My quilt square represents diversity. It is a leaf made out of fabrics from all parts of the world.

I work for INASP, an international development organisation working to improve the equitable production, sharing and use of research and knowledge for development.

I chose a leaf design because growing networks – within and between countries – is important for ensuring diverse voices have an opportunity to contribute to research and make a positive difference to policies and practices in their countries and regions. With partners in Uganda and Ethiopia, for example, we are seeing new networks grow and flourish to support improved gender equity in research and higher education in the countries.

Leaves themselves play a vital role in our lives, underlined by how many of the researchers in our AuthorAID learning network are involved in research into agriculture and the environment. You can read a few stories here – such as Aulath Mustafa who researches soil-less organic farming in Tanzania and is passionate about reducing food insecurity and Shobha Poudel who researches climate change and agricultural production in Nepal.

The fabrics in my leaf were gathered on four continents. My African fabric came from Kenya, where I have spent some time over the past couple of years working with partners on a project to improve critical thinking and problem solving skills in East African higher education. My leaf square also includes sari fabric from Asia, where we have been working with journal editors to help strengthen local platforms for sharing research. And I have fabric from South America, where we have partners that we work with in helping policymakers use evidence in making policy decisions.

My final pieces of fabric come from Europe. I am from Poland, working in the UK, and it is exciting to be part of an organisation with team members from many countries, bringing our diversity of skills and experiences and working together – just like my quilt square can be part of this bigger quilt project.

 

Shared by: Joanna Wild @askawild
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