General Sessions
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
8:30 am - 9:45 am
Welcome and Keynote Speaker
Joe Watson
Chief Executive Officer
Without Excuses and Strategic Hire
It’s Time for Serious Conversations
We tend to live separately, socialize separately, and interact separately.We block access to the things that are difficult to deal with. This isn’t good or bad. It’s just reality, and our personal reality focuses each of our lenses based on past experiences and what we have (and have not) been exposed to. It is when we are confronted by someone who is different from us that our lenses fail us, and we find ourselves feeling uncomfortable.
As our world is becoming more diverse and divergent, the probability of increased discomfort is high. So, it’s time to talk: talk about the use of our lenses and talk about our lack of knowledge. We need to talk as individuals, as organizations, and as communities. We need to talk to leverage the richness of the human experience for personal and professional gain, and we need to talk because differences are our reality. It’s time! Time for serious conversations!
 
Thursday, November 11, 2010
8:30 am - 9:45 am
Neely Tucker
Foreign Correspondent and Writer
The Washington Post
Dialogues Necessary for Surviving Hostile Situations
(Or How to Talk Your Way Out of Getting Fired and/or Beaten Silly)
It is easy to control dialogue in a regimented workplace with people you know. But...
- How do you get your job done – and thrive at it – in difficult cross-cultural settings where there are no clear cut rules, with no one (or at least not you) in charge?
- What happens when there are no polite rules of conduct, and there is no one like you around?
Neely Tucker, a foreign correspondent and roving reporter for The Washington Post, has worked all over the globe, gaining private interviews with mass murderers, child killers, enforcers for drug gangs, war lords, and terrorists. He has worked his way into socially exclusive settings (including a private dinner for Michael Jackson in the home of the president of Namibia) and been a pen pal of David Berkowitz, the Son of Sam killer. He has made a career of convincing people completely hostile to reporters/Americans/whites/men/etc. to invite him into their homes.
This session will provide an entertaining look at how to build trust quickly with people who don’t look like you – and who may not like you all that much!
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 Developed as part of The FutureWork Institute's commitment to help its clients take a 360 approach to diversity and inclusion by moving forward into the future, Diversity Dialogues takes participants broader into issues of multicultural and multigenerational diversity, and deeper into the traditional issues of race/ethnicity, gender, and LGBT, among others. These three-hour sessions are intended to help participants take a meaningful look at important issues and use the dialogue methodology to engage in more courageous conversations in order to move our diversity and inclusion work to a new level.
Diversity Dialogues is presented on Wednesday, November 10 and Thursday, November 11. Conferees have the opportunity to select one session during each segment. Sessions include:
Segment One: Wednesday, November 10; 10:00 am - 1:00 pm
Segment Two: Wednesday, November 10; 2:30 pm - 5:30 pm
Segment Three: Thursday, November 11; 10:00 am - 1:00 pm
Segment Four: Thursday, November 11; 2:30 pm - 5:30 pm
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The National MultiCultural Institute’s rigorous one- and three-day workshops are devoted to the multiple dimensions of one central topic which is presented in a safe and dynamic atmosphere. These one- and three-day programs serve people at all points on the cultural competence continuum: from individuals interested in developing a diversity and inclusion foundation to professionals ready for the next level of organizational capacity building. All workshops are built around NMCI’s proven framework, featuring four modules: Knowledge, Awareness, Skill-Building, and Action Planning.
Three-Day Workshops (Thursday, November 11 - Saturday, November 13)
One-Day Workshops (Friday, November 12; 8:30 am - 5:30 pm)
One-Day Workshops (Saturday, November 13; 8:30 am - 5:30 pm)
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One Workplace, Many Faiths: Courageous Conversations about Religion and Spirituality
One Workplace, Many Faiths: Courageous Conversations about Religion and Spirituality