During October, Emory’s Office of Global Strategy and Initiatives (GSI) is celebrating Global Diversity Awareness Month. This is an opportunity to recognize the many types of diversity that enrich the Emory community.

Emory’s global work exemplifies the value of considering an issue, an obstacle or a solution from a different angle. The events of the past year have affected nearly every aspect of people’s lives, studies and work. The pandemic has displaced regular work rhythms and has disrupted global research. At the same time, attention has shifted inward to reckon with the historic and systemic inequities and injustices in the United States.

These conditions make global work more important than ever before. The Emory community best achieves its mission in the service of humanity when it incorporates and elevates the experiences, cultures and perspectives of people from all around the world.

“Global diversity makes Emory a world-renowned university known for its extraordinary faculty, staff and students, its leadership in international research, and the broad reach of its global impact,” notes Philip Wainwright, vice provost for global strategy and initiatives, in a post for Emory’s #GlobalDiversity2020 social media campaign.

Emory’s global network extends from its campus, which is the academic home for over 4,100 international students and scholars from more than 100 countries, to institutional and organizational partners all over the world. In fact, Emory is ranked among the top of its peer institutions on international outlook, a measure which incorporates factors like the breadth of the international community on campus and the university’s global collaborations.

The following list highlights events, opportunities and grants that support Global Diversity Awareness Month:

• #GlobalDiversity2020: Student, faculty and staff spotlights, events and grants. Follow @EmoryGlobal on Twitterand International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS) on Facebook and Instagram.
• Global Diversity Resource Library: Book, film and podcast recommendations from Emory faculty and staff related to issues of diversity, equity, access and inclusion around the world.
• Communicating Well with Multi-lingual Students and Colleagues: A course offered through ISSS to explore the stages of cultural adaptation, intercultural communications strategies and navigating miscommunications. Open to faculty and staff. 27 from 2-3 p.m. ET. Register for ELMS 200858-17447.
• Windows to the World: Japan: Part of an event series designed to celebrate the diversity within the Emory community and to increase mutual understanding and intercultural awareness. Different countries, cultures, and holidays are spotlighted at each event. In October, learn about Japan, play trivia and learn how to fold origami! Hosted by ISSS.  30 from 10:30-11:30 a.m. ET.
• International Coffee Hour: A weekly opportunity to meet international students and scholars around the globe and feel part of the Emory community no matter where in the world you are. Hosted by ISSS and the Office of Spiritual and Religious Life. Fridays at 11:30 a.m. ET. 
• Global Perspectives on Race Grant: A new grant supported by the Halle Institute for Global Research. Full-time, continuing, regular faculty from any of Emory’s nine schools are eligible to apply with innovative research projects from any disciplinary, interdisciplinary or multi-disciplinary perspective.This grant will support research that examines race as broadly conceived in any country outside the United States. Projects might include, but are not limited to, the very construction of the category “race,” the inequalities and the egalitarian movements it fosters, the interplay of race with imperialism and colonialism, and/or the intersections of race with gender, sexuality, ethnicity, religion, education, labor and/or health. Outcomes may include publications, external funding, programmatic work, research capacity building, art exhibitions and/or other forms of research-based activity. Applications due in January 2021. 
• Decolonizing Global Health: A five-part series hosted by the Emory Global Health Institute which will focus on global health, colonialism and how to foster change in global health research, education and practice. The first session will be 10 from 12-1:30 p.m. ET.