Philosophy of Inclusion

The 4-D Network builds community around the 4-D Wheel by elevating the stories of people and others who are often unheard or unseen.

This mission cannot be accomplished without a full understanding of and unwavering commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. Inclusion brings out the strongest sense of well-being in people – no matter who they are.

Inclusion is also associated with a host of personal and organizational benefits, including customer satisfaction and better performance, across sectors and industries.

When people are excluded, the impacts can be profound. Exclusion can jeopardize feelings of safety as well as personal performance. At 4-D Network, we are committed to creating programs, events, activities and an organization in which different people are welcomed, different perspectives are valued and everyone can feel like they belong.

At 4-D Network, diversity includes all of those attributes, backgrounds, cultures, identities, ideas and experiences that people bring with them to any situation. We also recognize that not all differences affect us equally. Some differences have greater impacts on our opportunities and experiences.

To achieve equity, that state of true fairness, we devote resources, attention and action where differences most affect us. Inclusion requires us to behave in ways that welcome, engage with and value people for who they are and what they bring. Inclusivity specifically requires our intention and accountability to connect and share leadership with people who might otherwise be excluded or marginalized.

We know that sincerely valuing and respecting all constituents – audience members and community members; filmmakers and sponsors; volunteers, team members, staff and board – is the best way to ensure our success.

1. We begin with an awareness of how systemic inequities, privilege and oppression have affected our society and our personal behavior. This enables us to examine our blind spots and helps avoid faulty decisions and flawed strategies.
2. We work to continually ensure diversity in our own board, staff and internal team member composition. Related to our own organizational history and the context in which we operate, we give particular to attention to race, ethnicity and age.
3. We take intentional action to educate ourselves and to grow a culture of inclusivity and accountability for action.
4. We treat one another and our constituents with dignity, respect and appreciation – at all times and across all boundaries.
5. We continue to ensure that our programming reflects this philosophy of inclusion as well as the interests of diverse audiences.

What we do to ensure Equity and Inclusion:

We continually work to bring programming to diverse communities, to partner with organizations that reflect our commitment to inclusion and to consciously market to diverse communities in culturally responsive ways.

We measure what we are doing and build mechanisms for continual improvement. While acknowledging that it can be difficult to have conversations about diversity, equity and inclusion, we recognize that continual improvement and increasing our competence with critical conversations is essential to organizational excellence and to our vision of authentic community.

Click here to download a PDF copy of our Philosophy of Inclusion.