We are so pleased to announce the very first recipient of the 2021 ITS Canada Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Award, Dr. Karim El-Basyouny at the University of Alberta. Congratulations Dr. Karim!
Dr. Karim received his well-earned award, sponsored by WSP, on Nov 30th during the ITS Canada 2021 Virtual Winter Conference. This award recognizes an individual who demonstrates a commitment to advancing the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Karim is an Associate Professor and inaugural City of Edmonton's Research Chair in Urban Traffic Safety at the University of Alberta. Karim was nominated by his colleague Prof Ania Ulrich who wrote “The actions undertaken by Dr. El-Basyouny in his roles as both a Researcher and Associate Chair of Research and Development in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering demonstrate his commitment to advancing the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion".
In his inspirational acceptance speech Dr Karim said; " By creating this award, ITS Canada is taking clear and decisive steps towards acknowledging just how important these issues are in our professional lives. ITS Canada has clearly recognized this by acknowledging DEI as a valuable and important part of our ITS society going forward. The value of this award will be to continually highlight the good work by individuals to come, on their active roles in advocating for diversity, equity and inclusion within their workplace, putting the issues front and centre. More importantly, it will inspire others to step forward and take action regardless of their background and context".
Click here to watch the 2021 ITS Canada DEI Award presentation.
ITS Canada DEI Statement:
Diversity, inclusion and equality for all are ingrained in the DNA of ITS Canada. Together, we promote, encourage and create a culture which supports and celebrates diverse voices of our members. We embrace our differences in race, ethnicity, gender and sexual orientation. When we say, we are the hub for mobility technologies; we mean the hub for everyone.