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David Ruebain, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Culture, Equality, and Inclusion) wrote to all staff on Tuesday 17 December. Read his message in full:

Dear Colleague,

This month, I’d like to mention:

• World AIDS Day and new BSMS website supporting people with HIV
• International Day of Persons with Disabilities
• National disability survey for staff in higher education
• Equality analysis guidance and resources for staff
• Inclusive Sussex: in Conversation with Gary Younge, 10 February 2025

World AIDS Day and new BSMS website supporting people with HIV

More than 105,000 people in the UK are living with HIV, and 38 million people across the globe live with the virus. Despite medical and social advances, HIV remains highly stigmatising. World AIDS Day, which takes place annually on 1 December, aims to break that stigma by sharing the experiences of those living with HIV today, celebrating their strength and resilience, and remembering those who have died. Launching to coincide with World AIDS Day, researchers at Brighton and Sussex Medical School (BSMS) have partnered with service users from The Sussex Beacon to create a new website designed to support people living with HIV who are experiencing memory or thinking difficulties. The website, MemoryHIV.org, provides accessible information and support on brain health for those with HIV.

International Day of Persons with Disabilities 

As Disability History Month continues, we marked International Day of Persons with Disabilities on 3 December. This year, the campaign highlights leadership by those with disabilities, and the role disabled people play in decisions affecting their lives and also in creating a more inclusive world.

The Staff Disability Network hosts termly drop-ins, and offers email support and channels for peer-to-peer connection for staff who self-identify as having an impairment or disability. The network seeks to raise awareness across the University through events, and advocates to support inclusion in decision-making and policy development. The community meets both online and in person on campus, and you can get involved by contacting the network at: staffdisabilitynetwork@sussex.ac.uk.

National disability survey for staff in higher education

Members of staff who identify as disabled, neurodivergent or living with a long-term health condition or chronic illness are invited to take part in a survey about their experiences of working in higher education. The survey, by the National Association of Disabled Staff Networks, is relevant to those working in academic, research, technical support, and professional services roles, and postgraduate researchers. It is open until 31 January 2025 and supports the development of RIDE HIGHER (Realising the Inclusion of Disabled Employees in Higher Education) - a new framework to share best practice across the sector and drive greater equity for disabled colleagues.

Equality analysis guidance and resources for staff

Understanding the impact that changes to policies, practices and services may potentially have on different groups of people helps us ensure that action is taken beforehand to reduce negative impacts. Equality analysis, also known as Equality Impact Assessment, is a tool which enables us to identify and address any adverse impact on people across the University community (including staff, students, and visitors) in different ways and Sussex uses equality analysis in major projects and significant policy and business decisions. The process provides for a project owner or member of the project team to undertake the analysis. Find out more and explore resources available for staff.

Inclusive Sussex: in Conversation with Gary Younge, 10 February 2025

Some of you may have attended an event at the Sussex Festival of Ideas in 2022 at which Gary Younge spoke on “Why We Need More Honesty and Fewer Statues”. I am delighted that we will welcome Professor Younge back for our next In Conversation event on Monday 10 February from 5.30pm. An award-winning author, journalist and broadcaster focusing on race, identity, equality and social movements, and now Professor of Sociology at the University of Manchester, Gary was formerly a columnist and US correspondent at The Guardian. He is an editorial board member of The Nation magazine and winner of the 2023 Orwell Prize for Journalism. Gary also co-presents a podcast called Over the Top Under the Radar. He has written six books, most recently Dispatches from the Diaspora: From Nelson Mandela to Black Lives Matter, and has been published in The New York Review of Books, Granta, GQ, The Financial Times and The New Statesman. He has made several radio and television documentaries on subjects ranging from gay marriage to Brexit.

Gary currently focuses on post-war Black Europe and will be talking about what the experiences of Black Germans in Nazi Germany tell us about systems of racial oppression and antisemitism in particular. I very much look forward to an insightful discussion on the themes of Gary’s work and encourage you to book your place. Please do stay and join us for a short drinks reception afterwards.

Finally, this update is arriving at a time of major global events and developments around the world, as well as ongoing violence and devastation in some areas. In recent months, we have reached out to students with declared nationality from, or whose home may be in, Palestine, Lebanon or Israel, to highlight avenues for support available to them. We have also made contact with students from Syria in the context of the significant changes currently unfolding there. We are aware that global events such as these may affect a wider group of people in our University community, and we will continue to offer support to all students and staff who need it throughout the winter break. Please note that, even over the holiday period, all staff members will continue to have access to a wide range of support via our Employee Assistance Programme on a 24/7 basis.

As we approach the winter break, I wish you a peaceful and enjoyable holiday season. Many will be looking forward to celebrations of Christmas and Hanukkah. The winter solstice, the shortest day of the year, is on 21 December and for those who identify as Pagan, this is an important celebration of the period of calm until the rebirth of the sun, the symbolic end of winter and the return of the light.

With very good wishes,

David Ruebain

Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Culture, Equality, and Inclusion)

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