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Housing & Dining ServicesIntercultural Certificate
ProgramOpen To All Student Affairs Staff
The ICP is a multi-level program sponsored by Housing &
Dining Services designed to provide staff with the framework to
gain intercultural awareness, knowledge and skills. Participants
can complete one, two or all three levels of the program with the
ultimate goal of incorporating and practicing your newly acquired
competencies in day-to-day life, creating a more inclusive
environment. Level I – Foundations: earn four credits (through
various trainings, sessions and reflections) and complete the
Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI)Level II – Specialist:
earn five credits (through a combination of trainings,
consultation, reflections and projects)Level III – Practitioner:
earn five credits (through trainings) and complete the IDI a second
time to assess intercultural developmentYou do not have to attend
all of the HDS trainings listed below but all are designed to
support the certificate. You pick and choose the intercultural
learning opportunities that will benefit you the most. Anything you
believe contributes to your understanding and appreciation for
cultural differences can count, so you can come to any of the
trainings from the HDS schedule or you can attend other train-ings
on campus that focus on diversity, inclusion and equity (DI&E).
The program is meant to recognize individual effort you commit to
gaining intercultural competence.
For instance, to get the Foundations cert, you need to attend
four (4) DI&E trainings worth 1 credit each as well as complete
the Intercultural Development Inventory and receive your results (1
credit) for a total of five (5) credits. Complete a reflection and
you get the certificate and lapel pin and are eligible to move onto
the Specialist cert. Each certificate level has different
requirements but you must start with a Foundations certificate.
Anyone who attends one of the HDS trainings below will receive a
notebook that has all the require-ments, forms and reflections you
need to do to obtain all three certificate levels (these are still
in production and will be available in early October). For
additional information about starting your ICP journey, please
contact Brian Shimamoto with Housing & Dining Services’
Organizational and Employ-ee Development at
[email protected] or 303-492-3559.
To register for any of the following workshops, please email
Gaylynne von der Nuell at 303-735-4944 or [email protected]
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SeptemberMind the Gap | Thursday, September 21 | 1:30-3:30p.m. |
C4C-S484
We communicate with others all the time -- in our homes, in our
workplaces, in the groups we belong to and in the community. No
matter how well we think we understand each other, communication is
hard. Just think, for example, how often we hear things like, "He
doesn't get it," or "She didn't really hear what I meant to say."
Cultural differences are often at the root of our communication
challenges.
Our culture influences how we approach problems, and how we
participate in groups and in communities. When we participate in
groups, we are often surprised at how differently people approach
their work together. This workshop will examine how culture affects
communication and how we can “mind the gap.” Participants will
begin to recognize cultural differences in communication that may
be escaping notice and consider how to adapt to make communication
more effective.
Playing Your Hand | Friday, September 29 | 1:30-3:30p.m. |
C4C-S484The word “trump” is a corruption of a 17th century card
game called “triumph”. In triumph, trump cards temporarily
outranked other cards and the trump suit was selected at random by
cutting the deck. Selecting the right suit to match one's hand was
an advantage in the game, so “coming up trumps” became synonymous
with success. Our personal identity is comprised of a unique
combination of social group affiliations including, but not
limited to, race, gender, class, sexual orientation, disability and
spirituality. In this workshop, participants will have a chance to
imagine their multiple social identities as their “hand” in a card
game, allowing us to discuss how our individual affiliations
affects “game play,” or our ability to be successful. Participants
will learn more about their own culture and be able to avoid
projecting their experience onto others.
OctoberCultural Dimensions | Thursday, October 5 | 1:30-3:30p.m.
| C4C-S484
Diversity, inclusion and equity are central to our sense of
community: Diversity is the mix. Inclusion is making the mix work™.
This workshop will help you see how cultural groups may view the
world differently using Hofstede’s model of Cultural Dimensions.
The cultural dimensions represent independent preferences for one
state of affairs over another that distinguish countries (rather
than individuals) from
each other. The country scores on the dimensions are relative,
as we are all human and simultaneously we are all unique. In other
words, culture can be only used meaningfully by comparison.
Participants will begin to develop cultural self-awareness and
recognize cultural differences that matter.
It’s the Little Things | Thursday, October 12 | 1:30-3:30p.m. |
C4C-S484Small slights, subtle inequities, and tiny injustices are
little negative gestures called “microaggressions” and occur in
organizations every day. They also have the potential to become big
problems in the workplace by undermining morale and reducing
productivity. This workshop will teach us to affect the change we
all want to see by emphasizing the importance of thoughtfulness and
understanding,
having an openness to information about others’ background and
committing to creating respectful workplaces. Participants will
better understand the cumulative effect of microaggressions and
consider how to adapt in order to create more inclusive
environments.
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November“What does a blue sky mean?” | Thursday, November 2 |
1:30-3:30p.m. | C4C-S484
Often we assume what something means is the same for us as it is
for others. A blue sky to someone who lives in a state with over
300 days of sunshine a year may mean a beautiful, warm day.
However, to someone who lives in Chicago, a brilliantly blue sky in
winter may mean one of the coldest days of the year. Our cultural
experiences shape the way we view the world and sometimes our
own
lenses are different from those of others’. Participants will
learn more about their own culture and be able to avoid projecting
their experience onto others and will link their knowledge of their
own and other cultures to the skill of “shifting perspective.”
A Roadmap to Inclusion | Friday, November 17 | 1:30-3:30p.m. |
C4C-S484Dr. Maura Cullen says, “When it comes to doing the right
thing, good intentions are not enough. However, just because we put
our foot in our mouth on occasion all is not lost. Building a set
of skills by which to communicate will have a powerful effect on
every relationship in your life. These skills or competencies are
transferable to any conversation, with anyone, at any time. They
are particularly
helpful in dialogues around issues of diversity, given the
sometimes volatile nature of these conversations…” Every athlete
knows they must develop and master essential skills in order to
perform well on the playing field. The same is true for
intercultural competence. Participants will better understand core
concepts that support equity and will link their knowledge to the
skill of “shifting perspective.” Each participant will also receive
a copy of Dr. Cullen’s book, 35 Dumb Things Well Intentioned People
Say.
DecemberMembership Has It’s Privileges | Thursday, December 7 |
1:30-3:30p.m. | C4C-S484
Often, when we discuss issues of inclusion and equity, we focus
on how some people are targets of oppression and denied access to
resources that ensure success. While recognizing this is crucial to
dismantle systemic inequity, focusing on targeted groups is only
seeing half the picture. The same system that oppresses some,
benefits others. To achieve the full and equal participation of
all
groups in a society, we must recognize “both sides of the coin”
and acknowledge how our group memberships shape our experience.
Participants will learn how to link their own culture and their
knowledge of other cultures to the skill of understanding a
different worldview.
Allies Redefined | Friday, December 15 | 1:30-3:30p.m. |
C4C-S484What does it mean to be an effective ally? All too often,
those who want to be allies seem to be more interested in getting
credit than taking action to show support, operate with
intentionality and use our privilege to help or demonstrate our
commitment to end oppression. “Acting in solidarity” is a phrase
that emphasizes what the label “ally” does not: actions count;
labels do not. In this
session, we will take a candid look at the common mistakes made
by those with privilege who want to act in solidarity but may fail
to make a difference. Being an “ally” is not an identity, it is a
practice; something that must be done over and over again in the
largest and smallest ways, every day. Participants will recognize
the importance of advocacy strategies that allow them to be able to
support others effectively.