Visit the Equity Innovation Center, a space designed to spark curiosity, foster collaboration and promote learning experiences. Located in Downtown Minneapolis, our space is designed to complement each component of your equity journey, with each room serving a unique purpose. 

Collaboration Space

We believe that exposure to different world views is essential for creating a more equitable workplace or community culture. That's why collaboration is at the heart of our Center. Our largest room is dedicated to the discussion and sharing of ideas, with flexible table arrangements and projectors on either end of the room. This space is also where the core of our in-person learning experiences take place.

Green Card Voices

Learn about the real experiences of some of our newest Americans with Green Card Voices. These immersive stories are designed to build an appreciation for the immigrant experience in a America. The space is geared towards hosing intimate, small group discussions that focus on shifting perceptions and promoting empathy with different cultural and racial groups.

Interactive Equity Exhibit

Our Interactive Equity Exhibit is the cornerstone of our Equity Innovation Center. Developed in partnership with the Science Museum of Minnesota, this learning experience offers several interactive and hands-on stations that educate on the complex story of class and race in America. Admission to this experience is included as part of our workplace and community learning experiences.

Equity Innovation Center Experience

The Equity Innovation Experience is a unique, multi-station learning experience that serves as a catalyst to engage the head, heart, and hands around equity, diversity, and inclusion realities. A variety of learning styles are incorporated to provide personal transformation opportunities through which participants can see life from another’s point of view around culture, history, and race.  The facilitated debrief and reflection time is a critical component of this learning process. We will engage together, creating a pathway from the head (think) and heart (feel) to the hands (act) in ways that are personal and organizational.   

Outcomes

  • Create safe, collaborative, and innovative experiences where participants engage in problem-solving and shaping their own futures 
  • Evoke innovative social solutions to transform organizational culture 
  • Generate life-transforming experiences that lead to deeper understanding of self and others 
  • Develop constructive discourse and insights into social challenges 
  • Increase cultural competence in individuals and organizations that provoke action-yielding, positive impact within and among diverse communities 
  • Offer a space for organizations to advance social inclusion and equity 
  • Create a paradigm shift for unpacking bias around race, gender, and ethnicity 

Session Options

  • The Equity Innovation Experience will be tailored to your organization’s needs and learning journey. A minimum experience of 3 hours up to a full-day experience that integrates with the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI©) Series or our other core Learning Pathways Series.   
  • We also accommodate space rentals to incorporate the Equity Innovation Experience in your organization retreats and offer catered breakfast and lunch for your event planning. 
  • Connect with our team at www.ymcanorth.org/contacteic to learn more about how an Equity Innovation Experience and other learning pathways can help your organization achieve its goals.