University of ٍٍٍ½خرتسئµ team wins BISA 2025 EDI prize for Decolonial Praxis Project
The University of ٍٍٍ½خرتسئµ colleagues, Andreja Zevnik, Toni Haastrup, and Meghan Tinsley won the 2025 BISA EDI Prize for its transformative Decolonial Praxis project.
The (BISA) has recognised The University of ٍٍٍ½خرتسئµâ€™s outstanding commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) by awarding its 2025 EDI Prize to a team of staff members whose work has significantly advanced inclusive practices in international studies.
The award was presented during the BISA 2025 annual conference, held in Belfast, and celebrates initiatives that have made a tangible impact on fostering inclusive academic environments. The University of ٍٍٍ½خرتسئµ team who received the EDI prize consisted of , (both from the Politics department) and (Sociology department).
We are honoured to receive the BISA EDI Prize for 2025. This recognition affirms the power of collective, sustained work to challenge structural inequalities in knowledge production. Our efforts are grounded in a commitment to accountability, co-creation, and amplifying voices and knowledges historically marginalised in international studies.
We are especially grateful to our colleagues in Nairobi, Accra and Pretoria whose willingness to engage reinforces our resolve to continue pushing for spaces where decolonial, feminist, and anti-racist praxis can thrive
The Decolonial Praxis project, that the awardees co-lead, challenges colonial legacies in Higher Education, while ensuring a more ethical and social justice-oriented approach to international partnerships. It is a transformative initiative that embodies the principles of Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI). Its working method is to evolve the approach in collaboration with colleagues from other universities (so far that includes universities of Ghana, Nairobi and Pretoria).
The initiative has sought to rethink modes of decolonising by including a wider range of participant: students, staff including academics and research support staff, and artivists. It convened at the universities but also in local communities and art-spaces giving importance to locally produced knowledge and knowledge-practice.
Over the last two years, activities have included mapping courses and degree programmes to highlight the ways in which structural inequalities persist as an evidence base to drive change within our School. Moreover, by engaging with colleagues from other universities and across disciplinary boundaries (in Nairobi the Faculty of Education; in Ghana the Interdisciplinary Institute for African Studies and in Pretoria the Department of Politics), the initiative has facilitated peer learning with implications for critical pedagogy, research and research support.
This initiative enhances diversity by amplifying marginalised voices and perspectives, through collaborative workshops and knowledge exchange. Through this initiative the project created an important space for critical dialogue and co-production of tools that advance decolonial praxis. This approach not only validates Indigenous knowledge but also ensures its relevance to socio-economic and cultural contexts, promoting sustainable development. The project’s long-term impact is secured through the ongoing development of a decolonial archive, and a number of publications.
This recognition underscores The University of ٍٍٍ½خرتسئµâ€™s leadership in social responsibility and its commitment to inclusive excellence in higher education. The project has been funded by the International Science Partnerships scheme and the Faculty of Humanities at ٍٍٍ½خرتسئµ.