Pushback on the LGBTQI+ Movement; Incel:Internet, Misogyny and Conspiracy Theories; Class Division within the Icelandic Language Community; The Gender Equality Legislation and Procedural Aspects Concerning Asylum-Seeking Women, Equality Waffles; experience and access of marginal groups to university studies; Autistic People Meetup; Micro-agression and Feminist Self-defense as Prevention for Gender-based Violence are on the agenda during the diverse Equality Days Programme taking place in Icelandic universities from 6 to 9 February.
Equality Days is the largest collaborative project among Icelandic universities. They have been conducted online for the past two years due to the corona pandemic, so it is especially great to be able to invite equality enthusiasts to attend events at the seven university campuses. However, numerous events will be offered online.
Equality Days have from the get go been a forum for fertile, progressive and critical discussions on equality matters, diversity, and activism. The programme reflects current affairs and the rapid changes in equality matters and society. Participants and lecturers are from the University community, various institutes, NGOs, and other interested parties.
Equality Days will be launched at noon on Monday 6 February with an event organised by the Forum of Equaltiy Officers at the Icelandic universities. Bjarni Snæbjörnsson (he), actor, performer and writer, and Svandís Anna Sigurðardóttir (she), LGBTIQ+ and Gender Equality Advisor at the City of Reykjavík Human Rights and Democracy Office, open this year's Equality Days with a conversation about pushback in the queer rights movement. The event will be live streamed. Everyone is welcome!
There will be over 20 interesting events on-site and online during this year's Equality Days. In addition to the topics mentioned above the experiences of university students with foreign backgrounds; safe spaces and power relations in the classroom, and the global importance of UN Women will be discussed. Insights will be provided into sex worker activism, the queer festival in west Iceland (Hinsegin Vesturland), and the whiteness in Icelandic contemporary art. Furthermore, people identifying as autistic (formally diagnosed or not) arrange a meetup and gender studies students and their teachers in upper secondary school will discuss sex culture, racism, and gender studies. Sexual violence agains youth and sexual harassment in the work place will be also be addressed.
The final event will be the conference Power, Privilege and microaggression, organised jointly by the universities. The conference will take all day (10 AM - 4 PM) and will be streamed online.
The Equality Days programme can be found here and on their Facebook page.
All Equality Days events are open to all and free of charge.
We encourage everyone to follow Equality Days on social media.