ECHO Lake Aquarium and Science Center's journey into race and equity actually began as far back as 2010 when ECHO joined the City of Burlington's We All Belong Initiative facilitated by the Community and Economic Development Office. As a part of the We All Belong Program, several ECHO staff members attended cultural competency training sessions with other Burlington organizations. These training sessions have helped us in examining and improving ways we recruit and support our volunteers, staff and board members. This exceptional opportunity of institution-wide and personal introspection has also strengthened us as a team and reinvigorated our commitment to the ECHO mission.
In the spring of 2012, ECHO staff began a series of cultural competency training sessions with CQ Strategies, a local training collective focusing on racial and social justice education, to develop skills in how to talk about and understand identity, culture, ethnicity and race. Throughout our journey toward cultural competency, ECHO has had the privilege of developing relationships with many Burlington organizations.
Many thanks to the RACE Program Advisory Committee, a group of community leaders and social justice advocates who consulted with ECHO to establish programs, resources and best practices for RACE: Are We So Different?. They include:
To learn more and participate in the Community's programs involved with RACE: Are We So Different?, visit our Community Events Calendar. |
