- Ratna Omidvar, Richard von Weizsäcker Fellow and former Senator of Canada
- Ferdinand Mirbach, Senior Expert, Robert Bosch Foundation
Can diversity and social cohesion coexist? In her Robert Bosch Academy Lecture, Ratna Omidvar makes the case that they can and do – when we recognize their compatibility and policymakers legislate to bridge divides.
Omidvar will explore what that looks like in practice, pulling from her extensive experience as a Senator and leading voice on diversity and inclusion in Canada and her observations from policy dialogues in Germany.
Following her lecture, Ferdinand Mirbach, one of the authors of the Robert Bosch Foundation Diversity Barometer, will join onstage for a fireside chat reflecting on how to respond to the promise of and pressures facing diverse societies.
Following the conversation, we invite you to a reception to continue the discussion.
Atje Drexler, Senior Vice President, Futures and Networks at the Robert Bosch Foundation, will provide opening remarks.
About Robert Bosch Academy Lectures
Academy Lectures are a new event series from the Robert Bosch Academy that provides a space for those shaping public life to step back and sit with the questions shaping the future.
About the speakers
Ratna Omidvar is a Richard von Weizsäcker Fellow currently in residence. Over four decades, she has built and led organizations at the intersection of civil society, policy and research, all aimed at improving access to education and the labor market for immigrants. Her work spans initiatives such as the Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council (TRIEC), the Global Diversity Exchange, and the Maytree Foundation. From 2016 to 2024, she served as an Independent Senator in the Canadian Senate, chairing the Standing Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology. She was appointed to the Order of Canada in 2011 and received the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany in 2014 in recognition of her work on behalf of immigrants and integration.
Ferdinand Mirbach is a Senior Expert on democracy with a focus on participation, integration, and diversity, and also serves as the Diversity Officer of the Robert Bosch Stiftung. His motivation for working in our democracy team lies in fostering good coexistence in heterogeneous societies, ensuring the equal participation of different social groups, and combating discrimination. Ferdinand studied Political Science, Religious Studies and American Studies at the Universities of Munich and Bologna (Italy) and received his PhD from the University of Göttingen on the "Political Participation of Muslims in Germany".