‘Embracing Diverse Minds - Neurodiversity and Mental Health’ event

You could have signed up for this event until Wednesday 23 October 12pm. If you still want to join in person, please come to the location.

Mental health is crucial for the well-being of individuals, both in the workplace and in educational settings. Unfortunately, stigma surrounding psychological issues often prevents many people from receiving the help and support they need. During the ‘Embracing Diverse Minds - Neurodiversity and Mental Health’ event on Thursday 24 October 2024, we aim to break down these barriers and foster an open dialogue about mental health and neurodiversity. We will explore how to create an inclusive environment where people feel safe to share their challenges and seek support. Together, we can work towards a culture where mental health and neurodiversity are taken seriously, ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to thrive.

There is no such thing as a standard brain. We are all unique individuals with our own ways of perceiving the world, thinking, feeling, and communicating. This diversity of minds, often referred to as neurodiversity, includes natural variations in the human brain, such as differences in learning styles, information processing, and interpersonal interactions. Neurodiversity encompasses conditions like autism, ADHD, dyslexia, and other neurological differences that shape how individuals experience and engage with their surroundings.

Unfortunately, not all talent reaches its full potential because standard approaches to education, collaboration, and leadership in organizations do not fit everyone equally. To unlock the full potential of every brain, including yours, we need to create environments that celebrate and accommodate these differences. This means fostering a brain-friendly workplace where diverse talents can thrive, allowing us to benefit from the wide array of ideas, perspectives, and knowledge that each individual brings.

For whom

All employees at NWO-I (all nine NWO Institutes and the NWO-I office) are welcome to participate in this event.

Location

The plenary sessions takes place at:
WCW Colloquiumzalen
(Z011 Turingzaal)
Science Park 125  
1098XG  Amsterdam

Route description: https://maps.app.goo.gl/xrjWcZdGHwHKrKzX8
Parking: more information.

The workshops all take place at Science Park, but at the different NWO Institutes: AMOLF, ARCNL CWI and Nikhef. Please see the room numbers of the workshops in the programme below.

Organisation

October is Diversity month at NWO-I. This event is organized by Andrei Nesterov, a PhD student at CWI, who conceived the idea of focusing on mental health. He reached out to Judith Kreukels, Advisor for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at NWO-I, and Thecla van Wageningen, Strategic Advisor at NWO-I, both of whom were already planning events on neurodiversity and for PhD students. By combining their efforts, they have created this event, which is the third in a series dedicated to the topic of neurodiversity. NWO-I also has an employee network (ERG) focused on neurodiversity. If you are interested in joining or would like more information, please visit the NWO-I website.

Date, time and specifics

The event takes place on Thursday 24 October from 12.30-17.30 hrs.

The registration and an optional lunch start at 12.00 hrs. The first part of the event starting at 12.30 will focus on neurodiversity. The introduction of the program and the session with Saskia Schepers  will be recorded and will be available online for further distribution on the website.

The second segment, which shifts focus to mental health, includes interactive workshops that will not be offered online. If you wish to attend only the first part of the event or only the second part, that is possible. For the second part, please arrive by 3:00 PM.

The lecture hall will turn into a decompression room during the breaks to provide a calming environment where people can take a break and re-center themselves. We will also provide fidget toys at the registration for you. At any point of the event you are allowed to exit, should you need or wish to. In the registration form you can let us know if you have specific needs we should take into consideration.

Programme

12.00-12.30 Registration & optional lunch

12.30-12.45  A word of welcome by Arfan Ikram (Board member by NWO-I)

12.45- 13.00 Introduction of the day - Judith Kreukels (Advisor Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) and Thecla van Wageningen (Project leader Recognition & Rewards)

13.00-14.30 When All Minds Thrive by Saskia Schepers:  Practical tools for creating neuro-inclusive workplaces

14.30-15.00 Break (decompression room available)

15.00- 15.30 “Out of the Shadow” Movie (click here if you can't join the event but still wish to see the movie) about mental health and breaking the stigma surrounding psychological issues

15.30-15.45 Walking to the different institutes at Science Park

15.45-16.45 Workshops at CWI, NIKHEF, ARCNL and AMOLF Institute

• Essential Dutch mental health regulations: what international employees need to know (Nikhef, Positron room)
• Being yourself: mental health experiences of LGBTIQA+ individuals (CWI, L120)
• Leading with empathy, an open conversation about inclusive leadership (AMOLF, Room A)
• Using storytelling to share mental health journeys (ARCNL, room 1.12)

17.00-17.30 Recap and closure at CWI, Turing Zaal

17.30-18.00 Drinks and snacks (decompression room available) at CWI

Workshop topics

This event features a range of insightful workshops designed to address critical aspects of mental health and inclusivity. Please see the room numbers of the workshops in the programme below. You can choose to follow one of the following workshops:

1. Being yourself: mental health challenges of LGBTIQA+ individualsPlace:
   Place: CWI L120
   Speaker: Derek Brouwer
   Workshop description: In this workshop, Derek will give an interactive talk from his experience and expertise about the challenges LGBTIQA+ people can experience. Topics that will be addressed are: mental health challenges, adaptation in a new environment, the importance of social support and the challenge of asking for help. From a safe environment, it is also possible to address questions and share experiences.
   

