[ASA] Statement on Black Lives Matter and EoI for Community Action Committee

[asa idea]

Dear ASA members,


The IDEA Chapter Steering Committee and the ASA Council would like to
reaffirm that the ASA is committed to supporting the First Nations
Australian community, and Indigenous communities from around the world. We
also stand in full support of the Black Lives Matter movement that brings
to light the systemic racism that persists in Australia and abroad. We
encourage everyone to commit to stopping racism within astronomy, and in
academia and research more generally. We must all take time now to educate
ourselves, listen to those who have been marginalized, and determine what
action we will take.

Equity, inclusion, and diversity are core values of the ASA and we must
continue the challenging work of supporting our community to make changes
and take actions to reflect those values.  The ASA IDEA Chapter Steering
Committee has decided to organise a Community Action Committee to bring
together members of equity, diversity, and inclusion groups from
astronomical organisations across Australia to join together and connect
with international collaborations (e.g. IAU Executive Committee Working
Groups) in identifying strategic, long-term goals and actions needed to
make astronomy truly equitable and inclusive.

This action is especially pertinent during NAIDOC Week (
https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/wkxbC91WPRTE4mVnUoL6lS?domain=naidoc.org.au its 2020 theme, “Always Was, Always Will Be”,
recognises that First Nations Australians were Australia’s first
astronomers.

EoI for joining the Community Action Committee:

The ASA IDEA Chapter Steering Committee would like to issue a call for
expressions of interest (EoIs) from all astronomical organisations across
Australia. We ask that each organisation nominate one member (ideally from
their EDI committee) to represent the organisation on the Community Action
Committee. If you are not part of a relevant organisation, or would like to
have more than one representative from the same organisation, please also
submit an EoI and explain your interest in the Committee. The Community
Action Committee will meet to determine and then work towards long-term
goals for the entire Australian astronomical community, and facilitate
broad communication throughout our national community and with the
international community. We plan to seek guidance and direction from the
First Nations Australian community, and will invite members to join the
Committee if they wish. Our vision is that we all learn from each other’s
successes and mistakes, share resources, and act on large-scale issues that
individually we may not be able to address.

The EoI should answer the following questions and should be no longer than
one page:

   1.

   Name of organisation
   2.

   Name of nominated representative
   3.

   Position of the representative within the organisation
   4.

   Email of nominated representative
   5.

   Is the nominated representative a member of the organisation’s EDI
   committee? If yes, for how long?
   6.

   What does the organisation hope to gain from participating in the
   Community Action Committee?
   7.

   Any additional information you would like to share


The EoI submissions should be emailed to asa.ideastronomy at gmail.com by 20
November 2020.


We would like to acknowledge Aunty Sue Pinckham (Cultural Advisor,
Indigenous Strategy, Macquarie University) for her assistance in preparing
this statement.

Sincerely,
*The IDEA Chapter Steering Committee*
asa-idea.org
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