2018_0620_HRIEC Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

• How can respect for the opposing ideas of someone else make you or our community better? • What does our future world look like [with or without] a respect for a diversity of thought? • Write about a past experience that was not positive because other views were not welcomed? • Etc... Different quotes that could be used to shape the task-force's work or for educators to use: • "A diverse community or team that does not see the value of the diverse perspectives might as well not be diverse." • "Diversity of thought goes beyond the affirmation of equality or seeking of equality(which is simply recognizing differences and responding to them). Diversity of thought that is truly valued, invited and nurtured brings growth for the individual and the whole community." • "You will see results when diversity of thought is really valued, promoted, encouraged, talked about and shared. It enriches not only everyone's experience and that person's feeling of being part of something larger than themselves, but it also can give clues to what people are looking for in society and help a community to better fine-tune its services, products and total value proposition as a place to live, learn,work and play." • "Read the books of Robert Fulghum and consider this -our youngest children are free from judgment, stereotyping and discrimination.They have friendships with a broad range of other children in spite of differences.They seek what they have in common and enjoy it.The inability to accept and enjoy each other's differences comes as we get older and we are all the worse for it." Background information from a study on strengthening/building communities and increasing engagement efforts: • Focusing only on what inspires us,and thus what we understand and are comfortable with, reinforces like-mindedness and creates cultures that expect everybody to act the same. We see this in how traditional approaches to initiatives like diversity and inclusion typically promote and result in the exact opposite of inclusion: marginalization and victimization.That's why the conversation about diversity has not evolved—and this is true not just about the conversations surrounding diverse populations but all people: They have become dialogues around like-mindedness rather than the power of individual contributions. As a result, initiatives like diversity and inclusion as currently defined in communities are solving for the wrong things, and silos and further separation between groups are widening.To change the conversation, we must get beyond diversity and embrace the diversity of thought. o When people know their thinking is appreciated, engagement and the propensity to contribute goes up o When cognitive diversity is touted and appreciated, people see that differences go beyond culture, race,gender, experience, etc. and can understand that these too must be valued o With a cognitively diverse community, people can more easily make connections and contribute • Diversity in thinking styles and diversity in behavioral preferences really can propel your community to new heights.