Today we completed our Cultural Competency training facilitated by Sefton Equalities Partnership within CVS.  Our trainer was Thomasina Afful and we were able to develop our skills and knowledge around cultural issues, such as,

• the key factors that influence the development of cultural identity
• understanding ethnic and cultural identities
• what it means to be culturally competent
• understanding why being culturally insensitive means that services fail to engage with diverse communities

Prior to the course we were asked to complete a questionnaire to explore our existing knowledge of cultural issues and at the completion of the course we evaluated how much we had learnt and how we will apply this knowledge to our work at Venus.  All in all, a really positive and motivating course that made us think about the way we develop and publicise our services to a diverse range of communities.

"This course was eye-opening, I learnt a lot.  It makes you think about discrimination and what it really means, how it can feel."

(Venus worker, 21.05.14)