Event DEI Strategist
Certificate
Event DEI Strategist Certificate
COURSE OVERVIEW
As an event organizer, prioritizing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) often means bringing groups of attendees, speakers, and suppliers together from different backgrounds, identities, and experiences. But there is still work to be done when it comes to activating allies both internally and externally. This work includes planning events that enact diverse, equitable, and inclusive behaviors.
This multi-week professional development course is designed for industry professionals looking to deepen their understanding of DEI practices as core practices both within their events and organizations.
Going beyond the fundamentals of diverse event speaker rosters, inclusive marketing, and accessibility requirements, in this course, you’ll gain skills to recognize, approach, intervene, and dismantle systems and processes that aren’t diverse, equitable, or inclusive.
From developing a workplace culture that supports a strategic commitment to DEI and building partnerships to tools and resources to use along the way, this course provides the strategies and skills to successfully become a DEI champion throughout the entire event planning process and within your organization.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to:
- Synthesize commonly used DEI terminology to effectively articulate their objectives
- Explore methodologies to manage DEI conflict in individuals, teams, and organizations
- Examine policies, procedures, and practices to reduce biases and barriers to entry
- Develop a business case for diversity to gain leadership buy-in and investment
Scroll down to see more details including the weekly outline.
Important Note | Live Class Meetings Included!
The Event Leadership Institute recognizes the importance of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) across the global business of events. To help professionals engage in the dialogue and education they need, ELI is including live scheduled online class meetings with the instructor and other learners registered in the course. During these live class meetings, you’ll have the opportunity to join instructor Zoe Moore, as she chats with industry experts who are educators, practitioners, consultants, and leaders deeply involved in ensuring that DEI is actionable, measurable, and sustainable.
Beyond live classes, learners also have access to an online community forum to exchange ideas and communicate with other classmates to support each other during your journey from insight to implementation. Don’t just learn best practices for DEI, discover how to make them core to your workplace culture!
Event Leadership Institute has been approved by the Events Industry Council (EIC) as a Preferred Provider of continuing education on all professional development certificate courses, which qualifies for CMP continuing education credit. Determination of continuing education credit eligibility or Preferred Provider status does not imply EIC’s endorsement or assessment of education quality.
Learn From A DE&I Expert
Honorably discharged from the United States Army following 12 years of service, Chiriga Moore, affectionately known as Zoe (pronounced ZOH), completed an M.S. in Hospitality, Recreation, and Tourism and then started an event planning company in Oakland, CA.
Learning that Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) were not prioritized in the meetings, events, and tourism industry, she became an advocate to help improve dialogue and action in supplier diversity, organizational culture, and diverse representation in leadership.
Initially, spearheading the formation of an Inclusion & Diversity committee with MPI’s Northern California Chapter, she decided to become a Certified Diversity Professional (CDP)® to deepen her knowledge. As the co-founder of Moore Consulting Agency LLC, she seeks to support hospitality organizations to assess the FIVE Cs: Characteristics, Commitment, Capacity, Climate & Culture to develop DEI strategies that are measurable and sustainable. Additionally, as an independent Hospitality Strategic Consultant, she engages leaders of organizations through her speaking, writing, and consulting.
The outgoing co-chair for MPIs 2021 Global Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Advisory Committee, Zoe is committed to holding industry leaders strategically accountable for their expressed commitment to change.
Zoe is a contributing writer to The Meeting Professional, Meetings Today, and her blog Unsolicited Advice. She resides in Marietta, GA, with her teenage son and loves homemade chocolate chip cookies, photography, and traveling.
View Zoe's Profile
Week 1: Introduction & Overview (Terminology, Frameworks & Assessments)
- Dissect the timeline of DEI as a discipline
- Comprehend key terminology used frequently by activists, practitioners, and academics
- Understand the value of DEI in the meetings and events industry
- Explore the correlation between a CMP and CDP to gain competitive advantage
- Assess the core competencies of managing DEI conflict within yourself, teams, and organizations.
- Examine DEI frameworks that serve as a rubric for accountability
- Examine assessments & data to establish benchmarks
Week 2: Core Competencies (Role, Responsibilities, Resources & Revolution)
- Understand the hard and soft skills valuable to becoming an Event DEI strategist
- Define the primary dimensions of diversity
- Evaluate your style of approach as either an Advocate, Facilitator or Strategist
- Assess your level of emotional intelligence and how it relates to DEI strategy
- Examine your unconscious, implicit and explicit biases
Week 3: DEI Education (Workshops, Literature, and Certifications)
- Understand how the 10 CMP domains benefit from integrating DEI principles
- Explore the importance of recurring reading, training and professional development
- Evaluate opportunities for growth within your teams
- Examine how to ensure impact and application are a result of learning
- Define the responsibilities of committees, ERGs and C-level Diversity roles
- Assess including knowledge of DEI as a deliverable into your team’s scope of work
Week 4: Business Case For Diversity (Strategic Planning, Project Management, and Risk Management)
- Understand the complexity of making the business case for diversity
- Explore resources that assist with articulating your objectives and key results
- Examine the value of stakeholder buy-in including leaders, staff, partners and clients
- Define inclusive strategic planning as it relates to project and risk management
- Evaluate your business case for diversity using the ROI Methodology
Week 5: Partnering with Authenticity (Economic Impact, Talent Management, and Stakeholder Management)
- Understand the impact of biases on procurement and partnerships
- Explore how indirect and direct spending impacts the local economy
- Examine RFP processes for internal and external DEI standards
- Define supplier diversity in the events industry
- Evaluate systemic barriers to help design innovative and equitable solutions
Week 6: Inclusive Event Design (Registration, Marketing, and Site Management)
- Understand how inclusive event design is universally beneficial
- Explore the needs, challenges and opportunities specific to diverse social identities
- Examine the pros and cons of virtual, hybrid and in-person events on marginalized communities
- Define the benefits of why representation matters for executing successful events
- Assess your awareness of how to turn performative gestures into purposeful actions
Week 7: Challenging the Status Quo (Cultural Competence and Belonging)
- Understand the relationship between culture fit and culture add
- Explore the intersectionality of identities, perspectives and disciplines
- Examine the influence of language on workplace culture
- Define diplomatic empathy to manage conflict within organizations
- Develop a plan of action to constructively disrupt business as usual
Assessments & Grading
25% – Forum posts (completion and quality)
25% – Quizzes (80% pass required for each. You can take each quiz up to three times.)
50% – Final Exam (with minimum pass at 75%) or Article*
*Beginning Week 3, participants will determine if they will write an article or take an exam.
The exam will consist of multiple-choice questions.
If learners select to write an article, they will choose a protected class/social identity for which they believe is underrepresented. Then, they’ll identify training, support, and design resources needed to improve the creation of more equitable, diverse, and inclusive workplaces, events, and experiences, to share 3-5 best practices for that particular protected class/social identity.
Minimum course passing grade: 75%
The Event Leadership Institute stands behind all of its content. If you feel you didn't learn what you expected to in this course, just let us know within 30 days of your last lesson and we'll give you a full refund. Click here to view our refund policy and full terms & conditions.
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