Educate your group

Education is knowledge, and knowledge is power.

Building and maintaining a diverse and inclusive community requires training to educate all community members and help them to be more mindful of how they interact with others.

Everyone in your group should truly understand:

What we mean when we talk about diversity and inclusion

Why it’s important to everyone at ICANN

What we are trying to achieve and how we intend to reach our goals

How they can be a positive force for change

TIP: Consider setting goals for improving education as well as for improving diversity metrics. For example, aim for 100% of group members to take at least one diversity training course every year.

Training is the process of using instructional methods to bring about a substantive, relevant, and measurable change in behavior. The key word of course is change.

Engaging

It is enjoyable and interesting, and holds the attention of the learner

Relevant

It has some connection to the learner’s priorities and provides a positive benefit

Transferable

It is practical and easy for the learner to apply directly to their real-world issues

TIP: Consider short and accessible e-learning content that people can access easily and quickly from any time zone and on any device.

Make the most of your internal resources

If appropriate, you can ask existing group members whether they are comfortable using their experiences to educate others: for example, you might find someone who is willing to talk about their experience of being a younger or older member of a group, or about coming into ICANN with limited understanding of how to get involved. It’s powerful to hear about real, lived experiences, and having open conversations that amplify the voices that may not always be heard is an exercise in inclusion in and of itself. Could you share these experiences more widely by asking group members to create short blogs or videos?

Note: Be mindful that people who have experienced exclusion may not feel comfortable talking about it, so do not put any pressure on anyone.

Diversity is a complex issue.

Almost every functional aspect of a diversity initiative requires some type of training.

Here are some examples of the types of training you might offer, with some background information about each aspect and how they link to diversity and inclusion:

How to acknowledge and reduce unconscious bias

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Inclusive communication and language

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Avoiding microaggressions

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Awareness of privilege

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How to stand up to bias and non-inclusive behavior

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Cultivating a climate of psychological safety

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Cultural sensitivity

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Leadership development programs that focus on inclusive practices

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TIP: Don’t forget to evaluate your training, so that you can measure the degree of behavioral change it prompted. One of the best known models is Kirkpatrick’s four levels of training evaluation.

Select here to learn more about how to use it

All community members are expected to follow ICANN’s Expected Standards of Behavior. Your group could consider offering training about what these standards look like in practice; or you might consider drafting additional guidelines about behavior for your group to follow.