The University of Jyväskylä is participating in the Week Against Racism on 16–22 March 2026
The campaign reminds us that by addressing racism, we can create safer communities for everyone. Read more about the Red Cross campaign. During the Week Against Racism, the University of Jyväskylä is raising awareness about racism in the academic world. The week's events focus on anti-racist approaches and offering peer support.
According to Jari Ojala, Rector of the University of Jyväskylä, participating in the week is a way of reminding ourselves that together we can build a safer community for everyone: "Although racism is a widespread and structural phenomenon, each of us can make the university and our society a more equal and safer place for all of us, regardless of ethnic background or other personal characteristics."
The University of Jyväskylä is committed to promoting a culture of equality and non-discrimination, accessibility to higher education, and a safe and accessible environment for research, teaching, studying, and working. The University of Jyväskylä is currently developing practices to create a more equal university community. This year, the university is working to implement principles for a safer university environment and to develop channels for reporting harassment and discrimination and processes for handling such reports.
How to strengthen the sense of belonging? Join the workshop
During the Week Against Racism, events are organized with the aim of increasing the university community's understanding of anti-racist approaches and ways of addressing racism, as well as strengthening the sense of belonging.
On Tuesday, March 17, the University of Jyväskylä, in cooperation with the Central Finland’s Advisory Board for Ethnic Relations ETNO, will hold a workshop on the sense of belonging and how to strengthen it. The workshop is aimed especially at students and young people with an immigrant background, or to international students. Others, such as students studying in international degree programs, are also welcome to attend.
Read more about the workshop and register by Friday, March 13: Week Against Racism’s workshop: sense of belonging and how to strengthen it.
The Week Against Racism will also be featured on campus info screens throughout the campaign week.
Respond to the survey and provide input for equality work
The faculties, independent institutions, and university services of the University of Jyväskylä are creating unit-level action plans for equality for the first time this year. The University of Jyväskylä is also updating its own equality, equity, and accessibility plan at the end of 2026.
In order to create these plans, the university community is asked to contribute ideas and proposals for measures on how the university and its units could develop their activities to be more equal and equitable. A survey on equality and equity will be launched in March.
