Scope Facilitation

f several LGBTQIA+ projects including a university endorsed student pride parade, the Safe Zones Project at Wits (now being rolled out at other universities in South Africa), the Kaleidoscope Youth Network in South Africa and the GALA Youth Forum at the Gay and Lesbian Memory in Action (GALA). They worked in the Transformation and Employment Equity Office of the University of the Witwatersrand and have done monitoring and evaluation for the Safe Zones Project in San Diego. They have published work on the Safe Zones concept in relation to students, and this year contributed a chapter to the #FeesMustFall book titled Rioting and Writing. Jacobs is currently working with black LGBTQIA+ youth from rural and peri-urban areas that are affected largely by their socio-economic status and aims to shed light on narratives such as these through their work using their facilitation and training skills to affect change around issues of gender identity and sexual orientation. Louw’s practice has been geared towards LGBTQIA+ activism within school spaces, they use creative methodology to engage with learners and school management teams around the theme of gender and sexual orientation. Their work addresses the urgency to educate South African youth in school spaces on the complexities of gender, sexual orientation and diversity to attempt the debunking of myths and to prevent further discrimination. Louw also facilitates sensitivity training in various environments including corporate and government institutions around the broader theme of diversity with the intention to impact organizational dynamics, social development and change. Scope aims to provide support in various ways inclusive of education where we provide sensitivity training and materials that may be used in schools and community based projects at large– inclusive of teachers, learners and members of the community. Scope identified a need in rural and per-urban areas which are often neglected because there is a lack of capacity in the sector to do work in these underdeveloped communities. Scope through the educational focus, aims to build partnerships with organisations who will share their expertise in order to ensure a comprehensive guide in educational workshops aimed at empowering LGBTQIA+ people and their allies in these areas. Through facilitated workshops which encourage a participatory approach to learning and un-learning. Scope envisions facilitated dialogues; round table discussions; information based workshops and arts based activities as part of a change process. Jacobs and Louw are both experienced facilitators with backgrounds in gender identity and sexual orientation. They have worked extensively with youth from various backgrounds in different part of the country as well as in the corporate and government space. Their workshops are tailored to the needs of participants on a case-by-case basis in order to comprehensively engage issues of diversity in intersectional communities. Scope provides comprehensive-training through a short course service offering which is aimed at corporate and civil society with other trainers in mind, or for those who through their work may engage the LGBTQIA+ community.