2. How might we cultivate the cultural humility to unleash the power of story-telling and redress the unfairness of isms and inequities?

Equity Moonshot-WITI collaboration

This Zoom event series will enable you to participate in interactive story-sharing experiences about cultural humility, isms and inequities. Next event: 12 noon EST. Feb.23. 2023 Click on this link to register for this event series.

Dr. Rick Botelho, Founder of #UniteEquityMuses and Carolyn Leighton, Founder and chief influencer of Women in Technology International, will co-host this relational-and-community-building event series.

• How might we cultivate the cultural humility to make amends for the isms of inequities?

Cultural humility as an antidote against isms

Curiosity and caring underline the spirit of the cultural humility meme: be kind and fair to everyone. This simple rule enables cultures to create safe spaces and trusting environments, where people can express their authentic selves and retain autonomy over their personal and professional boundaries.

Cultural humility involves taking the one-down position of not-knowing and not-assuming in ways that help to suspend our biases, assumptions and perspectives. This position calls for equanimity and self-awareness.

Empathic curiosity enables one to relate across differences in cultures needed to build bridges of shared understandings. This discovery process opens the door to learning more about the intersectional dynamics of isms, inequities, toxic divisiveness and their negative impacts on the sense of inclusion and belonging.

For those interested in a deep dive into this topic, read this newsletter before attending these Zoom events to understand how we cultivate cultural humility to promote equity. This newsletter provides a foundation to explore and understand why the distinctions between cultural competence, sensitivity and humility are important.

Featured story teller

In her story, Carolyn will speak about the trappings of the victimization role early in her career that impaired her process of redressing isms and inequities. Think of a personal and professional story (or witnessed story) where external victimization led to an internalized victim role.

Her personal story will help you address this BHAQ.

How might you:

• Develop strategies to de-victimize and liberate yourself from the internalized victim role and lead with optimistic fortitude in addressing emotionally challenging situations?
• Help others to learn how to de-victimize themselves?

Interactive zoom workshop

Registrants are invited to read the above cultural humility newsletter (listed above) for an inverted classroom experience. No talking-head presenters. No power points. The purpose of the session requires full attention and participation. There is no time to multi-task.

Full attention, presence and collaboration are required to co-create a space for serendipity and flow conversations.

• Leave your old scripts behind.
• Allow spontaneity to say something unsaid or new.
• Co-create generative dialogues to spark new ideas-insights-understandings.
• Make meaningful connections with kindred spirits interested in equity.
• Share your Linked profile to build a network of equity muses

Outline of session

Part A: Listen to a story (30 minutes)

• Provide brief definitions of cultural humility in the chat box to allow workshop participants to reflect about the meaning of this concept. (5-10 minutes)
• The host and guest speaker will briefly discuss about what cultural humility means to them (5-10 minutes)
• Break into pairs to discuss your take about cultural humility (10 minutes)
• 30 seconds of silence to reflect about your conversations. Jot down a few notes about your key take-home messages.
• Debrief for 5 minutes about your learning experience. Participants are invited to make comments on this page.

Part B: Share the essence of your story (30 minutes)

• One minute of silence to reflect on a personal and/or professional experience of isms and/or inequities where you felt depreciated, diminished or undervalued.
• Featured guest will tell the essence of their story about unfairness (5 minutes). As listeners, take notes about the themes that you are learning from the story. 
• Break into groups of three people to discuss the essence of your story ( 5 minutes per person with 5 minutes to tell their story, with 5 minutes to reflect on the wisdom embedded in story-sharing)
• 1 minutes of silence to write out the essence of what you learned and post 1-2 sentence about the wisdom of your mini-group.
• Participants are invited to debrief about their small group story-telling experience (in less than two minutes). Use a talking-stick approach to experience a wisdom circle. 

Closure

• Participants are invited to write a blog story about their own experience as potential featured speakers at future events

Post-event networking

All participants are encouraged to post any reflections after the event and share any impact of this learning experience on their personal and professional lives.

The purpose is to grow a tapestry network of creative connections to spark the energy for transformational collaborations needed to launch equity moonshot.

• How might we, as equity muses and leaders, build self-organizing, self-governing and self-sustaining learning communities to scale up the #UniteEquityMuse movement for #EquityMoonshot?

These mini-workshops aim to generate interests in forming the Equity Muse learning academy (EMLA). Learn how to become equity muse together. And then learn how to become an equity muse trainer for your organization, community and networks.

Consider subscribing to the Substack newsletter to join the Equity Muse learning academy.