After the killing of George Floyd last year and the importance the movement of the Black Lives Matters, AMI, set up an Equity and Diversity working group which also sits on the BMC Equity Steering Group.
This year a successful ‘Diversity - Barriers to Access and how Mountaineering Instructors can Influence Change’ CPD workshop has been delivered via zoom. This was run by Aneela McKenna, who’s been working as a diversity, inclusion & wellbeing professional for over 20 years supporting businesses and organisations to develop inclusive practices where everyone can contribute and participate. She specialises in the design of bespoke training and innovative solutions to bring out diverse perspectives, new ideas and fresh thinking.
AMI feels that an effective way to continue this input is to deliver a series of bite sized equity and inclusion workshops/talks that aim to support the development of AMI members by extending their knowledge on equity and inclusion matters in the outdoors. We know that there are barriers which communities face when accessing the outdoors: only 1% of National Park visitors are from minority ethnic communities and only 10% of MCI’s are female. Through these workshops AMI members will have the opportunity to learn from peoples’ different lived experiences/stories; from their access to the outdoors; and what positive changes can be made to make the outdoors more inclusive to all. By amplifying different voices, we to open up the conversation for different communities to connect through collaboration and action.
These workshops are cost-free opportunity for groups of up to 50 participants, thanks to the support or Equip (Rab and Lowe Alpine) in funding the development and delivery.
The sessions will be interactive and last for one to two hours and take place in the autumn 2021 / winter 2022.
The workshops that are programmed:
- The Business Case for Diversity in the Outdoors - unlocking the potential of your customers and staff: 8pm 16th December 2021
- Connecting with Communities - the benefits of reaching out through meaningful engagement and outreach: 8pm 12th January 2022
- The Power of Privilege - empowering communities and individuals to access the outdoors: 8pm 1st February 2022
Kristine Quayle
The Equity and Diversity group and the AMI committee.