Beyond Politically Correct – Developing an Affirming, Compassionate, and Empowering Culture for Diversity

Abstract Text: In the multinational and interconnected world of the 21st century, many efforts to diversify or be more inclusive fall flat in achieving their goals. Social media managers post token diversity statements, change their flags to rainbows during Pride, or publish copied and pasted statements about support and solidarity in crises and tragedies. But the world’s events are showing more and more that these gestures and practices are not enough.
This workshop will cover the various aspects of culture, visible and subtle, that affect how we and our target audiences see the world. Participants in this workshop will work as a whole and in groups of no more than five participants to examine texts about the perspectives of people of color and people of different minorities from around the world. They will participate in role-playing activities to increase empathy and awareness, and discussions about the challenges of reaching diverse populations. Case studies of multicultural challenges in workplaces and educational institutions will be taken from all over the world and analyzed in discussion groups. The discussion groups will work together to come up with action plans to make their own workplaces more acceptable and embraceable to diverse populations. These applications are relevant for interpersonal interactions within staff and patrons alike.
Activities and discussions will be taken from the following sources, among others:

• Bridges Out Of Poverty: Strategies for Professionals and Communities (Payne, DeVol, and Smith, 2001)
• Palaces for the People: How Social Infrascructure Can Help Fight Inequality, Polarization, and the Decline of Civic Life (Klinenberg, 2018)
• Courageous Conversations about Race (Singleton and Linton, 2006)
• A Framework for Understanding Poverty (Payne, 1996)