Diversity welcome
The intention of the diversity welcome is inclusion. It can be long or short. The common element is to inclusively name a range of possibilities with a genuine “Welcome!”
by Deborah Rim MoisoGoal
Acknowledge and welcome diversity.
Instructions
You can start with simple, funny ideas such as "if you love dogs... if you prefer cats... You are welcome here!" and move on to deeper concepts, whatever will make sense and is likely to resonate with your audience, e.g. "If you have a scientific background... if you are into the humanities... or both..." "Those who are in their 20s or younger, 30s... 40s, 50s, those over 60... you are welcome!" "Those who were born here... those who have come from other places... you are welcome here!"
You might like to prepare notes to remind you of a few you don’t want to forget. Invite participants to add the aspects of diversity they would like to welcome. This is a beautiful, effective way to support everyone in feeling seen and heard at the start of a meeting.
Using this method in a session
In remote or hybrid settings, you can use the diversity welcome to acknowledge people's different circumstances: "If you are working from home.. or in an office... with kids or family in the background... or having difficulties with your network today...".
See an example this tool is used in the flow of a session in this template for a Hybrid Community Event.
Attachments
- welcome_belinda_fewings_unsplash.jpg
Background
The diversity welcome is part of the toolkit from the capacity-building organization Training for Change. You can download their script from this link.
Author
Deborah Rim Moiso is an Endorsed Facilitator with the IAF – International Association of Facilitators and the current co-chair of the Italian IAF Chapter. She is also a content writer for SessionLab and a published author of a manual and deck of cards on facilitation available in Italian (Facilitiamoci! Prendersi cura di gruppi e comunità).
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