The Triandiflou Institute for Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Transformative Practice invites you to participate in SUNY Oswego's second annual Oz Equity Challenge, a three-week interactive program running Monday, Feb. 13 through Friday, March 3, 2023.
The Oz Equity Challenge is designed to help the campus community dedicate time and space to building more effective social justice habits. Each day of the challenge features a module intended to raise awareness about a different social justice issue, deepen understanding and shift thinking and behavior. As a whole, the challenge will provide participants with tool kits and resources for building and elevating their social justice practices.
Challenge structure
This year’s challenge, though different in some ways from last year’s, will again provide short articles, videos and activities to inform and connect the community around topics such as justice, equity, diversity, inclusion and belonging.
The content of this year’s challenge is organized into three pillars:
- Building a Foundation
- Understanding Systems
- Interrupting Injustice
Each week of this year’s challenge, Monday through Thursday, will consist of four days of topics related to the week’s overarching theme. Each day will offer a few resources to review and reflection questions to consider as you explore the day’s topic. Resources are selected with brevity in mind, so each day of the challenge should require less than 20 minutes of your time. You don’t have to study every resource; choose the format that works for you and the content that speaks to you. Some days there will be more resources to consider than others.
Opportunities for dialogue
Each Friday of the challenge – on Feb. 17, Feb. 24, and March 3 –- the Triandiflou Institute will host an opportunity for dialogue from 2-4 p.m. in their second-floor Penfield Library space. This will allow participants to further explore and share their thoughts about one of the week’s topics. Further, this year the Institute offers an opportunity for participants to identify themselves when registering to better offer recognition for those who are able to complete the challenge.
Do I receive an incentive for participating?
The first 20 participants to sign up will have the chance to win a T-shirt from the Triandiflou Institute. At the end of the challenge, participants will earn a certificate that reflects their level of engagement.
- Challenge Superstar - Completes 12 reflections and attends three Equity Dialogues
- Challenge Star - Completes 12 out of 15 engagement opportunities, for example: 12 reflections, or ten reflections and two dialogues, or nine reflections and three dialogues
- Challenge Completer - Completes 10 out of 15 engagement opportunities, for example: ten reflections or eight reflections and two dialogues
What are the key components of the challenge?
Registered participants will receive daily emails that include short readings and/or videos, and/or resources along with discussion questions that you are encouraged to process alone and with a pair/group of individuals. You will be asked to submit your responses to discussion questions as a way to track your participation for recognition, and to help the Institute better understand what participants are gaining from the experience and what questions they still have.
How to participate
You can register to participate through the Spring 2023 Oz Equity Challenge webpage, or by scanning the QR code on campus-wide Oz Equity Challenge signage. Registration will close on Wednesday, Feb. 15.
Faculty and staff: please contact Anneke McEvoy at anneke.mcevoy@oswego.edu if you are interested in having your class or area participate in the challenge together.
Each daily module will be shared via email (for registered participants), in Oswego Today, and posted to the Oz Equity Challenge webpage. The daily modules will also be archived for future reference.
The challenge is inclusive of all knowledge levels, so the Institute hopes students, faculty, staff and administrators of all identities will engage through the entire three weeks. Whether you are new to thinking about social justice and equity, interested in further building your knowledge, or looking for videos, articles or activities to share with students or colleagues, this challenge is for all.
-- Submitted by the Triandiflou Institute for Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Transformative Practice