Belonging Matters Conversations is a strength-focused approach that engages diversity, fosters belonging, ignites collaboration and has a track record of generating innovation.
The Belonging Matters Conversations (BMC) program is a strengths-based community development process that fosters a sense of belonging and generates innovative community-led, self-organizing projects. The series provides the skills, knowledge and processes essential for developing community leadership and innovation.
A typical BMC process involves a period of internal training and preparation followed by convening people with lived experience for a series of four conversations (but can be expanded or reduced). The series often culminates in a “celebrating success” event launching the group’s visual legacies (i.e. some visual medium that captures their insights such as learning posters, memes, art, videos, or social media posts) and, if part of the intended outcomes, their self-organized projects.
Throughout the process of the Belonging Matters Conversations (BMC) series, hosts, organizers, partners and facilitators work together to support the voice, dignity and leadership of people with lived experience related to any given social problem.
Through the award-winning Belonging Matters framework, Intercultural Strategies provides an effective Belonging Matters Conversations process for bringing diverse cultures, individuals and sectors together.
In doing so, it allows each stakeholder to contribute to the creation of conditions for people to do their best work together and address root causes of self-identified priority issues.
The Belonging Matters framework has been used to effectively address a variety of people, culture and social problems within workplaces and communities. The framework has been delivered in over 8 languages and has reached over 2.5 million people.
Listen to the video to learn what problems Belonging Matters Conversations solve and how this approach can help you increase your impact with lasting results:
Belonging Matters Conversations is rooted and guided by our foundational framework, theory of change and guiding principles. Listen to the video to learn about the approach and values that guide all that we do.
Within the context of an increasingly turbulent and divided world, almost everyone can relate to our sense of home and belonging being disrupted. We believe that, in any given context, you will find an opportunity to move from outdated systems of exclusions to building a culture of belonging.
Listen to the video and discover what to expect on the journey (spoiler alert… it’s an “all hands on deck” approach).
Ensuring organizational readiness for a community change process is essential for ensuring sustainable and lasting outcomes. Access our organizational strengths and capacity checklist, our team skills checklist and our recommended time and resource commitment checklist.
Ensuring you have the right team configuration in place is critical for sustaining success. Access our recommended team and community partner configuration.
Book a complimentary 30-minute call with Jessie (the appointment will take you to our readiness self-assessment questionnaire) to learn more and discuss how Belonging Matters Conversations could support your social change efforts.
As a society, we need to shift from a reactive mode to a prevention mode like what Belonging Matters provides.
As a society, we need to shift from a reactive mode to a prevention mode like what Belonging Matters Conversations provides. The more that we hear the voices of people impacted the most, the more respectful the process and the better the outcomes.
We need to support grassroots and community empowerment processes to achieve prevention and real change.
...help us find and grow a sense of home...
The Belonging Matters Conversations help us find and grow a sense of home within ourselves and in our own lives. We then bring that sense of home out into the community.
Belonging Matters Conversations gave me more confidence in myself and my strengths.
The Belonging Matters Conversations gave me more confidence in myself and my strengths. As well, the dialogue process helped me to accept my cerebral palsy and made me feel more comfortable talking about my disability. Importantly, the experience made me aware of what’s possible on both personal and community levels.
I am so grateful for Jessie's guidance in helping to address a long-overdue need for more connection, resources, and awareness in the community. I also appreciate the connections that I have made through these conversations and I look forward to continuing with this group.
An international speaker, trainer, and consultant, Jessie Sutherland works with organizations and communities to engage diversity, build belonging and ignite intercultural collaboration.
Recipient of BC Community Achievement Award (2023), her approach creates sustainable community change that effectively addresses complex social problems.
I’ve begun to respect myself...
I’ve been homeless for 4 months. Through participating in Belonging Matters Conversations, I’ve begun to respect myself and gain a lot of confidence.
...open the inner voice to better understand what promotes quality of life.
What Belonging Matters Conversations do so remarkably is to open the inner voice to better understand what promotes quality of life.
I was touched by how simple, yet how profound responses were to topics such as isolation and safety.
...conversations that go deeper than simply brainstorming ideas and coming up with projects.
Belonging Matters helps to get straight to the heart of what is being discussed, no matter what the topic. It opens space to have truly client-led (or led by those most impacted by specific social issues) conversations that go deeper than simply brainstorming ideas and coming up with projects.
Through the process, breaking down hierarchical barriers between service providers and service users builds trust, community, and relationships that live on and create ripples of change in many directions. Belonging Matters Conversations empowers people to tell their own stories and create their own actions to address social (in)justice.
Belonging Matters invites us all to reflect on what true belonging means and to experience a sense of belonging within the conversations that emerge, amongst all participants. It’s a transformative experience for facilitators and participants alike that create bonds of belonging.
Book a complimentary 30-minute call with Jessie (the appointment will take you to our readiness self-assessment questionnaire) to learn more and discuss how Belonging Matters Conversations could support your social change efforts.
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