The Centre for Unity & Racial Equality (CURE) is looking to build its bank of workshop leaders with diversity training for facilitators offered in March.

?To build CURE?s bank of trainers and to offer a professional development opportunity, CURE is partnering with the Bermuda College to provide a Certification in Diversity Training opportunity at three levels: Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced,? said CURE executive officer Myra Virgil.

CURE is inviting human resource professionals and community members to become expert presenters, team builders, and group facilitators.

?All persons interested in becoming more adept at delivering an effective and interesting ?diversity dialogue? session, delving into cross-cultural communication skills, conflict management, team building and interpersonal issues are invited to participate,? said Ms Virgil.

Training topics include: observing what is said and what is not ? key facilitation skills; noticing the intent and impact within all our communications; replacing adversarial and defensive statements with mindful responses of observation and inquiry; and learning how to create community (facilitate) within a diverse group setting.

The training will be conducted by StirFry Seminar?s Diversity Trainer and Filmmaker, Lee Mun. Wah (Producer of films, ?Color of Fear?, and ?Last Chance for Eden?) and Rainbow Martell.

The aim is to make participants more adept at delivering an effective and interesting ?diversity dialogue? session, delving into cross-cultural communication skills, conflict management, team building and interpersonal issues of difference.

?Participants will be more practised at working productively as part of a team of two facilitators,? said Ms Virgil. ?Participants will learn the active and experiential training style used by StirFry Seminars and will comprehend the design of the dialogue sessions that focus on the above topics.?

Ms Virgil said that effective training is an art that requires a combination of awareness of personal biases, knowledge, insight and experience.

?An important goal of our programme is to increase the trainers? understanding of the macro-level issues that community organisations face,? she said. ?They will also be directed to activities and materials to study and continue their practice beyond the training sessions.?

In these training sessions participants will have the opportunity to test their knowledge and understanding by answering and asking technical and personal questions about diversity issues as they relate to themselves, the organisation, individuals they work with, and the larger community.

Participants will also be introduced to methods for facilitating innovative team building within their programmes.

The cost of training is $1,000 for corporate, $500 for government employees, $300 for education or non-profit and $100 for individual members of the community.

?The training fees should not deter anyone from participating,? said Ms Virgil.

?We encourage and support any interested member of Bermuda?s community to become involved. Bursary spots are available, and may require a commitment to conduct future training for CURE. Please call us to make a special arrangement.?

The training is on March 14, 15, and 16 from 9 to 5 p.m. at the Harmony Club, 109 South Shore Road, Paget, PG 03.