Buffalo Project & SUNY ESC to Host 6th Annual Cultural Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Forum

The Buffalo Project and SUNY Empire's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Council, are co-sponsoring the 6th annual, college-wide Cultural Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Forum, online through Zoom, this Wednesday, April 15 at 12 PM.

This event will feature the topic "How Creative Thinking Sets the Environment for Diversity and Innovation", presented by Karina Loera Barcenas, SUNY Buffalo State Small Business Development Center Business Advisor and former creative thinking coach and trainer and business development strategist at the Center for Certification in Creativity.

Karina Loera Barcenas, will present the topic "How Creative Thinking Sets the Environment for Diversity and Innovation" at the Forum.

The objective of this session is to introduce a problem solving model and utilize its core guidelines to foster diversity and leverage it as a key element for innovation. This approach requires each of us to be collaborative while, at the same time, be reflective and respectful of diverse perspectives. Creative Thinking provides a specific set of steps, stages, tools and techniques that can be used to developing environment(s) of inclusivity and collaboration for people to embrace and celebrate each other. The Cultural Diversity and Inclusion Forum happens yearly and is an expansion of the highly successful Western New York student survey project, coined the Buffalo Project, co-facilitated by Dr. Rhianna C. Rogers, associate professor at SUNY Empire State College. The Buffalo Project analyzes the impact of cultural inclusiveness on college learning and student retention at SUNY Empire State College, Niagara Frontier. This survey information, has been used to create a variety of activities at Niagara Frontier in order to engage students cross-culturally; some of these events include culture-based plenary discussions, documentary film round tables, community tours, student clubs, and food events.

Image from the 2016 Forum on Cultural Inclusion and Diversity.

In previous years, the forum has presented the topics "Race and Policing", "Cultural Diversity", "American Politics and Race", "Visible and Invisible Disabilities" and "Microaggressions in Everyday Life".