Diversity Education and Training Sessions

Browse trainings and workshops offered by Multicultural Affairs and request a workshop for your organization, class or department. 

Introduction Sessions (60-90 minutes)

Multicultural Affairs 101

Multicultural Affairs 101 provides an overview of the programs, services, and resources available to undergraduate students through Multicultural Affairs. Participants will learn about opportunities focusing on identity development, leadership, student activism, mentorship, power and privilege, living at the Intercultural House, our NYC outings, and more.

Identities

The Identities Workshop offers a broad overview of the many social and relational categories that can impact how we define ourselves and how others define us. This workshop is best-suited for groups getting to know one another and starting to explore the meaning and importance of diversity.

Microaggressions

This presentation provides participants with a general understanding of microaggressions, their impact, and ways to think more consciously about everyday steps towards inclusion.

Intro to LGBTQ @ Columbia

Intro to LGBTQ @ Columbia is an interactive workshop introducing LGBTQ+ topics and strategies for better supporting LGBTQ+ communities.  Participants will receive an overview of resources and services that can be utilized by you and your organization to better serve these communities.

International Student Support 101

International Student Support 101 is a skill and knowledge building session that introduces immigration-related terminologies that are essential to supporting and understanding international students. Participants will learn how various immigration policies may impact international students' lives at Columbia. Interactive activities will be used throughout the session to illustrate how different world views and communication styles can impact participants’ day-to-day interaction with international students.

Supporting First-Generation and/or Low Income Students

This workshop explores ways to create affirming environments for First-generation and/or low income (FLI) students; participants will learn about common challenges and barriers that can impact the student experience and review strategies for creating supportive classroom and administrative spaces that utilize a strengths-based approach.

Steps Toward Social Change: Campus Tour and Student Activism

From the historical Low Steps that have been the literal platform for student activism to memorials, like the Malcolm X Lounge and the Stephen Donaldson Lounge, honoring key figures in social movements, Columbia University has a rich legacy steeped in socio-political awareness, dialogue, and action. This campus tour will provide a glimpse into the University’s history of student activism and multicultural/cross-cultural dialogue that reflect students’ leadership in the complex struggle for social justice and equity in New York City, the United States, and globally.

Empathic Listening

Through role-plays, interactive exercises, and group discussion, participants will learn strategies for fostering empathy and building environments that encourage transformational sharing and listening. 

Workshop Session (90 minutes-two hours)

Identity & Oppression

Through a series of interactive activities and dialogue this sessions explores the definitions of power, privilege, and oppression (PPO) and how they manifest individually, institutionally, and culturally.  Participants will explore -isms that contribute to PPO and discuss where and how they learned of these ideas.  Lastly, participants will examine ways in which they can create more equitable spaces on campus and communities to become allies to others.

Unconscious Bias

Through presentation, discussion, and interactive dialogue exercises, this workshop offers an introduction to unconscious bias, the neural processes that guide our snap judgments, and strategies for mitigating implicit assumptions. This workshop can be scaled between one and three hours and is appropriate for individuals and cohorts of all levels of experience.

Bystander Intervention

Specifically focusing on disrupting acts of bias and discrimination, this workshop will focus on the importance of bystanders, the complicated challenges that bystanders often face, intervention strategies, and how to bring this message and work to other students. Based on the nationally-renowned Step Up! model, this workshop is part of a campus-wide initiative to bring bystander intervention skills to the Columbia and Barnard community.

Antiracism

Through personal reflection, interactive exercises and group dialogue, this workshop explores racial oppression and its systemic maintenance, and asks participants to consider strategies and frameworks for shifting from a “not-racist” mode to an “antiracist” one.

Communicating Across Cultures

In this interactive workshop, participants will examine the definitions of culture, understand different intercultural communication styles, and reflect on how different communication styles affect communication across cultures. Role plays, examples, and experiential exercises will be included in the session. This workshop is designed for international educators, international students, students before and after study/intern abroad, and students who would like to advance their intercultural competence.

Solidarity & Allyship

This interactive workshop explores how we can meaningfully engage with privilege and marginalization to act in solidarity with communities other than our own.

What is Class?

This workshop explores class and socioeconomic status and how this social identity, which many are taught not to discuss, can impact how we navigate the world and create inclusive communities. 

Understanding Antisemitism

This workshop explores antisemitism, an often misunderstood form of oppression, and how it manifests on campus and beyond. Through interactive exercises and group dialogue, this workshop will examine strategies for navigating contentious dialogue around antisemitism and discuss ways to act in solidarity with Jewish students and communities.

Disability Justice

This curriculum focuses on manifestations of ablelism on campus and beyond, examines the social model of disability and asks participants to consider personal, interpersonal and institutional strategies for creating a more accessible, affirmational, pro-disabled and anti-ableist environment.

In-Depth Training (two or more hours)

CU Safe Zone

CU Safe Zone is a multi-hour training session that provides foundational knowledge needed to support and act in solidarity with LGBTQ+ communities at Columbia University.  This campus wide program was designed to educate and visibly identify students, faculty, and staff who support the LGBTQ+ community, better understand LGBTQ+ communities and some of the issues these communities face, and are aware of the various LGBTQ resources available to folks on campus.

Unconscious Bias

Through presentation, discussion, and interactive dialogue exercises, this workshop offers an overview of unconscious bias, the neural processes that guide our snap judgments, and strategies for mitigating implicit assumptions. This workshop is appropriate for individuals and cohorts of all levels of experience.

Who are you serving?: Socially-Conscious Service

Geared towards students engaging in service learning work, this workshop introduces students to the complex ideas around their socio-political roles, the identities they hold, and the underlying power dynamics of community service. Participants will be challenged to reflect on individual and community approaches to service, grow understanding to better navigate dynamics, and recognize their social responsibility as leaders in this community work.

Conflict and Identity

How can identity play out in interpersonal and intergroup conflicts? Why do identity conflicts seem so difficult to address? Participants will learn basic conflict and social identity theories, apply them to current hot issues on college campuses, and begin to explore techniques to support communities through identity conflicts and resolution processes.

Facilitation Training

This multi-hour training (minimum of three hours) is designed for individuals or groups looking to acquire and hone skills to lead facilitation-based dialogue centered around topics related to bias, identity, power, privilege, oppression, and more. Through a variety of interactive exercises, participants will learn about the purpose and process of building safer spaces, acquire skills to plan and execute an effective workshop, and engage in practice facilitation scenarios. This training is suited best for cohorts or individuals who have experienced facilitation-based learning, have done self-work around identity, power, privilege, and oppression, and are looking to create dialogue spaces for others in their community.

Multicultural Affairs

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Audre Lorde Community Space
505 Alfred Lerner Hall
2920 Broadway
New York, NY 10027

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Call: 212-854-0720

Office Hours
Monday–Friday
9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.