Founded in 2000, the International Conference on Diversity in Organizations, Communities & Nations has a history of bringing together scholarly, government and practice-based participants with an interest in the issues of diversity and community. The conference examines the concept of diversity as a positive aspect of a global world and globalized society. Diversity is in many ways reflective of our present world order, but there are ways of taking this further without necessary engendering its alternatives: racism, conflict, discrimination and inequity. Diversity as a mode of social existence can be projected in ways that deepen the range of human experience. The conference seeks to explore the full range of what diversity means and explore modes of diversity in real-life situations of living together in community, supporting a move away from simple affirmations that ‘diversity is good’ to a much more nuanced account of the effects and uses of diversity on differently situated communities in the context of our current epoch of globalization. In addition to linguistic, cultural, ethnic and ‘racial’ diversity, the conference pursues its well-established interest in other aspects of diversity, including the intersecting dynamics of gender, sexual orientation, (dis) ability, locale and socio-economic background.
The International Conference on Diversity in Organizations, Communities & Nations is built upon four key features: Internationalism, Interdisciplinarity, Inclusiveness, and Interaction. Conference delegates include leaders in the field as well as emerging scholars, who travel to the conference from all corners of the globe and represent a broad range of disciplines and perspectives. A variety of presentation options and session types offer delegates multiple opportunities to engage, to discuss key issues in the field, and to build relationships with scholars from other cultures and disciplines.