Performances + Events
Center for Cultural Equity and Belonging
Fostering a community of belonging. Share your story, exchange ideas, and collaborate in our shared space.
Contact CEB
St. Botolph, Room SB203
Monday – Friday, 9:30 am – 5:30 pm
Monique Van Willingh, Director of CEB monique.vanwillingh@necmusic.edu
Center for Cultural Equity and Belonging
Overview
The Center for Cultural Equity and Belonging (CEB) helps create a campus community where everyone can thrive and realize their full educational and professional potential.
What We Do
Our Four Pillars
1
Dialogue
By cultivating brave and safe exchanges among individuals and cultural groups, and making space for multiple points of view, we help foster a campus-wide sense of inclusive and critical dialogue.
2
Learning
We offer varied learning opportunities on CEB topics to deepen our understanding of belonging for students, staff, and faculty. Workshops and panels include topics such as navigating cross-cultural communication and understanding microaggressions.
3
Collaboration
We collaborate with constituents across NEC (students, student clubs, staff, faculty, and alumni) to listen to CEB-related needs and challenges, create relevant programming and resources, explore solutions, and share guidance.
4
Resources and Support
Our center and program provide physical and virtual space for members of our community to engage in meaningful dialogue, exchange innovative ideas, and find intercultural resources that promote understanding and respect for all socio-cultural identities and cultural backgrounds.
Our Commitment
New England Conservatory is committed to providing a safe environment for learning, working, and performing in which all members of the community are valued and respected and can reach their personal and artistic potential. At a minimum, everyone in the NEC community commits to refraining from discrimination, harassment, and retaliation, which are not only against NEC policy but also illegal under federal and state law. See NEC’s Equal Opportunity & Anti-Discrimination Policy and NEC’s Title IX and NEC’s Prohibition on Sex Discrimination Policies.
Further, NEC strives for a diverse, respectful community and is committed to cultural equity and belonging. Believing that a vital and diverse community is built on the respect of individuals, NEC fosters an atmosphere of intellectual and artistic freedom and encourages the open exchange of ideas and creative initiatives.
Learning at NEC is an active process that is encouraged and supported by common respect for the talents and potential of each member of the community. An essential part of an NEC education is gaining a deep appreciation of the traditions and cultures from which music originates. Systemic racism, unconscious bias, and white supremacy generate countless imbalances of equity, equality, and access.
Whether these imbalances are intentional or not, we as an institution take action to identify them, understand their impact, and intentionally dismantle and reset them. We must examine ourselves and systematically advance respect, equity, and justice—within NEC first, throughout our field more broadly, and ultimately across society.
Meet the Director
Supporting Our Students
Report a Concern
NEC reviews reports of bias-related events, incidents, behavior or actions and supports restorative and educational responses to address the individual, collective, and institutional impacts.
Student Resources
CEB connects students to the support they need around equity and belonging-related concerns.
Report a Concern
NEC reviews reports of bias-related events, incidents, behavior or actions and supports restorative and educational responses to address the individual, collective, and institutional impacts.
The Intercultural Institute
Honoring diverse musical traditions from around the world.
The Intercultural Institute
Honoring musical traditions from around the world.
The Intercultural Institute, led by Mehmet Ali Sanlikol, presents workshops, performances, festivals, conferences, and residencies from cross-cultural guest scholars and artists to develop a deeper understanding and appreciation of music from cultures around the world.
Event spotlight
Upcoming CEB Events
