Train the trainers on Diversity and Inclusion

June 11, 2024

Poster from the Empower Women educational material. Colourful collage of photos and sketches. On the top left, the symbol for gender with the circle and the cross respectively, which also has a third drawing with a circle and a cross together, in the middle the drawing of a wheelchair user in motion, on the bottom left the sketches of two people and a child at their side and on the right the large drawing of an eye.

In the framework of the European Empower Women programme, liminal organised a 2-day seminar for stakeholders from all over Europe in Athens. Train the trainers on Diversity and Inclusion was designed to provide specialized training on diversity, inclusion, accessible and inclusive design, communication strategies and other related topics, tailored to the needs of the municipalities participating in the project.

Six women are standing in a room with grey walls. One of them, in a white shirt and brown hair in a ponytail, speaks with a smile and waves her hands as if explaining something. Next to her, a shorter woman in a yellow shirt looks at her and laughs. On the far left, two women in long dresses watch her carefully, while on the left side of the photo, the two women next to her share a comment and laugh as if in agreement.

This workshop aimed to provide specialised training to local stakeholders, including municipal officials, social workers, healthcare providers, and community leaders, on issues related to accessibility and gender inclusion. By incorporating a gender-sensitive approach into the training, the task will also address the unique challenges faced by women, non-binary and transgender individuals with disabilities, and promote gender equality and inclusion in the communities involved in this CERV project. The ultimate goal remains always to is to raise awareness and create a more accessible and inclusive society.

👀 Check out here what happened during the Training!

https://youtu.be/ZbeB_e7TKSo

Train the trainers’ main topics

The seminar focused on three main pillars in relation to Diversity and Inclusion:

Gender equality
LGBTQI+ identities
Disability and Accessibility

The development of these three modules aimed to help the participating individuals

Identify gender inequalities and gaps within their field of activity.
Understand the fundamental concepts related to gender-based violence, discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or disability and sexual harassment
Apply this knowledge and serve as focal points for these issues at their workplace, and
Implement best practices and fulfill their responsibilities in gender mainstreaming within their daily interactions and work.

Σε έναν χώρο με πέτρινους τοίχους, τρεις νεαρές γυναίκες γελούν πλατιά In a room with stone walls, three young women laugh broadly, waving their arms as if they were forming something in the air. Behind them and more people in the background, cheerfully are in similar motion.

Train the trainers’ facilitators

To conduct these training modules, the team of liminal collaborated with the following facilitators:

A woman in her 50s with short white hair and glasses is wearing a black turtleneck and has her arms braided around her torso. A soft smile spreads faintly across her lips.

Alexandra Vassiliou

Alexandra Vassiliou is a psychotherapist, conflict resolution facilitator and trainer, and community worker. She has been trained in Systems Theory and its Application in the Human Sciences at the Athenian Institute of Anthropos. She later completed the Diploma in Process Work at the Process Work Institute, Oregon, USA, and graduate studies in Social Psychology (Ph.D. in Social Psychology) at the Union Institute, Ohio, USA. She lives in Greece, and works locally and internationally. She is a founding member of the Processwork Hub in Athens and collaborates with public and private organizations, NGOs, schools and universities.

A woman in her 40s with grey hair over her shoulders looks at the camera and smiles.

Vera Lardi

Vera Lardi is a psychodrama psychotherapist and an adult educator. She works in private practice in Athens with groups and individuals. She is a lifelong student of applied theatre and her practice also involves projects in collaboration with public and private organizations aiming at healing, community building, inclusion and social change. She is a Playback Theatre performer, conductor and trainer. She is the founder of Art in Perspective, an interprofessional network collaborating in experiential trainings and community projects in Greece and internationally on inclusion and professional burn-out for health care professionals, artists, university students, teachers and marginalized groups. She is a founding member of the Hellenic Psychodrama Association Art In Perspective.

Black and white photograph of a woman in her 30s with thick black hair and large almond-shaped eyes. She is pushing her hair to the side with her left hand as she tilts her head slightly to the left and smiles at the camera.

Katerina Sergidou

Katerina Sergidou is a Researcher-Trainer at the Diotima Centre and a Social Anthropologist. She is currently a PhD candidate in Gender and Feminist Studies at Panteion University and the University of the Basque Country. She has experience as a trainer addressing gender violence and discrimination, and as an Evaluator-Researcher of gender equality plans at the Centre for Social Innovation in Vienna. She has conducted extensive research in Greece and the Spanish State, focusing on the politics of communication within municipalities and gender conflicts in cultural performances and rituals. Her research interests include fostering women’s and LGBTQ+ communities for empowerment and solidarity, feminist adult education, feminist methodologies in social research, and integrating art into feminist forms of social activism.

Next steps

Poster for the call for participation in the art exhibition of FemFest in Cyprus. In fuchsia and black letters the details of the call and at the bottom a graphic design where the silhouettes of the profiles of many different women are outlined.

Ahead of FemFest which will take place in October 2024 in Limassol, Cyprus, the municipality of Mesa Gitonia is organizing Artistic Voices: Illuminating Equality for Tomorrow’s European Citizenship. The municipality invites young students aged 12-18 to express their perspectives on gender equality and human rights in the European Union through digital visual artistic works. The participating works will be presented in a specially designed exhibition in the framework of FemFest.

Eligibility criteria:

Open to students aged 12-18 from across Europe.
Each participant or each group of participants can submit one original visual artistic work.
Each submission should be accompanied by the name of the artist(s), school, country-city, a title and a brief artist statement (maximum 150 words) explaining the inspiration and message behind the artwork.

Form of Visual Arts

The artistic call is open for submissions encompassing a diverse array of digital visual arts, embracing a wide spectrum of creative expression, such as digital photography, digital painting, digital video, digital animation, etc. Traditional artwork is accepted as long as it’s sent in digital form (high quality photos, or scans).

You can send your proposal by email to [email protected] with the subject Artistic Voices Call until August 30, 2024.

Group photography in a high-ceilinged room with a wooden floor and stone walls with large windows. The group members, mostly women, in summer clothes and smiling faces, raise their hands in a broad salute.

Stay tuned for what’s coming next!

Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency of the European Commission. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.