Diversity & Equal Opportunities

• What is Diversity?
• How is it different from Equal Opportunties?
• How are they relevant to our organisation?
• What is discrimination?
• What is positive action?
• How do we make sure our policies are live?
• Do we need to change?

These are some of the questions we cover in our workshops on Diversity and Equal Opportunities. The training concentrates on the more central concept of diversity - that is, embedding an attitude of ensuring that everyone in an organisation is valued, that everyone has the same chance to grow and contribute the best of what they can offer.

This means a training experience that to some extent points to the impact of prejudicial thinking on minority groups, and one that invites participants to develop empathy and imagination as individuals- embracing diversity is the responsibility of all.

Using Drama in Training

"...In its most archaic sense, theatre is the capacity possessed by human beings to observe themselves in action. Humans are capable of seeing themselves in the act of seeing, of thinking their emotions, of being moved by their thoughts. They can see themselves today and imagine themselves there; they can see themselves today and imagine themselves tomorrow."
- Augusto Boal, President of the Centre of Theatre of the Oppressed

This quote by the internationally reknowned theatre practitioner Augusto Boalpoints to why drama is an excellent instrument for change. We can transfer techniques from drama-making processes into training to see clearly what we are doing now, and the implications of our actions. We can then use these techniques to try out alternatives in a safe context, and draw on imagination and intuition to develop our potential and our vision for change.

Using Actors

Using actors in training has great advantages, not least of which is bringing the whole training day to life. Actors can play the role of clients or staff members with whom participants can practise exchanges and learn in a realistic but risk-free context.

Actors can perform scripted scenarios based on actual events, that can serve as a basis for observation, discussion and learning. Actors can then be interviewed about their actions, views and feelings, which gives an immediate idea of the implications of particular behaviours.

In addition, actors can be used as role-players for participants to interact with in order to practise certain skills and handle potentially difficult situations that could occur in the real world.