NACIS Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) has been an existing sub-committee to the general Communications & Outreach committee for many years. The DEI sub-committee meets throughout the year to discuss strategies and action items for NACIS and its annual conference.
NACIS Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Statement
NACIS Statement in Support of Black Lives Matter
If you are interested in participating in these meetings, please reach out to [email protected].
What suggestions do you have for the NACIS board for improving the annual conference and society as a whole? Let us know! contact [email protected]
Updates Since Fall of 2019
The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion collective (DEI) for NACIS was expanded beyond Board Members after concerns were raised at the 2019 NACIS meeting in Tacoma. The committee is now made up of 14 students, professionals, and academics. The collective met on December 12, 2019 and January 17, 2020 synchronously online to expand the organization’s efforts. Primary initiatives were undertaken by teams to explore the conference locations outside of the US, to create a diversity statement, research training for Board members, expand travel grants to build diversity and revamp outreach. Additional topics included an examination of panels, keynotes, and speakers as well as transparency within the organization, land acknowledgements for conference locations, and considerations of accessibility and moderator training. These initiatives were brought to the annual Board meeting in February 2020. Notes can be found here.
The DEI collective reconvened on June 10, 2020 in response to global protests in support of Black lives and the decision to move the 2020 NACIS conference in Minneapolis online. This meeting highlighted immediate actions to support the Black Lives Matter movement and support diversity at our upcoming online meeting. Additionally, this meeting highlighted the need for long term strategies and action items to transform our organization, our conference, and the broader field of cartography.
Here, we collate and document actions we’ve taken, but also actions items for the immediate and long term future of the organization. This is an ongoing process and we value input from the NACIS community throughout each step.
Steps Taken this Past Year
- Created our Organizational Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Statement
- 20% of all Travel Grants awarded will now be earmarked for minority and underserved applicants
- A new student scholarship which strongly encourages submission by women, minorities, and underrepresented students.
- Updating our outreach contact list to geography, journalism, and urban studies programs at HBCUs, Minority Serving Institutions, and Community Colleges
- Brainstorming ideas on how to reach a new facet of NACIS members with the switch to a virtual conference as well as making talks more accessible to all
- Pending Board discussion—Suggested a small change to the Director at Large “Qualifications for Service” so that it is more encouraging to newcomers.