The 2023 UW–Madison Diversity Forum, titled “Bridging the Divide: Realizing Belonging While Engaging Difference,” will be held Tuesday and Wednesday, Nov. 14 and 15, at Union South with options to participate in person or online.
The 2023 conference will focus on “building connections and celebrating differences that make us unique,” according to a press release, and will “continue important conversations about creating living and learning communities that are inclusive to all.“
“The Diversity Forum annually provides an ideal space for all of us to come together as a community, to recharge, to learn and to grow,” said Dr. LaVar J. Charleston, UW–Madison deputy vice chancellor and chief diversity officer, in a statement. Charleston’s office organizes the Diversity Forum each year. “This year’s topic is timely as we are increasingly learning how to embrace shared problem solving and engage in constructive dialogue across a broad range of differences in one of the most polarizing moments in recent history.”
The theme aligns with UW–Madison’s commitment to foster belonging, free expression, viewpoint diversity, and meaningful open dialogue as well as the 2023-24 Go Big Read Selection, How Minds Change: The Surprising Science of Belief, Opinion, and Persuasion by David McRaney.
The day one keynote speaker will feature a keynote address by Dr. Danielle Allen, a Harvard professor of public policy, politics, and ethics. Dr. Danielle Allen, who is the founder and president of Partners in Democracy, advocates for democracy reform to create greater voice and access in our communities. The first 100 in-person attendees will receive copies of Allen’s book Justice by Means of Democracy and have the opportunity to get it signed after her keynote address.
The day two keynote speaker will be José Olivarez, the son of formerly undocumented Mexican immigrants and award-winning poet, who will deliver a keynote address drawing from his book Citizen Illegal. Olivarez’s poems use the lenses of immigration, in-betweenness, gender, class, and family to examine and praise the world. The first 100 in-person attendees will receive copies of Olivarez’s book Promises of Gold/Promesas De Oro.
The Diversity Forum is free and open to the public. To register for the event, click here.
