Halton Belonging Story Project

We can adopt less organizational thinking and more community approaches in our every day work to cultivating belonging.

WHEN IT COMES TO BELONGING, it may be time to learn something new, unlearn something old, and inspire hope for a fresh start. By embracing people’s different journeys we can create a common bond amongst us. We can inspire difficult conversations and encourage learnings. We can make possible the inclusion of worldviews and perspectives that may not align with our own.

Together, we can lay the groundwork for continued discussion and not just a one-off. We can include lived experience and bigger policy decisions, identify key factors and inform community decision making. And, we can feel supported in sharing experiences along the way.

Let’s continue to create spaces for authenticity where people feel comfortable bringing their whole selves without exclusion, to uncover truths, and platform voices, stories and traditions.

When we share our stories, others will feel they too can share theirs.

We are exploring the unfolding story of belonging in our community, including ones about:
• How webs of relationships can build inclusion and belonging
• The connection between understanding self and understanding others
• Loosening performative niceties so people can tell the truth without edits
• What belonging means to people and how that has changed over the years
• How belonging can be an institutional concept people might not identify with
• Minimizing preconceived notions and assumptions
• The careful use of questions, ones that aren’t too open ended but that lead somewhere
• The principles and practices of inclusive design
• New styles of collaboration