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In 2020, we’ve seen global tensions rise to an all time high.
The death of George Floyd, Black Lives Matter, Brexit and the #MeToo movement have shown us that we can no longer afford to remain uninformed on issues surrounding diversity.
In fact, our ability to move forward as a society depends upon us becoming educated in this area. You can also educate yourself with a workplace diversity program that can help your company take a huge step in the right direction.
Given the complex social environment we now find ourselves in, we need leaders and change-makers, who understand (and are able to implement) the latest scientific approaches to diversity in their workplaces, communities, and in their relationships with others.
This is why, for this online conference, we’ve brought together some of the world’s leading experts on the subject, including Harvard psychologists, bestselling authors, and university professors at the forefront of their fields – who will share with you their cutting edge approaches to diversity.
If you are interested in becoming a force for positive change in the world and impacting those around you, then this event is for you.
You’ll discover:
You’ll learn how to apply these insights to become a force for positive change in your life, work, community and relationships.
10:00am – 12:00pm: Diversity, Intersectionality & Psychotherapy – Dr Dwight Turner, PhD
12:00 – 1:00pm: Lunch break
1:00pm – 3:00pm: The Science of Diversity – Dr Mona Sue Weissmark, PhD, Marcelle Giovannetti, and Brian Chin
3:00pm – 3:30pm: Afternoon break
3:30pm – 5:00pm: Diversity without Labels: The Psychology of Shaming and How We Can Do Better – Professor Irshad Manji
We live in a challenging age. With the death of George Floyd, the subsequent marches across the world against racism, the struggles of the #Metoo movement, campaigns for equal rights for the LGBTQ community, and the rise of Disability theorists. Yet, all these efforts towards equality in the face of varying types of oppression speak loudly of the voices of the others and their need to be heard and acknowledged. Within psychotherapy and psychology though, difference and diversity trainings have been slow in turning their considerable talents towards exploring or understanding the experiences of the other, often doing no more than to mirror the wider societal oppressions we all witness daily.
This morning session is designed to give facilitators, supervisors, lecturers, and markers an insight into the latest thinking around privilege and otherness within the profession. Drawing upon the idea of intersectionality, this taster presents a more nuanced, psychotherapeutic understanding of difference and diversity.
Dr Dwight Turner is a psychotherapist, Senior Lecturer and Researcher at the School of Applied Social Science at Brighton University. Dr Turner casts an intersectional lens on privilege, supremacy, otherness and social justice. He was invited to deliver the keynote presentation at the BACP’s ‘Working with Diversity’ Conference in 2019.
His recent blog post – “Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos” addressed the anguish and the action that has risen from the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, and has been widely read by UK and US therapists. Dr Turner’s new book: ‘Linking Intersectional Theory of Privilege and Otherness to Counselling and Psychotherapy’ will be published by Routledge. You can keep up to date with his work and latest blog posts at: https://www.dwightturnercounselling.co.uk/ and follow him on twitter @Dturner300.
Books and Articles:
Podcasts:
The Science of Diversity is a method of teaching universal, scientific reasoning as a tool to overcome dialog barriers and move forward in polarizing conversations. This method addresses fundamental weaknesses in the way we communicate and provide learners with the necessary skills to approach conversations about diversity issues scientifically. People do not always think of scientific reasoning as a path to understanding in emotionally charged conflicts. However, the nature of scientific reasoning causes us to pause, reflect, look to data for insight and reach scientific consensus.
The Science of Diversity method recognizes that in order to comprehend the complexities of our biases, it is necessary to understand their biological and psychological underpinnings. Many of the current agenda driven diversity and racial sensitivity programs have failed to recognize that people have biases deeply rooted in their personal memories and histories.
The Science of Diversity method stands out from such programs by recognizing that commanding people to get rid of their biases is often akin to asking them to shed their very legacies and identities. Diversity issues are nuanced, but without the ability to have truly open discussions, people will not feel safe to express their ideas, and real understanding and growth cannot be achieved.
