Reflecting on self through training

Earlier this year I had the opportunity to complete some eye-opening training through IAP2. The training programs were ‘Diversity, Equity and Inclusion’ and ‘Facilitating the tough stuff’.

The two courses, while seemingly very different, had some common threads running through them and made me reflect on my own practice and how it might be impacted by my own lived experiences and values.

The facilitation training explored strategic matching of practitioners’ facilitation styles with a particular group or type of session. A key take-away here was that in understanding our facilitation styles, we could understand our own strengths and what areas might need improvement.

The Diversity training focused on the concept of equity over equality reminding us of our own privilege and how our own experiences and understanding impact our bias.

The common thread through these two training sessions was the need to stop and reflect on who we are and how, by recognising ourselves, we can challenge societal norms and better engage.

I really enjoyed both training sessions but was especially interested in the diversity training. The training got me thinking about how, when we engage with people, we don’t always remember the many different types of isms (ie ageism, sexism, racism, ableism, classism etc) preventing people from being engaged in the system.

I hope that in my next round of engagement, I can take these reflections and learnings and come up with more inclusive and engaging programs. Particularly in the space of differently abled people and elderly people, who I feel are often overlooked.

-Grace-