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Sustainability at TU
Statement

Clear commitment to diversity and democracy

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  • TU News
Article 3 of the Basic Law on the equality of men and women is written on a glass plate, taken on April 3, 2016 in Berlin's Mitte district in the government quarter. According to Article 3, no one may be discriminated against because of their race, origin or political views. © Wolfram Steinberg​/​picture alliance
The installation "Basic Law 49" by Dani Karavan is located in Berlin's government district: the first 19 articles of the Basic Law are engraved in glass panes.
The current rise of right-wing populist and anti-democratic movements and radicalization tendencies are highly alarming. We at TU Dortmund University are resolutely opposed to this: We stand up for our fundamental values - diversity and openness to the world, democracy and the rule of law - and take a clear position against xenophobia, discrimination and antisemitism.

On our campus, peaceful and respectful coexistence of people from 130 nations is a natural and valued part of everyday life. We are convinced that learning, researching and working together contributes to international understanding. Hostility of any kind has no place on our campus. We regularly demonstrate this attitude publicly and are clearly committed to diversity and openness to the world.

In the current winter semester, more students of international origin are enrolled at TU Dortmund University than ever before. To be precise, there are 5,347, which means that one in six students has a foreign passport. International diversity can be experienced every year at our summer festival, when students from different countries offer their culinary specialties on the Mensa Bridge. Just how diverse TU Dortmund University is can also be seen impressively in the video "I am TU", in which various members talk about how they experience togetherness and respect at our university. Our Annual Academic Celebration in December once again made a clear statement in favor of peace and freedom and against discrimination of any kind.

Discrimination on the basis of origin, religion, gender, sexual orientation or physical or mental impairment must continue to be resolutely opposed. To this end, we have set up a Central Counseling Center for Protection against Discrimination and Sexualized Violence (Zentrale Beratungsstelle zum Schutz vor Diskriminierung und vor sexualisierter Gewalt) or "SchuDS" for short. We have also strengthened the topic of diversity in the Rectorate with a new Vice-Rector: Prof. Petra Wiederkehr has been in office for eight months and has taken up the "One University for All" action plan.

As a member university of the German Rectors' Conference (HRK), TU Dortmund University has also reaffirmed this many times in the long-standing campaign "Weltoffene Hochschulen - Gegen Fremdenfeindlichkeit" (Open-minded universities - against xenophobia): We stand together for democratic values and an enlightened, tolerant society. We therefore endorse the current statement by the HRK Executive Board: Liberal democracy and the rule of law are immovable pillars of our country and its institutions. We are all called upon to stand up for the fundamental values of our constitution, because they are the basis for the success of our science.

Under the motto "Let's Europe. Together more...", TU Dortmund University will be supporting a regional European campaign by the Ruhr Regional Association in the coming weeks. In this way, we want to communicate the achievements and values of the EU and draw attention to the European elections on June 9, in which we can set an example together.

The Rectorate Prof. Manfred Bayer, Prof. Wiebke Möhring, Prof. Nele McElvany, Prof. Gerhard Schembecker, Prof. Tessa Flatten and Prof. Petra Wiederkehr

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