In relation to this extremely important topic you are asked to consider the theme of ‘Celebrating Diversity’ and produce work based on this theme.

Celebrating diversity means:
 an acknowledgement of racial, religious, gender, ethnic, philosophical and cultural differences

The concept of diversity:
encompasses acceptance and respect. 

It means understanding that each individual is unique,  and recognizing our individual differences.  These can be along  the dimensions of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, age, physical abilities, religious beliefs,  political beliefs, or other ideologies. 
 It is the exploration  of these differences in a safe, positive, and nurturing environment. 
 It is about understanding each other and moving beyond  simple tolerance to embracing and celebrating the  rich dimensions of diversity contained within each individual'.


‘At the Equality and Human Rights Commission we believe that everyone should be treated fairly and with dignity. Unfortunately this doesn’t always happen. According to a survey carried out for us in 2007, discrimination and disadvantage are still common across Britain. We don’t all have equal chances in life and some forms of discrimination are complex and deep-rooted. Sometimes people choose to ignore the rights of others even when this is against the law’.


Here are nine specific areas (or protected characteristics)  which are covered by equality and diversity guidelines and legislation. 

Definitions of protect characteristics

Age
Where this is referred to, it refers to a person belonging to a particular age (e.g. 32 year olds) or range of ages (e.g. 18 - 30 year olds).  For further information on age please follow the link to the UK Legislation website.

Disability

A person has a disability if s/he has a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on that person's ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.  For further information on please see disability on the UK Legislation website.

Gender reassignment

The process of transitioning from one gender to another.  For further information please see gender reassignment on the UK Legislation website.

Marriage and civil partnership

A person is legally married if the union is recognised as a marriage under UK law.  Same-sex couples can also have their relationships legally recognised as 'civil partnerships'.  Civil partners must be treated the same as married couples on a wide range of legal matters.  For further information please see marriage and civil on the UK Legislation website.

Pregnancy and maternity

Pregnancy is the condition of being pregnant or expecting a baby. Maternity refers to the period after the birth, and is linked to maternity leave in the employment context. In the non-work context, protection against maternity discrimination is for 26 weeks after giving birth, and this includes treating a woman unfavourably because she is breastfeeding.  For further information please see pregnancy and maternity on the UK Legislation website.

Race

Refers to the protected characteristic of Race. It refers to a group of people defined by their race, colour, and nationality (including citizenship) ethnic or national origins.  For further information please see race on  the UK Legislation website.

Religion and belief

Religion has the meaning usually given to it but belief includes religious and philosophical beliefs including lack of belief (e.g. Atheism). Generally, a belief should affect your life choices or the way you live for it to be included in the definition.  For further information please see religion and belief on the UK Legislation website.

Sex

A man or a woman.  For further information please see sex on the UK Legislation website.

Sexual orientation

Whether a person's sexual attraction is towards their own sex, the opposite sex or to both sexes.  For further information please see sexual orientation on the UK Legislation website.
You are also protected if you are discriminated against because you are perceived to have, or are associated with someone who has, a protected characteristic, For example protecting carers from discrimination. The Equality Act will protect people who are, for example, caring for a disabled child or relative. They will be protected by virtue of their association to that person.




No comments:

Post a Comment