At the University of Edinburgh, creating a space for open and respectful dialogue is at the heart of fostering an inclusive community.
This is what the ‘Community Conversations’ project set out to do, one conversation at a time.
Community Conversations is a joint project between EUSA, Student Experience Services, HR, the Staff Pride Network and the University’s LGBT+ Committee funded by the Institute for Academic Development (IAD). It seeks to empower LGBTQ+ students and staff to co-facilitate question/conversation-based sessions by exploring and mythbusting LGBTQ+ experiences within and outside the University.
Sebastian Bromelow, Senior HR Partner EDI, tells Bulletin a bit about the project:
“The University of Edinburgh is a large and diverse community who strongly use their student and staff voices. This is often a constructive and powerful exchange of ideas, but at other times can be more challenging. The Conversations aim to foster good relations by taking the discussion off-line, person-to-person and with a true core of positive curiosity and learning.
“Our aim is to help people from the LGBTQ+ community, and those who are not, feel able to talk about and explore LGBTQ+ identities constructively and confidently.”
Conversations in numbers
- University departments and Schools were asked to come forward and it is hoped that between 80-100 staff and students will be involved by the time the project closes.
- There were 24 LGBTQ+ facilitators, 12 staff and 12 students from across the LGBTQ+ umbrella and from a range of areas of the University.
- Each conversation was supported by a Lead Facilitator and with dedicated optional mental health support from the Wellbeing team.
Real impact
Participants were asked for feedback about their knowledge and understanding of LGBTQ+ identities and experiences, as well as their confidence in having conversations on related topics. Before the sessions just 19% said they were “confident” or “very confident” in these areas. After the hour-long sessions, these figures jumped to 60% (for knowledge/understanding) and 50% (in having conversations). The “not confident” and “not confident at all” responses were almost eliminated and 100% of participants said they’d recommend to others.
In their own words – responses from participants and facilitators
“Sharing lived experiences and asking questions in a safe space taught me a lot and made me have a stronger sense of belonging and acceptance within the staff community.” (Participant)
“The session opened up a really safe and educational environment. The panel facilitators were absolutely amazing and shared some fantastic insight to the staff and student experience.” (Participant)
“My participation as a facilitator has been one of, if not the, most impactful activities I have done. Getting to actually speak to people, share our stories and opinions, and promote a culture of openness and honesty within our community has been such a privilege.” (Student Facilitator)
What’s next?
With the pilot coming to an end this summer, the project team will be exploring ways to continue these Conversations for LGBTQ+ and other communities at Edinburgh.