An intensive Five Days for Change training program sponsored by the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion and Diversity & Social Justice Education in Student Affairs at the U. of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is “designed to provide university employees with the opportunity to acquire and strengthen cultural competencies, awareness, and skills.”
The training will “increase the visibility, skill, and effectiveness of allies in the cause of social justice and campus civility as critical campus incidents arise,” the Five Days for Change site explained. “Focused on equity-minded efforts in higher education, participants will practice skills for collaborating in a cross-cultural environment, while also increasing their strategies as campus change-makers.”
Participants in this weeklong training will…
- “Learn more about the experiences of historically underserved groups at the University of Illinois
- Examine how one’s own positionality and advocacy can influence positive change in our campus climate
- Build skills for working in collaborative, cross-cultural environments.
- Meet a cohort of fellow University staff and faculty interested in supporting fairness and equity.”
All staff and faculty members can apply for acceptance into the Five Days for Change training. A $400 fee per person is paid by each participant’s department to cover workshop materials, meals, skilled facilitators and operational costs. Participants must commit to attending all five days of the program, in its entirety.
And after the training is over, participants will be encouraged to attend ongoing Five Days for Change alumni meetings, and to set up informal networks to maintain the relationships formed during the training.
More information about the Five Days for Change training can be found here.
And find campus strategy profiles like this and more in our NEW Campus Bias Prevention and Response Training Tools.
