As part of this week’s Firestarter festival, we were glad to be part of the conversation sparked by COPE Scotland and The Alliance around creating safe spaces.

At Outside the Box, the core of our work and underlying values lie in helping build communities – of whatever size or form – which are inclusive, and which encourage ideas, participation and diversity. In other words, communities which acknowledge and value difference and are able to accommodate everyone’s needs in a way that makes all members of that community feel safe, welcome and able to contribute in the way that they feel comfortable.

The challenges in creating environments which can genuinely be said to meet these aims can be many and sometimes require confronting established norms which is never easy. There is great value then, in having these conversations and creating opportunities for good practice to be shared.

This workshop started the conversation by focusing on creating such spaces within the workplace. Are our structures and policies flexible enough to allow for different requirements, skills, working styles, outside commitments to be embraced? Do we have an open enough environment for difficult questions to be raised and respected? Do we recognise how the day to day work may impact on our and others’ wellbeing? Are there any changes which can be made to make a healthier working environment?

These are the kind of questions which are important to take time out to think about and discuss with others. We look forward to further sharing so that more workplaces and communities across Scotland can be spaces in which everyone feels safe, valued and able to be heard.

Find out more about the Workforce Scotland’s Firestarter festival

Find out more about our work at Outside the Box