Building Belonging: Elevating Women in CG and Animation at SIGGRAPH 2022

by | 8 July 2022 | Conferences

photo by Dina Douglass © 2019 ACM SIGGRAPH

This article was provided by the Women of SIGGRAPH Conversations and Women in Animation Communications Team.

As part of Women of SIGGRAPH Conversations and in partnership with Women in Animation (WIA)’s Vancouver Chapter, this collaborative breakfast, Design For Belonging, is an opportunity to empower yourself through professional development.

A natural partnership due to the overlap in missions, Women of SIGGRAPH Conversations is an ACM SIGGRAPH organization committee focused on connecting, empowering, and helping develop women in computer graphics and interactive techniques by providing opportunities for professional advancement and promoting community. Women in Animation’s mission is to bring together the global animation community while empowering and advocating for people of underrepresented gender identities in the art, technology, production, and business of animation, all while inspiring excellence and justice in all facets of the industry.

This 90-minute workshop will be facilitated by Susie Wise, Stanford Ph.D., and author of “Design for Belonging: How to Build Inclusion and Collaboration in Your Communities.” Wise is a designer and educator with experience in the education, tech, and social sectors. She coaches leaders in innovation practices, equity design, and storytelling for inclusion; is the founder and former director of the K12 Lab Network at the Stanford d.school; and is a co-creator of Liberatory Design.

Her book, “Design for Belonging,” shows how to bring out the best in everyone in order to help them feel welcomed, included, and valued for who they are. More specifically, it discusses how to use design to create feelings of inclusion in your organization — rituals that bring people together, spaces that promote calm, roles that create a sense of responsibility, systems that make people feel respected, and more.

At this breakfast event, participants will have an opportunity to learn how to use the tools of design to see their context afresh and build more belonging. This will be accomplished through bridge building, community engagement, and networking with one another.

The themes participants can expect to see include communication, fostering empowerment and self-confidence, and implementing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) methods that will ensure everyone is heard. The ultimate goal is to create an inclusive and diverse community in animation and computer graphics.

The event will take place on Wednesday, 10 August, 8:30–10 am PDT, at the Vancouver Convention Centre, with breakfast provided to attendees. Separate registration is required, and it costs $20 USD to attend this valuable session. Please register for this limited-capacity event to save your seat.

You can find more information about Susie Wise’s book, “Design for Belonging: How to Build Inclusion and Collaboration in Your Communities,” here. Also, hear more from Wise on the SIGGRAPH Spotlight podcast. Listen now.

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