In this first-ever student takeover episode, Emma, Ikram, Celine and Loïs from the Erasmus University Rotterdam (Master’s in Educational Sciences) speak with Dayna-Lee Stewart, founder and director of the Black Austrian Youth Forum. She is an educational professional with a background in Educational Sciences from Vienna, Austria. We explored her career path, the challenges she faced, and her vision for greater equality in education.
PAST (00:01:27): Dayna-Lee explains that her journey into education was not a straight line. She originally planned to study music but ultimately earned a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Educational Sciences. Alongside her studies, she gained experience in social care and educational roles. She reflects on the challenges she faced, such as navigating academia as a Black woman, dealing with systemic inequalities, and finding her professional identity in the complex field of education. She also gives honest advice to young professionals about standing their ground, exploring different paths, and ensuring their careers match their values.
PRESENT (00:06:17): Dayna-Lee shares details about her current work with the Black Austrian Youth Forum. She creates educational safe spaces for Black youth in Austria. Her efforts include organizing summer schools, hosting conferences, training educators, and securing funding. Her main goal is to make education more accessible and fair. She shares a powerful story from a recent summer school expansion, showing how important it is to support not just students but also to create safe, reflective spaces for Black educators. Through her work, she stresses the need for educational systems that support both learners and staff.
FUTURE (00:15:47): Looking ahead, Dayna-Lee critically examines diversity and inclusion in academia and educational settings. She calls for deeper changes beyond just symbolic diversity. She urges institutions to rethink how they manage, allocate resources, and offer support. Dayna-Lee encourages educators to question the systems they work within, to expand their perspectives through global scholarship, and to embrace discomfort as part of meaningful growth. She sees her own future increasingly in advisory and coaching roles, contributing to more reflective and inclusive educational environments.
For more information on the episode, guest, and included references, please visit
researchingdiversity.com.
You can also follow us on
Twitter,
Instagram,
LinkedIn, and
Facebook.
We want to thank
Minor Revisions for the music, Lotte Gottschewski for the logo design,
Max Kersten for post production, and
zeythehuman for their artwork. Stay tuned and talk soon!
What is ReSearching Diversity?
Join a group of six women in social sciences in their aim to increase visibility of inspiring social scientists and of cutting-edge research on ethnic, cultural, and migration-related diversity. Each episode, two hosts invite one outstanding scientist to discuss their PAST (personal path into academia), the PRESENT (research article or book chapter that has recently inspired them), and the FUTURE (recent developments and paradigm shifts in academia and social sciences).
For more information on the episode, guest, and included references, please visit https://www.researchingdiversity.com.
You can also follow us on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook.
We want to thank Minor Revisions for the music, Lotte Gottschewski-Kooijman for the logo design, Max Kersten for post production, and zeythehuman for their artwork. Stay tuned and talk soon!