Fwd: July 8th gathering/workshop on creating a culture of belonging- addressing inclusion in the community

[Jim Volckhausen]

Dancers, Sufis, and followers of The Light- More info on next Saturday's "Inclusion" Zoom gathering; hope you can join us! We hope that this can build common ground around these themes among community members and leaders of Foundation of Light, Ithaca Sufi Center, Ithaca Dances of Universal Peace, and Mythaca. Many of you have expressed interest in the discussion. Laura Branca, the facilitator, would like input on shaping the discussion as soon as possible.

Greetings Everyone! Apropos of it being Juneteenth:

You are invited to a community workshop and facilitated discussion for the Ithaca Sufi Center, Foundation of Light, and local dance community on July 8th, 3:00-5:00 p.m. (EDT) via Zoom.

Goals for this gathering:

·        Developing a common language and understanding of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and the Dynamics of Exclusion.

·        Discussion toward building a culture of belonging, where people can communicate about identity differences and talk honestly about how those differences shape our lived experiences, perspectives and our life chances.

 

The agenda will be flexible to accommodate the needs of the group and include time for small and large group dialogue. We’ll generate working agreements for what you need from each other and from yourself in order to participate fully.  I'm hoping that this will be a step in a continuing process of more open and meaningful communication. 

This gathering is free and open to all members and friends of the Ithaca Sufi Center and Foundation of Light.

Space is limited.

If you are interested in participating, please complete this Google registration form by July 1st:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScG02ocX1OTP2oQ7zkNMr1F90--JTDMm-arbadJterGh5IZFg/viewform

Please dress comfortably; there will be a short break in the middle, but you may want to have a drink and a snack nearby.

I look forward to meeting you all.

Peace!

Laura Branca (she/her)

Laura Branca (she/her/hers) is a Senior Fellow, Project Director and co-founder of the Dorothy Cotton Institute. Laura has been an organization consultant at Training for Change (TFC Associates), and a skilled facilitator of dialogue on racism, intersectional forms of oppression, and building capacity for positive change. She has been a community mediator for over 35 years. Laura is a co-owner of Moosewood, Inc. and member of the Moosewood Collective who ran Moosewood Restaurant for 49 years and co-authored 14 cookbooks.