DEI Training on Dec. 15, 2020
For a number of years the DFO Board and Festival Committee and Managers have worked on ways to ensure a safe and comfortable dance environment, beginning with our Culture of Consent guidelines. The Community Culture Committee of the DFO Board has been expanding the focus of this work to include issues of gender and diversity, with the goals of truly building inclusive spaces, growing DFO participation, and making ours a more responsive organization. To continue this work, the DFO Board invited the organization Move Together to provide an online Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) training for our Board, staff, and volunteers. This training was being supported in part by the Outreach Fund of the Country Dance and Song Society.
The training was led by Move Together’s professional global DEI trainer, Dr. Andaiye Qaasim. The presentation began with an overview of foundational concepts in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, including an understanding of structural racism, race consciousness, and the concepts of equity and intersectionality. Participants then broke into small groups to workshop case scenarios around equity and inclusion at dance events, including identifying multicultural pitfalls and brainstorming engagement strategies. Dr. Qaasim left the group with post-training resources to follow up with, plenty of topics for further exploration, and a great community energy!
Many thanks to the Community Culture Committee for bringing this program to the DFO, to CDSS for their support, and for the dedication and leadership of the Move Together Collaborative.
You can learn more about Move Together through their panel discussion on issues around race and inclusivity facing the global dance community.
