Conference quark::mennotes-v1

385.0. "Gay Valuing Differences Presentation" by TLE::FISHER (Work that dream and love your life) Thu Nov 02 1989 14:16

Hi folks,

I'll be cofacilitating the "Recognizing and Understanding the Lesbian,
Gay, and Bisexual Differences" presentation on November 15th in
Nashua, NH.  This presentation is open to any Digital employee who
would like to attend. There is no cost for this presentation. 

I have attached some general information about this particular
presentation, and I have attached a cover letter.  Feel free to send
me mail if you have any questions. 

Thanks.


							--Gerry


General Information:
===================

________________________________________________________________________________

DATE:  	Wed. 11/15		SITE:	Nashua, NH (ZKO)
EVENT:	"Recognizing and Understanding the Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual 
	Differences".
	* Maintainer of presentation is DECpac Education Subcommittee
AUDIENCE: All employees welcome, 25 Seats available
CONTACT:  Gerry Fisher (TLE::FISHER) DTN 381-2527
________________________________________________________________________________


Cover Letter for Presentation:
=============================
 
                            Recognizing and Understanding
                     The Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Differences

          About This Presentation

          This two-and-a-half-hour presentation was originally devel-
          oped by members of the Digital support group DECpac and by ZKO
          Personnel Consultants Rick Doran and Stuart Lublin. Additional
          work has been done by the DECpac Education Subcommittee and
          by Alan Zimmerle and his group (Affirmative Action Management
          Committee).

          The purpose of this presentation is to introduce people to the
          lesbian, gay, and bisexual differences and to serve as a sup-
          plement to existing Digital Valuing Differences (Vd) training
          (in particular, to supplement the Understanding the Dynamics
          of Difference course and the work done in Core Groups). For
          more information about Vd programs, please see your Personnel
          Consultant.

          According to the existing Digital Vd philosophy, there are four
          steps toward the valuing of any difference. These steps are the
          following:

          o  Recognizing the difference

          o  Understanding the difference

          o  Accepting the difference

          o  Valuing the difference

          The designers see this presentation as a "first step" for any
          group interested in doing work around "recognizing and under-
          standing" the lesbian, gay, and bisexual differences. No prior
          knowledge about gay people is assumed. Those giving the presen-
          tation will use the Core Group philosophy of "the experts are in
          the room," answering questions and speaking from personal expe-
          rience. (Those presenting may speak generally about other gay
          people, but they do not "represent" all gay Digital employees.)

          Since the two-and-a-half hour format can only accommodate so
          much information, the designers feel that more work must be
          done by a group if that group wants to continue the journey
          towards "accepting" and ultimately "valuing" the lesbian, gay,
          and bisexual differences. For instance, this presentation only
          touches on "problems in the workplace"; to schedule follow-up
          work on this topic, please contact one of the people listed on
          this sheet.

          About the Articles

          Some facilitators may distribute the packet of approximately
          20 articles before the presentation; others may distribute the
          packet afterward. The articles in this packet provide back-
          ground information, provide material for future reference, and
          represent as large a picture of the lesbian, gay, and bisexual
          communities as possible. If you received the entire packet be-
          fore the presentation, please do not feel that you have to read
          all of them! Reading the two or three articles that interest
          you most will prepare you for the presentation. (If you feel
          uncomfortable talking about these issues because you are afraid
          that you will offend someone, please read the write-up entitled
          "Terminology.")

          For More Information

          For more information, you can contact one of the following
          people:

             Gerry Fisher (ZKO, TLE::FISHER)

>                   -< Gay Valuing Differences Presentation >-



	 This is a WONDERFUL presentation!  Anyone that gets a change
	 to go, you won't be disappointed!  Just yesterday, I attended
	 this presentation here at CXO......

	 The information presented is very valuable and thought
	 provoking......it's really an eye opener.....



	 kath

	 

    
    Just a thought.......
    
    Is this type of presentation ever likely to be held outside the
    U.S. ?
    
    Ian (UK)

    
>    Just a thought.......
>    
>    Is this type of presentation ever likely to be held outside the
>    U.S. ?
>    
>    Ian (UK)

There is no reason why it can't be.  

The way we work it is that we need to have someone outside of the GMA
take on the task of doing all the "prework" to get the presentation
set up; until we get a traveling budget (don't hold your breaths), we
need to have local people run their own presentations. 

The way it works is that we ship the slides, articles, advice, and 
other training materials to the site outside of GMA, and the local 
people run the presentation.  

This is how Colorado Springs began running these presentations.  We 
handed off our materials to gay people at that site, they modified the 
materials slightly to suit their style, and they ran the presentation.  


						--Gerry