COLUMBIA, Mo. – Missouri 4-H, in partnership with the Missouri After School Network (MASN), now has five faculty members trained as Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) Qualifying Administrators.
After attending training in 2019 and 2020, faculty members Donna Garcia, Brad Lademann, Sarah Morefield and Shaun Murphy dove right in, working with youth leaders within the Missouri 4-H State Council, conducting training, assessments and coaching sessions last winter.
The Intercultural Development Inventory is a cross-cultural assessment of intercultural competence used by thousands of individuals and organizations to build intercultural competence and achieve diversity and inclusion goals and outcomes.
Youth leaders had one-on-one coaching sessions with members of the IDI team followed by monthly guided conversations to continue exploring the full continuum of intercultural competence, deepening their understanding of the journey they signed up for.
This summer, the IDI team began working with the State 4-H Council adult advisers. The team is set to start working with University of Missouri Extension state 4-H faculty and staff, MASN faculty and staff, and 4-H Youth Development field specialists going into this fall. The team hopes to begin work with 4-H county engagement specialists, instructors and program associates over the next year, as well as with 4-H system volunteers.
The IDI team aims to identify and train more Qualifying Administrators throughout the year. “Not only are we able to acknowledge these issues on this team, but we able to give them priority along with the ability to act intentionally within our efforts,” says state 4-H specialist Donna Garcia.
“Our goal is to offer the opportunity to join 4-H to all our youth around the state,” says Missouri 4-H program leader Lupita Fabregas, who had previously completed training as a Qualifying Administrator. “To do so, we need to create an environment where the youth feel welcomed and appreciated. One of the ways we can make that happen is improving our intercultural competence as a way to learn how to work with people from different cultures.”
About 4-H
More than 55,000 members strong, Missouri 4-H is an active, dynamic organization of young people who are learning, growing and preparing to be the leaders of today and tomorrow – making a real difference in their community, country and world. 4-H is the youth development program of the University of Missouri and the nation’s Cooperative Extension System. For more information on Missouri 4-H, visit 4h.missouri.edu.