Safe In Our World Launches Free Online Self-Advocacy Speaking Programme Next Month
LONDON, UK – September 19, 2023 – Video games mental health charity, Safe In Our World, is offering a free online Self-Advocacy Speaking Programme for games industry professionals running from October to December this year.
Self-advocacy speaking is a communication method rooted in psychology, diversity and inclusion, and workplace wellbeing. This certificated course is split into three parts – taking place throughout October, November, and December – and was created based on feedback from people working within the games industry to help address the real-life issues they face in their professional lives.
The programme focuses on using language to navigate challenging situations, and participants will explore the ways in which words can be chosen and sentences can be constructed to better advocate for their own needs and foster healthy workplace relationships. “The course is designed not to teach you a new language, but to reconnect you with what you already know and bring it back out into the open for your benefit and for those in your lives at home and at work,” explains course facilitator and personal development coach Lisa Marie Hall.
“It’s not always easy to advocate for ourselves in the workplace, and these struggles are only compounded when you’re a member of an underrepresented community,” says Sky Tunley-Stainton, Partnerships & Training Manager at Safe In Our World. “Our Self-Advocacy Speaking Programme was created with underrepresented people in mind, as we often find that neurodivergent people, disabled individuals, and folks from the LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC communities have to fight the hardest to get their needs met in the workplace.”
At the end of the course, attendees will receive a certificate of attendance along with a handbook (co-authored by Safe In Our World and Lisa Marie Hall) that will help them take their learnings forward into their lives and careers. Available to book via Eventbrite now, and with limited spaces available, interested participants are encouraged to sign up for this free training programme as soon as possible.
About Safe In Our World
Safe In Our World is a registered charity in England and Wales no. 1183344. A team of seasoned gaming veterans passionate about mental health brainstormed for over two years over ways they could make a difference. Launched on World Mental Health Day on October 10th, 2019, its aims are to raise awareness of mental health within the video games industry and to provide resources, signpost help, and drive change for everyone connected with the industry – from developers, publishers, and service providers to content creators and players. Its initial mission is to create an online destination where people can seek help, gain access to resources and information, and discover stories from real people within and surrounding the games industry, with more detailed policies available via the website. Safe In Our World is a worldwide hub accessible for anyone in need.
About Lisa Marie Hall
Lisa Marie Hall (she/her) is a Wellbeing Coordinator, Personal Development Coach, and Sleep Health Ambassador in the UK Film & TV industry and creative sectors. Lisa spent 25 years working as a Production Designer in film and HETV in the UK, designing shows for domestic TV and international streaming services, and filming all around the world. It was a combination of this professional management and leadership experience, and a growing desire to better support the humans that are at the heart of the industry, that led her to transition her career into the field of wellbeing, personal development, coaching, and workshop training. Lisa identifies as queer and has a particular focus on human sustainability, social justice, and inclusion. Lisa champions accessibility for the neurodivergent and offers “Self-Advocacy Speaking” to better navigate and support issues of personal resilience in the workplace.
