Transformational Alliances
Building Authentic Cross-Cultural Relationships
Authentic relationships are the foundation for transformative change. When we are connected to other human beings, we stand up to injustice and become committed allies to one another.
In this 2 day workshop on the continuing journey to be an effective ally, participants will engage in a powerful experiential exercise on oppression, both as targets—the group receiving the mistreatment—and as non-targets—the group that is put in the role of “perpetrator” of the mistreatment.
In this workshop, participants will:
- Develop key skills, explore “blindspots” and barriers, and gain new insights about how to deepen commitments as an allies.
- Practice a distinctive approach to relationship-building as a transformational practice.
- Understand how institutional oppressions like sexism, racism, and ableism, etc., hurt all of us—whether we are the “target” or the “non-target” of the oppression.
- Recognize how institutional power impacts our interpersonal relationships.
- Understand how thinking “contextually” will make us more effective as allies and skillful at interrupting patterns of oppression.
- Explore a perspective which identifies the costs of power to “non-target” groups, not just the “privileges” of power.
- Be coached to compassionately acknowledge and learn from their mistakes as an ally.
Offered as both a stand-alone workshop or a follow-up to Transformational Communication, this interactive seminar is ideal for single-constituency groups focused on a particular diversity issue (for example, gender, age, or sexual orientation) or for mixed constituency groups working on general “ally” principles and practice.
The many benefits of this training include:
- Increasing confidence and authenticity as an ally.
- Compassionately exploring the “cluelessness” of being an ally.
- Learning a new framework that will challenge “us” and “them” paradigms of difference.
- Identifying the loss as a non-target/ally as the basis for action against oppression.
- Learning important skills that every effective ally needs to have.
- Developing an action plan as an ally to a specific group.
