| GREENSBORO, N.C. (theACC.com) – As part of the Atlantic Coast Conference’s continued commitment to inclusion, social justice and racial equity, the league has announced plans for the conference’s second annual Winter Unity Week, which will be held Feb. 19-26.
The theme for the 2021-22 academic year is ‘Awareness to Action,’ which is intended to challenge each individual to get involved in activities that promote unity and connect with people and organizations that affect positive change in our communities.
ACC athletics departments are encouraged to actively engage in activities with their campus and local communities that promote unity. Some examples include community service projects, Unity walks, Town Hall meetings, partnerships with local social justice organizations and/or civic groups, civic engagement education and celebration of institutional UNITE Award recipients.
“We applaud the work of our schools and student-athletes for their ongoing commitment to issues surrounding racial and social justice,” said ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips, Ph.D. “We should all continue to seek out organizations and people in our communities with whom we can create meaningful change by our individual and collective actions. As a conference, we remain committed to being leaders and working with our Committee for Racial and Social Justice (CORE) to ensure we embrace and prioritize diversity, equity and inclusion. Winter Unity Week is another opportunity to promote the ACC’s commitment to fairness, inclusivity and togetherness.”
ACC Unity Weeks are an initiative of the ACC’s Committee for Racial and Social Justice and have been developed in conjunction with its 15 member institutions. The league celebrated three Unity Weeks last year (Fall, Winter, Spring) and will do the same during the 2021-22 academic year.
Each of the ACC’s winter sports are in action that week, including three conference championships: Men’s and Women’s Swimming & Diving (Feb. 15-19), Men’s & Women’s Indoor Track & Field (Feb. 24-26) and Men’s and Women’s Fencing (Feb. 26-27).
Among the ACC’s initiatives during Unity Weeks:
· UNITE logo inclusion intermittently on ACC Network TV broadcasts
· Conference hosted 1ACC Meeting (student-athlete affinity groups)
· Provide UNITE themed promotional items to give to student-athletes and coaches
· Social Media Programming
· All league social handle profile pictures featuring the ACC UNITE logo
· The Conference office will focus social media coverage on one institution per weekday throughout the three Unity Weeks throughout the year.
· Produce video content/programming for each Unity Week (i.e., UNITE Award winners panel discussion, student-athlete leaders discussion panel, etc.)
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