Written by Daz Burns
Why do we only highlight and celebrate important ‘themes’ for one week of the year!
Every day, every week we should be doing things to support these kaupapa!
“Do you remember, the 21st night of September?” 🎶
(Sorry, that is not at all relevant to this blog, but a September blog demanded a ridiculously catchy September themed tune!)
Alrighty team.
Get ready to celebrate because it’sssssssssssss….
MENTAL HEALTH WEEK!
AND
MĀORI LANGUAGE WEEK!!
WOOHOO… We are inclusive for seven whole days of the year!!
(Deep prolonged, disheartened sigh… I am all about highlighting, respecting and celebrating our people…but it shouldn’t be just a few days a year, right?!)
These themed weeks help us get content for the month for instagram! (‘winning’)
And, bonus, it helps us “PC wash” our teams by showing we “genuinely” care about Māori Language and Mental Health thriving in Aotearoa… for a week (argh!).
Now I realise I sound over-the-top cynical.
And that there is so much going on in the world that a ‘themed week’ may or may not feel top-of-the-list important.
But, it should.
It matters.
Because, we are letting OUR people etch closer to invisibility.
Like I said, we are inclusive for seven days and then often, we really do make it hard for people to be human the rest of the time!
How can we make this an everyday focus?
I won’t go on about why the ‘stand-alone week’ gets my blood boiling.
I think it is pretty clear.
What I will do is focus on what I would LOVE to see as we move forward.
Because, we need a clear intentional plan.
And as we take the steps forward, we need to do it TOGETHER!
Yet, to really throw a spanner in the works and confuse the hell out of you as you read this.
If we break down our ideal outcomes and the steps it will take to achieve them.
Then we have to realise that though we ideally want to move forward together.
More often than not, first and foremost, it starts with you.
You, genuinely weaving inclusion, care and curiosity into your day, EVERYDAY!
And then, you will see what you are putting out into the world, expand…
To your team.
To your organisation.
To your community and beyond.
Being genuine about inclusion, care and curiosity… It’s contagious.
You start the snowball effect.
A week doesn’t cut the mustard team.
Just like your week-long holiday that you look forward to for ages.. You know the one… the week that flies by too fast and you can’t remember when it even happened?!
It’s not enough.
It’s not meaningful.
It’s not genuine.
It’s not true inclusion.
Every day. every. single. day.
So, a few things I ask you to consider and intentionally implement EVERYDAY:
- Differences shouldn’t be ignored. Embrace them. Shine a light on them. Be compassionate.
- Seek out and welcome multiple perspectives.
- Make it easy for people to share who they are or what is going on for them. Take an interest and follow up.
- If there is a status quo or ridiculously outdated way of supporting belonging in your workplace that is token or detrimental to people, get to work disestablishing or destabilising it. The system can’t survive if it isn’t maintained.
- If you can, then you should advocate for change.
- Take unapologetic action to empower your people in new ways.
- Use these annual theme weeks to take your inclusive kaupapa to the next level and kick things up a notch.
- Genuinely care about Māori Language and Mental Health EVERYDAY… There are 365 days in the year… not seven.
We genuinely need to care
At the end of the day whānau, we genuinely need each other for this journey we are on.
So, intentionally start with yourself and you’ll soon see how inclusion, care and curiosity expands throughout your ecosystem in all the best ways, everyday!
And be genuine, every step of the way. 🙂
Disclaimer: This blog details Māori Language Week and Mental Health Awareness Week that are happening in September… but this kaupapa stretches to EVERYTHING from Pride Month to Working Parents Day to Breast Cancer Awareness Month and everything in between… all year round! ❤️
(and to play us out… “Do you remember, never a cloudy day?”) 🎶
