An event driven by action and fuelled by kindness
Inclusive Practice in Action: Diversifying the Music Education Workforce in March 2021 was not just an event about diversity and inclusion, but an event that had diversity and inclusion embedded throughout the planning and delivery.
Following the death of George Floyd in May 2020, and the subsequent Black Lives Matter protests which we know have impacted deeply on many young people, it felt timely to programme this even@€t entirely on diversifying the music education workforce, in order to improve access to and engagement with music opportunities for all.
The starting point was how can we encourage individuals who work within music education (whether organisational leaders, practitioners, teachers, project managers, workshop leaders, students) who may have experienced racism, sexism, ableism, ageism, transphobia, homophobia, hate speech, classism or discrimination of any kind not only to attend, but to feel included, safe, and to know that their voices, opinions and experiences are valued.
As the event organiser this involved thinking about the format and content, and most critically the planning process, acknowledging that I don’t have lived experience of discrimination and/or microaggressions in the workplace in the way that many colleagues unacceptably have.
I brought together (and paid) an advisory group of consultants, with a range of perspectives and experiences: Imrana Mahmood, Jenetta Hurst, John Kelly, Nate Holder and Samantha Spence.
This group did a number of things during a workshop session and subsequent discussions:
Scrutinised the aims and intention of the event
Considered how the event will look and feel for delegates, particularly those who may have experienced discrimination in the workplace, or felt uncomfortable at other music education events
Shaped the content, recommended speakers, and made introductions
Advised on the accessibility measures that need to be in place to support disabled music leaders to attend
Provided guidance on the communications for the event
During 2020 I also had the privilege of meeting Brenda Rattray, who through her ‘In Conversation’ session that I attended on racism, deeply challenged me personally and professionally on my own behaviours and actions, yet through her kindness, spirituality and honesty helped me to gain some clarity on how I could be an effective and powerful ally to others. It therefore was natural to invite Brenda to be the host for this event, and she has also been fundamental in shaping the look and feel.
Finally we employed a group of five young people aged 18-25 to co-produce and co-facilitate the event: Elija Femi, Henry Baker, Kitty Got Claws, Rochelle Blair and Siobhan Clough. Their voices were critical in shaping the event, particularly the aspects that we wanted to appeal to young and emerging leaders.
We secured a brilliantly diverse line-up of speakers. We put various measures in place to support the psychological safety of all of our delegates. There was a slow start and a soft ending each day to give people time to acclimatise to attending a large event. There were unmoderated space where delegates could go to listen to music, as well as various online ways of enabling people to connect with others. There was a large part of our budget assigned for accessibility measures – including BSL interpretation, graphic illustrator and live subtitles. We developed a protocol for dealing with any offensive or challenging behaviour that may cause distress or be triggering for other delegates. We subsidised the ticket price, and fully removed the cost for any practitioners, particularly freelancers, who suffered financially as a result of the pandemic.
As a result of all of this provocation, warmth, perspective, expertise and kindness, we crafted an event that was beyond what I as one individual could have achieved.
This blog was originally written for Sound Connections.
