Diversity Training for Transition New Cross

Overview

Introduction

- the key points

- Stages of Change

Exercise 1: In and Out of Our Comfort Zone

Exercise 2: Invent and Event card game

Exercise 3: Awareness Raising worksheet

I based this session on the core Transition Training week-end and Shilpa Shah’s Diversity Workshops. There are useful notes available from the workshop she did for the Transition Cities conference.

Key points

'Hi! Read this leaflet!'

Until recently environmental campaigners and activists tended to behave like the worst kind of 'Fire and Brimstone' preachers: "Hear us you Sinners and Repent your Evil Ways (not recycling/eating meat/driving a car/etc) lest we all Perish (climate change meltdown/buried in rubbish/choked to death by fumes/etc)!"

It's an 'us and them' model of the world that's based in fear and guilt. It often uses jargon and tends to be preachy, scary and patronizing. Unsurprisingly it doesn't work very well.

'Hi! How are you doing?'

The new approach is focused on building relationships, so get personal!

1. Learn about your target group. What is the culture of the group? What kind of language are they comfortable with? What are their perceptions of the world?
2. Go to them. Aim to meet them on their home ground (assuming they are happy with that).
3. Listen. What are your target group interested in? What do they enjoy? What inspires them? What are their hopes and dreams? What concerns them?
4. Digest what you have learnt and you will be able to explain Transition in a way that is relevant to their lives.

Inspire change thorough example

We are basically communal creatures and in general people like to be like others in their tribe. The old model (above) says 'Do this! (or else)'. It's much better to say "I chose to do this", within a context of opening a discussion. If someone likes you and you made a particular choice, they will probably consider doing it too. If you are enthusiastic about the choice and seem to be thriving, so much the better!

It's like being at the beach with bored children. The solution is not to say, “Go and have some fun building sand castles.” Instead just start building sand castles yourselves. When they see how much fun you are having, they can’t wait to join in! (Thanks to Transition Farnham and Godalming).

• Listen and engage
• Encourage participation
• Go to other peoples meetings
• Apply Nonviolent Communication
• Research to understand
• Be creative
• Celebrate difference
• Give people ownership
• Make it relevant
• Ask powerful questions
• Person to person
• Personal experience

• Don't rely on usual techniques
• Don't just have a stall and sit behind it!
• Don't monologue
• Don't depend on mass leafleting campaign
• Don't guilt-tip people

Suggested Rules for Meetings

1) Everyone is welcome here.
2) We want your ideas;and we’ll share all of ours with you.
3) In these meetings and activities there are two things that are forbidden; proselytizing and intolerance of others.

Comment please to adrian@gn.apc.org