The "Think Global, Act Local" project, funded by the European Union's Erasmus+ programme, has supported diversity and inclusion (D&I) and cultural change in SMEs through storytelling over the past two years. SEMwell has been part of the consortium of eight countries representing and implementing the project in Czech republic.
The project has developed a comprehensive Continuous Professional Development (CPD) programme and a Storytelling Toolkit, both freely available on the project website. The CPD programme consists of four modules on D&I management, unconscious bias, inclusive communication and participatory narrative inquiry. The Storytelling Toolkit introduces the nine pillars of diversity and suggests storytelling techniques for managing diversity in organisations. These resources are available in English, Greek, Bulgarian, Slovenian, Dutch, Czech, Italian and Portuguese.
Earlier this year, the CPD programme was piloted in each partner country and training sessions were delivered in different companies. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive and emphasised the need to address D&I in the workplace. Sharing, collecting and analysing stories has proven to be effective for managers in communicating the company's values, engaging employees and promoting sustainable cultural change.
The research conducted by the project partners, including desk research and focus groups in their respective countries, supports this need. The findings have been summarised in policy recommendations available in English on the project website. A summary of key findings will be distributed to stakeholders in each country to ensure wider dissemination.
D&I is crucial in Europe as the population becomes increasingly diverse. While large organisations usually have the resources to manage diversity, SMEs often struggle to dedicate time and resources to it. However, managing diversity is not only important for employee wellbeing, but also for improving work processes and fostering creativity.
Our project has made an important contribution to this challenge. The high-quality materials developed facilitate self-directed learning and plans for workshops. An important innovation of the project is the use of applied storytelling to address D&I topics. Stories are universal connectors; sharing and listening to stories awakens our humanity and fosters empathy by transforming the 'other' into someone relatable. Narrative approaches require facilitators to set aside preconceptions and be willing to be vulnerable. This can create an environment that fosters empathy, mutual appreciation and collaboration, uncovers 'tacit' knowledge and makes work processes more effective.
The "Think Global, Act Local" project is drawing to a close. We are proud of the progress that has been made and the valuable resources that have been created and from which companies and organisations across Europe will continue to benefit.
Author of the press release: Tjaša Jerman Kuželički, Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia
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