A celebration of equality and diversity saw more than 30 workshops, live performances, lectures, exhibitions and other awareness events staged in just one week.
Sociology teacher and Equality, Diversity and Inclusion co-ordinator, Dina de Sousa e Santos, chose different themes for each day and selected topics which complemented and developed them.
She explained: “A Week in Our Shoes was all about promoting diversity, enriching the cultural experiences of all our students and providing an introduction to areas of academic study and research that they may not have considered.
“Overall it was a great achievement which seemed to generate its own momentum. The aim was to start celebrating our differences using two of the points that clearly unite us: the desire to learn and love of music.”
Beliefs and Tolerance Monday looked at religious cults, the early stages of life, social work and interfaith dialogue through music with speakers from the London School of Economics and the universities of Chichester, Portsmouth and Winchester.
Tuesday was all about Multiculturalism with a programme that put university academics alongside illegal migrant workers from Haslar Detention Centre, Cuban salsa sessions and African dance and drumming workshops.
Gender and Sexuality took the midweek slot, with speakers including Guardian journalist Lara Pawson and Dr Ed Morrison from the University of Portsmouth exploring everything from transgender issues to the law’s recognition of individual sexuality and the psychology of beauty and facial attractiveness.
Raising awareness of learning disabilities, sensory loss and breaking down the barriers of disability were themes of Dis…ability day, before the week came to an end with Age and explorations of the psychology of ageing and the involvement of young people in politics.
A Week in our Shoes also incorporated Barton Peveril’s annual Enrichment and Wellbeing Fair when outside organisations and College clubs and societies recruit members and volunteers.
