Social Circus - Inclusion & Diversity Team Training

In April, Roundabout staff and community participated in a Social Circus Diversity and Inclusion Workshop ran by our friends Jamie and Gina. Jamie, as some might remember, actually taught Roundabout’s first ever class at the old warehouse… and managed to pull it off again at our new studio! He ran this workshop with his partner Gina having come up with the concept after traveling to many other social circuses around the world. With the collaboration of many peers they put their ideas together to teach these important topics. 

 
The workshop used games and teaching excersises to enlighten us about the importance of acknowledging and reflecting on our own personal unconcious bias. These biases (which can be in relation to culture, ability, gender and more) are present in all of us and are difficult to find as we can’t always see them. Using tools like empathy and self reflection, we can adjust our circus teaching to be more open and inclusive of others in this ever evolving and diversifying world.
 
Throughout the session we reflected on everything we love about social circus, what our dreams are for the Roundabout community and everything needed to make these a reality. With our unconcious bias radars freshly tuned we also explored what barriers to inclusion Roundabout as a whole may experience. Jamie and Gina skillfully guided us through making plans to see how we can address these barriers as well as prioritise which ones need the most attention.
 
Jamie and Gina did an amazing job holding space for this growth, making us all feel safe and welcome ensuring everyones voice was heard. As we have now moved into our new studio and with Term 2 about to start, this workshop couldn’t have come at a better time. We’d love to give a heartfelt thanks Jamie and Gina for leaving us feeling even more prepared and excited for Roundabout’s future. We look forward to having them stop back in before leaving the country!”

– Justin Middleton