April marks the beginning of new experiences and new transitions, being the first full month of spring. April is also Celebrate Diversity Month. Diversity is understanding, appreciating, and ultimately managing difference and similarities at the same time. Its reach is all-inclusive and may represent categories such as class, race, gender, age, religion, sexual orientation, physical disabilities, nationalities, political beliefs, and many other categories.
We, at Mango Languages, are fascinated and inspired by people’s diversity. Our company and products all came about from the interest in learning more and connecting people all over the world. Our staff is incredibly diverse, giving each of us an opportunity to learn someone new each day about different nationalities, religions, cultures, languages, etc. We take every opportunity we can to celebrate the eclectic bunch that we are, realizing that Mango Languages wouldn’t be possible if it wasn’t for the different views and ideas from our diverse fans, staff, partners, and vendors.
We bring in ethnic foods for everyone to try, share international holiday and traditions with each other, and learn new words and phrases in different languages that inspire us to create language courses to share with the rest of you. To learn more about us and watch some fun videos, check our About Us page.
Everyone should take the time to learn, understand, and appreciate the amazing and diverse people that you are surrounded by every day. I came across a great site by Carole Copeland Thomas, the founder of Diversity Awareness Month, which is in October. She writes about the importance of diversity and the best ways to appreciate and learn about diversity. On her site she has 25 Ways to Promote Diversity, which I thought was a great list to use for your company or organization.
Here are a couple of ideas to promote diversity:
-Design a diversity calendar for your organization.
-Develop or enhance an intense diversity training program.
-Establish diversity days in your company’s cafeteria by serving different ethnic dishes.
-Give diverse books to your local school library.
-Read at least two or three newspapers each week to broaden your perspective.
We shouldn’t just celebrate diversity a couple months at a time, we should be appreciating the fascinating and unique people who make up this world every day of the year.
What does diversity mean to YOU? How are YOU going to promote diversity?
We would like to give a warm and official welcome to Elizabeth Currie, our newest Mango! Elizabeth joins Mango Languages as our Customer Service Lead, focusing on providing great customer service for all the markets that we serve.