The Belonging & Inclusion Cohort
brought to you by:
Living Room Conversations +
Media Done responsIbly
about the cohort
The Belonging & Inclusion cohort is an intensive education program that focuses on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEIB+) concepts, practices, and strategies.
This is a 4-week-long cohort, beginning February 29th, 2024, with each week focusing on a specific theme related to DEIB+. This includes a step-by-step strategy development design that supports participants in building out their own belonging and inclusion workshop that they can share within their communities. The course comes packed with activities, worksheets, conversation guides, and extra resources to study.
vision
To inspire individuals to transform their ways of thinking about and interacting with one another by establishing meaningful relationships across divides and differences
Mission
To create a generation of active bridge-builders that connect people across divides and transform their communities through self-discovery, education and empowerment to action
the problem
In order to inspire a generation of active bridge-builders and people who seek to connect people across divides, this must include the efforts to source and uproot unconscious biases and prejudices that create harmful - and sometimes violent - divisions. These divisions marginalize groups of people based on race, religion, sex, etc.
Even further, this requires setting new pathways that uphold the value and humanity of ourselves and each other through conversation, education, story-sharing, and community building. This can be uncomfortable and challenging, especially around sensitive topics, which oftentimes push people to avoid even having conversations. This only perpetuates and maintains the division. We want to encourage individuals and communities to start walking across those bridges and expanding their views about themselves and others.
Learning from one another is how we move forward in a positive, more compassionate world.
LRC Participant
our solution
Our intensive, 4-week cohort offers an opportunity for participants to begin to unlearn unconscious biases and establish new, meaningful ways to connect with others across divides.
By examining DEIB+ concepts and applying them to real-life experiences, participants will get educated and deeply embody these practices within their daily lived experiences. With the support and guidance from our DEIB+ experts, participants will engage in reflective studies, activities, and conversations. They will also come up with their own strategies and solutions that can be applied in their communities in substantial ways.
Our unique formula, with a combination of our conversation agreements, guides, and inclusion strategies, can bridge the gap between divisions to cultivate a culture that celebrates and welcomes differences. By experiencing mind-opening insights through self-discovery, education, empowerment to action, and community building, we can create a greater sense of belonging.
goals + outcomes
Participants will:
- learn about the interconnectedness of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging and how to further join and/or establish initiatives that support this work within their communities
- will deepen their understanding of themselves and others, and therefore strengthen and expand their capacity for meaningful connections
- learn how to hold space for and gain confidence in engaging in difficult conversations
- come up with real-world solutions and bring them to their communities
- realize and address the root sources of their biases and establish new pathways through conversation, education, story-sharing, and community-building
- learn about DEIB+ concepts and how to actively integrate practices of belonging and inclusion within their daily lived experiences
One of the greatest things that I had gotten out of MDR was the fact that I helped my daughter and the youth that I used to present to, find a sense of self-fulfillment, a sense of self-esteem, a sense of 'I belong somewhere'.
Lalyne, MDR Participant and Mentor
itinerary + timeline
The Belonging & Inclusion cohort will be led by the LRC Belonging & Inclusion Partner, Anaïs Maseda. The cohort pilot will take place over 4 weeks, starting February 29th, 2024, with each week focusing on a specific DEIB+ theme (as seen below).
Anaïs has led and co-developed the slide deck and workbook for each weekly theme to support in deeply understanding and integration with the information shared. '
The slide deck is designed for a group experience including a warm-up activity, a literacy activity, an interactive lecture, a Living Room Conversation, and an empowerment-to-action activity.
The group will meet once a week via Zoom to review the lessons, ask and answer any questions they may have about the topics.
The workbook is designed for the individual experience, and it is filled with engaging journal reflections, activities, tips, and extra resources that support the lessons of each weekly theme.
exploring each week
1
Exploring Identity, Making Mistakes & Constructive Discomfort
3
Curating Safe Spaces, Allyship,
& Productive Privilege
2
From Unconscious to Conscious: Bias, Prejudice, & Microaggressions
4
Elevate Equality to Equity
pricing + costs
Act now and take advantage of our introductory price of $150 (valued at $500).
You will have a chance to do some self-discovery, learn new things, and feel empowered to take action for racial equity.
- Great introduction to our more robust offerings for businesses, schools, organizations, nonprofits, and corporations.
- Support along the way by a facilitator and group discussions with your fellow cohort members.
- Combine synchronous and asynchronous learning
- Culminates in two mini-capstone projects
meet your facilitator
Anaïs Maseda is a social justice educator with an emphasis in: performing arts, media literacy training, and conducting culturally rich, civil dialogues. Anaïs has a B.A. in psychology and sociology, along with 10+ years of experience teaching, mentoring, and providing enrichment services to youth and young adults. Her approach when teaching and mentoring is firmly based upon addressing harmful stereotypes, biases and prejudices, all the while curating safe spaces for unlimited self-exploration and discovery through education and conversation. Through her works with both Media Done Responsibly and Living Room Conversations, Anaïs serves as a bridge between both organizations and weaving together their core values. With MDR, Anaïs brings the value of serving justice by providing platform for our full humanity to be authentically represented and heard. With Living Room Conversations, Anaïs brings the value of connecting communities together across divides through guided conversations. Together, we offer you all a unique and powerful belonging and inclusion cohort that encourages participants to deepen their participation in healing their communities beyond divides, and therefore, establishing a strong sense of belonging and community, with equal voice and representation to all.
about the partnering organizations
Media Done Responsibly (MDR) is a media arts education program that empowers communities by cultivating conscious and responsible consumers of media that reflects the wholeness and authenticity of our humanity. Through its 3-pillar model – media literacy, media production, and media justice advocacy – MDR advances the way we relate to the media, by dismantling stereotypes and bringing justice to all who are misrepresented.
Living Room Conversations (LRC) works to heal society by connecting people across divides - politics, age, gender, race, nationality, and more – through guided conversations proven to build understanding and transform communities. Living Room Conversations believes that each conversation has the opportunity to lead to self-discovery, education, and empowerment to action.
apply
Interested in joining us as we undergo a transformative journey of self-discovery, education, and empowerment to action? Ready to feel confident in your approach towards building spaces of belonging and inclusion? Let’s get started and click below to apply!