Diversity & Inclusion in your Community Project

There are more than 325 million people in the United States of America and 66.6 million people in the United Kingdom. Both are considered two of the most diverse regions in the world. Through immigration and indigenous heritage, the US and the UK are described as “melting pots” because of the many and rich cultures (i.e., religion, food, race, languages, attire, and music) that intertwine in our communities. Some cities are more diverse than others, but there have always been problems with inclusivity and equity between groups. The protests that happened over the summer (and the ones continuing currently) have brought long-standing marginalized groups’ injustices to the forefront.

At ChangeX, we’re trying to help every community thrive by unlocking more power at a local level; we need to ensure that our hard work also helps underserved communities worldwide.

Creating Empathy for One Another

We don’t believe in a diversity quota. However, we suggest that you think of everyone in your community when starting a project on our platform. Regardless of age, gender, language, race, religion, and sexuality, we have to hold respect and empathy for one another. We all have biases due to our backgrounds, but when we take the opportunity to understand someone else’s life—see it from their perspective, we can thrive together.

A great example is when former police officer, E’Ula Green, talked about her experience moving from Sierra Leone to the United States and adapting to an unfamiliar environment. She also mentioned what people could do to empower others that are “different” from themselves and that everyone should be treated fairly and equally.

Tips on Being More Inclusive

What does it mean to be more inclusive? Being inclusive means that you and your community value diversity, work together to fight against discrimination, respect all citizens, and allow everyone full access to resources and opportunities.

The Center for Community Health and Development at the University of Kansas has a great community building guide called “The Community Toolbox.” In chapter 27, the toolbox focuses on racial justice and inclusion and how to help build better communities through inputting strategies on multiple levels, i.e., individual, group, and institutional.

Things to consider:

  • Make an effort to connect with other community groups in your area with people of a different background to you.
  • Talk to your local council members representing groups to see their perspectives on how the community should incorporate inclusivity.
  • Create opportunities for community members to share their opinions. That way, everyone has a chance to voice what they want for the community.
  • Create educational and cultural activities for people to experience diverse cultures and histories.
  • Promote community cleanups and recycling initiatives as an educational tool to teach why neighborhoods could significantly impact the environment, and cleaning public areas would be good for the community.
Language Requests

Right now, most of our content and materials are only available in English. However, we’ll be accepting requests for translations to Spanish and other languages soon. Any language request that we receive, we’ll do our best to support it.

We hope that by making our information more accessible to different communities, we can truly create a better and impactful experience for everyone involved.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *