Page 44 - VC 5 Year Review Report 2022

• We promote socially conscious and responsible all forms of discrimination and exclusion, including
citizenship. discrimination on the grounds of race, gender, sex,
pregnancy, ethnic or social origin, colour, sexual
Integrity orientation, age, disability, religion, consciousness,
• We commit ourselves to the highest standards of belief, and culture.
personal honesty and exemplary moral character.
• We are dedicated to cultivating an atmosphere Embedding our values can be realised by:
of trust.
• We take responsibility for our decisions, behaviours, • Fostering mutual respect, collaborative
actions, and the consequences thereof. relationships, unambiguous communication,
• We ensure the integrity of our policies, information, explicit understandings about expectations and
systems, and processes. critical self-reflection.
• Honouring freedom of expression, ideals of
Sustainable stewardship citizenry, and civility of discourse, as fundamental to
• We are committed to environmental sustainability personal, professional, and organisational growth.
and recognise our responsibility to conserve, • Challenging and dismantling systemic oppression.
protect and sustainably manage natural resources • Freely expressing who we are, our own opinions
for current and future generations. and points of view.
• We promote the integration of sustainability • Fully participating in teaching, learning, work, and
into our governance, leadership, academic core social activities.
missions, operations, as well as the design and • Feeling safe from abuse, harassment, bullying and/
maintenance of physical and digital infrastructure. or unfair criticism.
• We inspire students and employees to embrace • Providing effective leadership in the development,
responsible stewardship of all financial, human, coordination, implementation, and assessment
infrastructural and environmental resources of a comprehensive range of programmes and
entrusted to them. services to promote diversity and understanding
of differences.
4. Statement of Commitment to an • Offering educational opportunities toward the
Inclusive Institutional Culture development of socially responsible leaders
who are willing to engage in discourse and
Nelson Mandela University is committed to inclusive decision-making that can lead to co-creative,
excellence and values that celebrate all forms of transformational change within the University and
diversity. Diversity includes race, colour, culture, our broader society.
gender, gender identity and expression, sexual • Intentionally nurturing a culture of open-
orientation, religion, age, national origin, ancestry, mindedness, compassion, and inclusiveness
disability, and/or class. We recognise that the among individuals and groups.
University is both a contested and generative space, • Purposefully building teams and groups whose
supporting the concurrent existence of multiple members have diverse cultures, backgrounds, and
perspectives and experiences. life experiences.
• Creating and maintaining opportunities for
Our mission, vision and values require us to engender engagement, education, and discourse related to
an inclusive culture, free from bias, prejudice, issues of equity, diversity, and inclusion.
discrimination and hurtful conduct towards our • Providing effective reporting mechanisms to
students, employees, alumni, and other relevant address any form of exclusion and discrimination
stakeholders. We support educational experiences at the University.
and conditions that encourage social inclusion
and cohesion, contributing to a society based on Cascading the Statement of Commitment to
democratic values, social justice, and fundamental an Inclusive Institutional Culture is a critical
human rights. enabler for realising the University’s Vision 2030
strategic aspirations. To this end, the Institutional
We denounce all forms of behaviour that conflict Culture Working Group (ICWG) commissioned a
with our values. We are committed to eliminating meta-analysis of the findings from previous research

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