The Futures of Diversity event at Geneva Graduate Institute was the first of several events dedicated to diversity during the month of November 2022 and was part of a larger year-long campaign on respect at the Institute, as well as inscribed itself within the context of Diversity Month at the Institute. The Futures of Diversity event consisted of an art contest where fifteen members of the Institute community submitted art pieces that represented what the future of diversity could look like, followed by an award ceremony and a panel discussion on the results. The art pieces submitted ranged from photographs representing the diversity of everyday objects, to reflective poems and futuristic paintings. These artworks inspired the panel, which consisted of voices from faculty, students and local civil society organizations, to have intriguing discussions on the varied ways one can define diversity and the importance of accepting and celebrating the differences amongst and around us. The panel agreed on the complexity of these questions and emphasized the need for these conversations as solid first steps towards continuously reflecting on and diversifying our collective ideas of diversity at the Institute and beyond. 

"My painting, Multitudes, is part of the questioning for the future about the new frontiers of categorization of gender as well as how we (humans) integrate with nature and animals." - Marie Thorndahl, winner of the Futures of Diversity art contest. 

The results of the contest are finally up! Three participants particularly stood out and were crowned winners. In the first position, Marie Thorndahl created a beautiful painting with 18 diverse silhouettes that is named « Multitudes ». In second position, Binar Mentari Malahayati submitted a poem named « post office ». Finally, in third position, Claudia Jaeger shared with us her very own art collection. The fab and the Techhub wants to congratulate everyone who took part and thanks the jury and audience for participating at the award ceremony. Stay tuned to know what is up next with the Futures series!