Participating institutions in the new Athena Swan Cyprus Framework have gathered for a two-day workshop at the University of Nicosia, marking the formal launch of the three-year pilot of the Athena Swan Cyprus Framework.
The formal launch of the Framework follows the unveiling of the proposed pilot in September 2023 when the Athena Swan Cyprus Advisory Group met for the first time to begin its development. Six institutions – Frederick University, University of Central Lancashire Cyprus, University of Nicosia, Cyprus University of Technology, University of Cyprus and European University Cyprus – are participating in Athena Swan Cyprus, and signing up to the Framework’s principles.
The principles act as the foundation for the Athena Swan Cyprus Framework, setting out a shared commitment by participants to tackle inequalities, to support sustainable and impactful gender equality work, and to recognise and reward staff for working on gender equality and wider equality initiatives.
Professor Mary Koutselini, President, Cyprus Agency of Quality Assurance and Accreditation in Higher Education (CYQAA), said,
“This is an exciting milestone for all of us in research and the higher education sector in Cyprus. We are determined that we benefit from the full array of talents in our universities and that all our staff have the opportunity to thrive in their work. This new Framework offers a great opportunity to deliver on those goals.
“Together with Advance HE colleagues, we have co-created robust principles and comprehensive materials for Athena Swan Cyprus. I am delighted that we will be launching these with Advance HE to the participating universities over the next two days.”
Sarah Dickinson-Hyams, Advance HE Assistant Director, International Equality Charters, said,
“We are grateful to the University of Nicosia, particularly to Professor Constantinos Phellas, Senior Vice Rector and Petros Petrikkos, Project and Research Associate, Office of the Senior Vice Rector, for hosting the workshop, marking an important milestone for promoting equalities in institutions in Cyprus.
“I am so encouraged by the enthusiasm and commitment to this pilot by all the participants and the Athena Swan Cyprus Advisory Group. We very much look forward to working with them all over the three-year pilot and beyond.”
Athena Swan began in the UK in 2005 and was assessed as the only gender equality award scheme that is both successful and transferable by GENDER-NET, a large-scale research project funded by the European Commission.
In 2015 the Charter expanded from science and technology to advance gender equality across all subject areas in higher education and among all staff groups. The Framework has since been adapted for use outside of Europe, with charter frameworks established in Australia (SAGE-Athena Swan), the USA (SEA-Change) and Canada (Dimensions).
Advance HE’s international charters aim to establish frameworks that are globally comparable and locally contextualised, working with governments, national and sector agencies, or professional bodies to establish tailored and impactful charter frameworks.
Please contact us to find out more about Athena Swan Cyprus.
Advance HE’s equality charter frameworks are used across the globe to support and transform gender and race equality within higher education and research. Find out more.