Inclusion is (and should be) everywhere!

𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙛 𝙗𝙚𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙖𝙨𝙣’𝙩 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙖 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙜𝙣?

This week I found myself exploring inclusion from two seemingly different spaces, education and coliving, both asking the same question: 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨?

I’ve been delivering a teacher training on inclusive education this week, and today joined this months Coliving Hub webinar with Indra S. on the same theme. Two worlds that might seem far apart, but share so much common ground.

In #education, we talk about Inclusive Education using the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework, a model that helps make learning accessible for all by creating multiple pathways to engage, represent, and express. 

In the webinar, we imagined applying that same thinking to coliving, a community of a different kind. Some ideas for inclusivity that were shared were:

🏠 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁: varied events like yoga classes, cooking nights, language exchanges that speak to different people and personalities


🪞 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: multiple styles of marketing such as closed captioned, read-aloud text, and different languages to have a wider reach

🗣️ 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻: different ways for residents to share feedback such as 1-1 chats, anonymous forms, or group discussions for more choice and comfort

Same framework, different community, both built on the same foundation: inclusion through intentional design.

What I love about UDL is that it actually started in the field of design, was then adapted for education, and now (at least for me) has come full circle, inspiring how we design for communities. 

Always exciting to see how intersectional topics like inclusivity are! This is one of the reasons I enjoy being a freelancer, I’m able to be a part of so many communities and so many different (yet not so different) conversations. 

How do you (or could you) design to include?

#Inclusion #Belonging #UniversalDesignForLearning #Coliving #Education #CommunityBuilding #InclusiveDesign