2. Leading with empathy, an open conversation about inclusive leadership
   Place: AMOLF, Room A
   Speakers: Michael Wise (director SRON), Lynda Hardman (Principal researcher at CWI); Esther Alarcón Lladó (group leader AMOLF); Nicolette Ketelaar (HR management DIFFER). 
   Workshop description:  In this interactive panel discussion we open up the floor to everyone interested in inclusive leadership at NWO-I. The four speakers will -together with you!- discuss topics such as what is the definition of inclusive leadership? What does it mean to you and how do you put it into practice? How can we cope with the hierarchical structures in academia and when does the responsibility of inclusion end (does it?). We hope these and other stimulating questions will lead to an interesting discussion and ultimately a view on inclusive leadership within NWO-I and what we have to do to accomplish this. 

3. Essential Dutch mental health regulations: What international employees need to know
   Place: Nikhef, Positron room
   Speaker: Sjoerd Wouda
   Workshop description: Navigating mental health regulations in a new country can be challenging. This workshop provides an essential overview of Dutch mental health laws and policies relevant to international employees. Attendees will learn about their rights and responsibilities, how to access mental health services and key aspects of the Dutch healthcare system. In addition, this workshop will provide an overview of what is possible within NWO-I and who you could contact.

4. Using storytelling to share mental health journeys
   Place: ARCNL, room 1.12
   Speaker: Ghazaleh Ghobadi
   Workshop description: We are all unique, each carrying many different stories. Our stories may be different, but when we share them and they cross paths, they connect us to one another. In this workshop, we will practice telling our stories to each other, writing them down, and visualizing them through forms and colors. In the end, we will witness how our diverse stories weave together into one colorful narrative.

Speakers

Saskia Schepers

Saskia Schepers is an expert in the field of neurodiversity. She is a creative mind who, with her extensive HR experience and background in Organizational Sciences, gives lectures, workshops, and masterclasses on neurodiversity in education and the workplace. She is also the bestseller author of Als alle breinen werken (When All Minds Thrive), and her new book on neurodiversity in education will be released in the spring.

Derek Brouwer

Derek Brouwer is the owner and founder of Vitaalenergiek. He has a master degree in Occupational Health Psychology and started his career as a coach and psychologist in his own practice de RozeCoach (the pink coach), specialised in queer and non-heteronormative life challenges. His company Vitaalenergiek advises companies in sustainability, employability and provides training and individual coaching on numerous topics related to (mental) health, burn-out, balance and personal development. Derek is married to Mark and they have 2 children (1 and 3 years old) from a Dutch surrogate mother. Besides being an expert by experience in non-heteronormative life challenges, it is his mission that all employees can (re)take their own responsibility and authority in their own life and vitality despite background, cultural differences and identity preferences.

Ghazaleh Ghobadi

Ghazaleh Ghobadi was born in Iran and immigrated to the Netherlands in 2007. After years of working as a scientist in Dutch academic hospitals, her passion for connecting through stories inspired a bold career shift. Now an artist, storyteller, and creative producer, she is also the founder of StreaMind, a platform that bridges gaps through storytelling.

Lynda Hartman

Lynda Harman is Principal Researcher & Strategist at Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI) the Dutch national research centre for Mathematics and Computer Science. She is full professor, part-time, of Multimedia Discourse Interaction at Utrecht University. She researches how visualisations can be used to improve the way domain experts interpret and interact with (linked) data.
She was the group leader of Semantic Media Interfaces 1998-2010 and a member of the CWI management team 2011-2017.She was the president of Informatics Europe 2016-2017. During her time as board member, she founded the IE working group Women in Informatics Research and Education.
She was named ACM Distinguished Scientist in 2014 and is a Fellow of the British Computer Society.

Nicolette Ketelaar

Nicolette Ketelaar is Head HRM at the DIFFER institute in Eindhoven. Her departments mission is to facilitate colleagues with a pleasant employee experience during their time at DIFFER so they can perform excellent research and become ambassadors for the institute. Creating a diverse and inclusive environment where all (inter)national colleagues feel at home, inspires her and brings together experiences from the past.

Esther Alarcón Lladó

Esther Alarcón Lladó is an internationally recognized leader in nanophotonics and nano-electrochemistry, with a strong focus on sustainable energy solutions. As a tenured group leader at AMOLF and a professor at the University of Amsterdam, she has made pioneering contributions to solar energy conversion, light-matter interactions, and electrocatalysis. She is also deeply committed to promoting diversity in science, and she is currently the chair of the Diversity and Inclusion team at AMOLF.

Michael Wise

Michael Wise is the General and Scientific Director of SRON, the Netherlands Institute for Space Research and also holds an appointment as Professor of High Energy Astrophysics at the University of Amsterdam. His research focuses on how the gas in galaxies interacts with their central black holes to regulate the evolution of the galaxy and the growth of the black hole itself. In addition to his research, he has over 30 years of experience in the design, construction, and operation of large-scale astronomical facilities on the ground and in space. He has served on numerous review and advisory committees and is currently Chair of the Netherlands Council for Astronomy and Head of the NL delegation to the ESA Science Programme Committee. Within NWO, he currently chairs the NWO-I Committee on Rewards and Recognition (NCRR) and is a member of the Steering group for Promoting Access, Research, and Knowledge (SPARK) on EDI.

Sjoerd Wouda

Sjoerd Wouda is the Health, Safety and Environment Advisor of NWO‑I. Previously he was chair of the NWO Works Council and a Software Engineer at the AMOLF institute. He coordinates NWO‑I wide projects on both physical and mental health and safety, helps to formulate the NWO‑I policies regarding HSE and advises the institutes and governing board of NWO-I.