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Next week hundreds of people from around the world will be traveling to San Diego to attend KIT’s 7th Annual National Conference on Inclusion. As you can imagine, this week is full of the little details that come with hosting such an event. We are packing swag bags, assembling name badges, getting the program to the printer and on and on and on. But, since this is the 7th annual conference I am familiar with the growing feeling of excitement and anticipation. There is really nothing like gathering so many people devoted to caring for children into one space and exploring the issue of inclusion. It is always such a moving experience for everyone.
One of my tasks this week is to prepare my comments for the first morning of the conference. I always like to use my time at the podium to frame the learning experience for the participants. I want to help them break their pre-occupation with the outside world and settle into a space of openness and curiosity. In the past I have shared the concept of the “beginner’s mind.” This year, I am considering conducting a few moments of subtle activism by asking the group to close their eyes and visualize what inclusion looks like in its truest form. I think that if we can start the conference by envisioning how we want our child care environments and communities to look, feel and be we will be in a more open space for absorbing the knowledge of our presenters. In subtle activism a group of like-minded people come together to positively influence social change, perhaps through meditation, visualization or prayer or some other form of subtle consciousness-raising. Gathering hundreds of inclusion practitioners in a hotel ballroom to visualize inclusion could be very powerful and propel our efforts to change the world!
This year I also have the pleasure of introducing one of my heroes as our keynote speaker, Micaela Connery, Founder and Executive Director of Unified Theatre. Her own activism is a real inspiration, and if you aren’t there to hear her live I hope you check out the virtual version that will be available in November.
