The DEI Details in the Content

Welcome back to Uplifting Impact, and I’m so excited because we have Kevin Clark with us today. Kevin is a professor of learning technologies and the Founding Director of the Center for Digital Media Innovation and Diversity at George Mason University. His research focuses on diversity in children’s media and technology and includes a national study that’s really looking at the digital lives of African American tweens, teens, and parents. In addition to his academic career, Kevin has extensive experience as a children’s media advisor and consultant. He’s provided diversity and inclusion expertise on scripts, character design, storylines, animations, games, and helped clients move into a space where they can be more inclusive with the young people they are hoping to share their content with. In our conversation, we discuss the importance of including diverse voices throughout the decision-making process when creating content, getting feedback for children, and what it’s like to be inclusive and create content for children. Topics in this episode Children’s shows, books, and movies could potentially be watched by thousands or millions of people, so it’s important to get it right The process of DEI consultative work What it looks like to update a book or piece of work, while maintaining what keeps it endearing Recognizing the historical context of what they’re composing A story that works now may not work 10 years from now What aspect of a group are you actually trying to make a part of your campaign? When we do this work, we have to help people understand how to be authentic Authenticity can be revealed by the target audience that was chosen for something If you incorporate the DEI work at the beginning of the project, you won’t have to figure out how to add it to the project later Contact Info Twitter: https://twitter.com/KevinClarkPhD Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kevinclarkphd/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinclarkphd/  It was lovely to talk to Kevin today and I can’t wait to see the Snowy Day project, available on Amazon. If more people are thinking about how to connect their leadership with the diversity, equity, and inclusion wonderful work that is going on out there, like what Kevin is doing, then we can fundamentally change the way that people show up in this world and the way that they are able to thrive in this world.  To see Snowy Day, you can find it here, on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M29SIU2/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices