Creating Safer, Brave Spaces (For Online & In Person Events)

In the past few years, as social injustice after social injustice has flooded the media, there has been a lot of focus on creating events (both virtual and in person) that are “welcoming to all” and “safe spaces”. You want participants to be able to engage fully and not be worried if all of their unique identities would feel a sense of belonging in your space. You want them to feel safe!

But, what exactly does it mean to create a safe space? Is this something you can guarantee? If you are welcoming all into your event, how do you truly ensure their safety from discrimination or other social harm?

Here’s the not-so-secret, secret about safe spaces — we can’t guarantee safety for everyone that participates in our event. So, what do you do? Give up? Hide in frustration?

Not at all! What we do is shift our perspective!

In this 2 hour workshop, we will shift away from the idea of creating “safe spaces” for your events and focus on creating “safer, brave spaces”.

We will:

• Break down the why of it all — why do we need to move from safe spaces to safer, brave spaces that center on equity and inclusion?
• Explore what it takes to align your intention of creating a safer, brave space with your actions so you know what steps to take to make an impact.
• Dig into what inclusion practices work and what doesn’t work when building safer, brave spaces for online and in-person events.
• Unpack the doubts & struggles that will arise as you start creating & implementing these practices that center on equity & inclusion in your spaces.

No matter what type of event you are organizing, you will leave this workshop with tangible practices and the confidence that you are able to build a safer, brave space for all.

About the Instructor

Abbiola Ballah | M.A | Founder & CEO

Abbiola Ballah (she/her) is a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging (DEIB) Consultant & Mentor, and Founder of Phern Education Studios. She founded Phern Education Studios to be a catalyst for change in the DEIB space by prioritizing not just learning but taking action.

In her signature mentorship program, Taking Inclusive Action, she guides business owners and community leaders to go beyond simply stating their stance on inclusion and instead building practices and policies to create online & in-person environments where people feel like they belong, no matter their identities.

Abbiola also offers private DEIB consulting and workshops for larger organizations.

Previously, Abbiola applied a DEIB lens to help revise the Standards of Good Practice of Education Abroad in collaboration with the Forum on Education Abroad which is recognized by the US Department of Justice, and the Federal Trade Commission— as the organization for setting the standards for education abroad programs internationally.

Originally from Trinidad and Tobago, Abbiola has lived internationally in Japan, the USA, and Belize for 20+ years and worked as an educator and program designer for 17+ years, giving her a unique lens through which she approaches DEIB.

Abbiola has spoken at the CMX Summit: Thrive, Yellow Co. Values Summit, Wealth and Wellness Network Summit, and at private universities, in business masterminds, and online communities. She has been featured in Feminist Entrepreneurs Magazine (FEM) as well as on several podcasts such as the Transcend Your Dichotomy Podcast, Badass Business Podcast, and the Career Resilience Podcast to name a few.

She studied International Education Management at Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, Applied Linguistics & TESOL at the University of Leicester in the UK, and Communication Arts at St.Francis College, New York.

Abbiola is an avid reader, travel nerd, theatre buff, and Japanese karaoke queen.

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Workshop Details:

We have always subsidized our community workshops to make them accessible as possible. You'll notice there are two ticket tiers for this workshop. If you are able to pay the standard ticket price, we ask that you do so. If paying the standard price would make this workshop inaccessible to you, we encourage you to pay the reduced solo rate.

Upon registration, you will receive instructions on how to join the workshop. You will also be added to a calendar invite and will receive a final reminder 24-hours in advance.

This will be an interactive workshop. We ask you to take the call in a place where you can have your video on and speak openly. The workshop will not be recorded.

By registering for this workshop, you are agreeing to abide by our Code of Conduct.