So often, our leaders want to have a ‘culturally responsive’ community, but are stuck in trying to answer some very familiar questions, “How do we create an atmosphere where every member is seen and valued? What if I’m part of the problem? If don’t even know about my own culture, how can I help someone else discover and celebrate theirs?”

These and many other questions will be answered in this dynamic interactive session about what it will take to create a truly multicultural community. Through personal stories, diversity exercises, role-play, and other experiential modalities, we will explore not only in what ways we have become mired, but also what is still needed to truly make use of the cultural richness inherent in the gifts and contributions of our members. We will openly discuss what makes it safe and unsafe for our diverse community to truly be ‘themselves’ and what they leave at the door each and every day and why.

It’s time we move beyond the simplicity of thinking that diversity awareness can only be expressed through our foods, costumes and dances, to understanding that it is our spiritual, emotional and traditional differences that are the untold and uncharted territory begging to be honored, valued and integrated into our classrooms, schools and workplaces.

We need to develop a relationship with each other by taking the time to hear each other’s journey and learning about the myriad of perspectives that we each bring to the table–perspectives that are not only precious, but essential, if we each are to truly feel ‘seen and valued’.

Participants will learn to:

• Align racial differences through understanding how they can affect relationships, communication and behaviors
• Listen and respond to personal experiences from a cultural perspective
• Develop ways to respond compassionately and openly about diversity issues
• Practice working with conflict and hurt when diversity issues are involved
• Create a sense of community through dialogue and stories