DIVERSITY TRAINING FILM TIP #6: EMBRACE WHAT WE SHARE

originally published in 2014.

One of the great powers of film is its ability to spark conversation that is both challenging and compassionate. This enables participants to leverage the kind of transformative learning that’s crucial for cultural diversity training. But how do you choose a film that’s right for your goals? Read on for our series of tips on how to select a film resource to support your equity efforts.

Tip #6: Embrace What We Share to Promote Healing “This is so inspiring – but how do I apply it in my daily life?” Presentations and trainings are wonderful resources, but the work of the best ones doesn't end when the workshop does. It comes in the days, weeks, and months afterward, when behavior and culture can start to make a lifelong, enduring shift. How can the resource you select help you support that lasting transition?

The right film, and the right questions, can stimulate conversation about race that provides an opportunity for personal and collective healing. Addressing systemic inequity is a daunting task – but it is made easier by accessing common strengths and values. In order to support each other in making change, we as humans must hold each other in mutual love and accountability. The two are equally important in transformational learning and structural change.

The Takeaway All of us want to do the right thing, but sometimes it can help to have a clearer shared framework of what that might be in a given context. A film that elicits a sense of interconnectedness and linked fate has the potential to move individuals from inspiration to action. Ultimately, such a film can support community building across cultural divides that lasts long after the credits have rolled.

World Trust's work is designed to facilitate dialogue by enabling recognition of our interconnectedness and potential to grow, together. To find out more about our workshops, click here.