This session will help participants to:
Dr. Mona Sue Weissmark is an award-winning professor, researcher, and author. Her work on the science of diversity has received global recognition, and she is widely recognized as a leading expert on diversity, inclusion, and polarized groups. Dr Weissmark is best known for her groundbreaking social experiment of bringing together descendants of slaves and slaveowners, and descendants of Holocaust survivors and Nazis at Harvard University. She teaches the ‘Psychology of Diversity’ course and conducts research on the science of diversity at Harvard, and her work has been featured in major publications such as the New York Times, The Guardian, JUF News, Harvard Magazine and many others.
Marcelle Giovannetti is a full time Assistant Professor in Messiah University’s Graduate Counseling Program in Pennsylvania, and also works part-time as a clinician in private practice at Purposefully Soaring LLC. She has presented on numerous occasions at national, regional, state and local conferences. Marcelle serves as a Teaching Assistant to Dr. Mona Sue Weissmark in the Psychology of Diversity course taught at Harvard.
Brian Chin, one of Dr. Mona Sue Weissmark’s research and teaching assistants, is a current graduate student at Harvard University. Brian graduated from Rutgers University with a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, and also served with distinction in the U.S Army (2011-2019) as an enlisted soldier specializing in Psychological Operations, a branch of the U.S Army focusing on Psychological Warfare.
In this one-of-a-kind session, Irshad Manji will take your questions about faltering relationships — in your family, among your friends, with your co-workers, or in society at large — and coach you to repair them by listening to understand and speaking to be understood.
What does this have to do with diversity? Everything. Honest diversity isn’t about labeling people according to race, gender, religion, sexuality, disability, or any other group marker. Instead, true diversity is about communicating with one another so that different points of view are heard, acknowledged, and appreciated, despite being disagreed with. Welcome to Irshad’s no-shaming technique of creating unity without uniformity.
Irshad will begin the session with an overview of the Moral Courage Method, a simple, science-backed approach to dealing with any polarized situation. She will then invite participants to put her teachings to the test. They will pose surprise questions about the divisions that are rocking their own lives. Irshad will mentor them to build and exercise their moral courage, all the while encouraging every participant (not just those asking the questions) to voice their doubts, skepticism, and challenges to her teachings. In that way, Irshad will also role-model how to have constructive conversations in the midst of disagreements.
This session will wrap up with concrete tools and tips for starting and sustaining difficult dialogues. The bottom line? Any diversity that does not make peace with the existence of different opinions is merely a cosmetic diversity; one that is fixated on skin color and other superficialities. By contrast, the Moral Courage Method shows how we can transcend labels to humanize ourselves and each other, cultivating common ground even when we stand our ground.
At Irshad’s request, all proceeds from this session will go to the Maggie Fleming Animal Hospice in Scotland.
The recipient of Oprah Winfrey’s first annual “Chutzpah Award” for boldness, Irshad Manji inspires and equips people to have honest, non-judgemental conversations about issues that polarize.
Although she is an internationally bestselling author, her books are banned in many countries — which has intrigued a new generation to learn her techniques for effective communication. Irshad’s latest book, Don’t Label Me, is a primer on how to do diversity without inflaming the culture wars. (Fun fact: The comedian Chris Rock labels it “genius.”)
A professor of leadership at New York University for many years, Irshad is now the founder of Moral Courage College. She also teaches moral courage with Oxford University’s Initiative for Global Ethics and Human Rights.
WATCH: Irshad and Al-Jazeera journalist Mehdi Hasan go “head-to-head” about Irshad’s first two books, which argue that Islam needs reform.
READ: The Progressive magazine features an extract from Don’t Label Me about why the human brain is seduced by labels.
WATCH: In this viral video produced by TIME magazine, Irshad makes the case for why young people (actually, all people!) should resist becoming so easily offended.
LISTEN: In this series of one-minute audio clips, Irshad addresses diversity-related dilemmas at work:
* How do we ask our co-workers about their identity if we worry that the question will sound ignorant? Here is Irshad’s answer.
* How do we invite ideas and opinions from diverse groups without making anybody feel like a token or a mascot for their group? Here is Irshad’s answer.
* Most diversity training programs produce poor outcomes. Is there a better alternative? Here is Irshad’s answer.
* When hiring, how do you assess someone’s cultural fit without lapsing into bias? Here is Irshad’s answer.
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