New employee training program to strengthen cultural awareness and safety
The topic of cross-cultural awareness preparation for all staff, faculty and administration at Âé¶¹ÊÓÆµwas discussed extensively during the former Aboriginal Reconciliation Council’s open forums in 2016-2017. As these discussions progressed, they broadened from an examination of cross-cultural awareness to a broader scope of cultural safety. A new RESPECT (Reconcili-action – Employee – Âé¶¹ÊÓÆµâ€“ Professional development – Education – Cultural – Teachings) project evolved out of these discussions and responds to SFU’s 2017 Walk this Path With Us report by bringing these two important elements together. Specifically, the RESPECT project addresses call to action 7 for Âé¶¹ÊÓÆµto “develop mandatory intervention programs teaching cultural safety and anti-racism for all employees of SFU, in consultation with the Indigenous Cultural Resource Centreâ€�.
Led by professor Michelle Pidgeon, associate dean, Indigeneity, Faculty of Education, the RESPECT project encompasses five key goals:
- Create an understanding of how to build respectful and sustainable relationships with the host nations of Âé¶¹ÊÓÆµto ensure employees honour First Nations knowledge, language, culture and protocols.
- Build Âé¶¹ÊÓÆµemployees’ understanding of Indigenous Peoples’ past, present and future.
- Ensure all Âé¶¹ÊÓÆµemployees take up their individual responsibility to reconciliation through the collective work of decolonization and Indigenization.
- Foster and sustain a culture of lifelong (un)learning and respect among Âé¶¹ÊÓÆµemployees.
- ‘Enhance’ ongoing professional development in the areas of cultural safety, decolonization, and Indigenization for Âé¶¹ÊÓÆµemployees at all three campuses.
Over the summer 2020 semester and into early fall 2021, the RESPECT project conducted a survey of staff and faculty to determine what information is most sought by Âé¶¹ÊÓÆµcommunity members. The results of this survey will inform the content and format of the upcoming RESPECT course, with an anticipated pilot launch in spring 2022. For more information please visit the RESPECT project website.