Media and culture organizations have a significant sphere of influence through the content they produce, the events they host, and the spaces they create. From news media to art spaces, the ideas and messages these organizations spread have a direct impact on their audiences. Often, whether intentionally or not, media and culture organizations repeat and reinforce dominant societal beliefs and ways of thinking, including biases and negative representations, and underrepresentation of equity-seeking groups.
Media and Culture
Guiding organizations in media and culture towards more intentional and equity-centred approaches to content, events, and spaces.
Media and Culture
The Challenges
Achieve transformational results.
These issues arise because people create organizations and content based on what they believe to be true about the world. Because the same systemic issues that underpin society at large are at play in media and culture spaces, we see things like stereotypical depictions of racialized minorities, talk show and event panels that are homogenously white and male, art and culture spaces that are exclusionary, and profound societal issues presented without proper social context or analysis. With little understanding of the way equitable approaches can be implemented in to media and culture organizations and their work, they will likely reinforce the status quo rather than challenge it, even despite their best intentions.
Media & Culture
Our Solutions
KOJO Institute provides support to media and culture organizations who aim to operate more equitably. We help our clients understand the role they play in creating better outcomes and social justice for members of equity-seeking groups by educating them on the social contexts they work in. From news media organizations to artists and culture spaces in dance, drama, art, and music, we guide our clients to be more conscious of the impact of their work and more intentional about who they represent and what those representations suggest. For each of our clients, we conduct an assessment of their current work and programming, identify where issues of inequity have arisen, and apply the appropriate frameworks to correct these errors.
By working with KOJO Institute, organizations in the media and culture sector become more equipped to examine their current process, reframe their approaches to cultural production with equity in mind, and address problems of diverse identity representation. This makes it easier for these organizations to catch and correct bias, stereotyping, and negative representation before it occurs, reducing public relations crises and improving audience engagement.
8 Levers To Organizational, Institutional and Systems Change
- Engaging the Board of Directors
- Impacting Staffing Strategies
- Examining the Accountability Framework
- Maximizing the Use of Data
- Implementing Fresh Training and Learning
- Amplifying Communications Strategies
- Widening Community and Stakeholder Relations
- Revisting Service or Business Models
What We Do Well
- Equity & Human Rights
- Diversity & Inclusion
- Anti-Racism & Anti-Oppression
- Anti-Black Racism
- Employment Equity
- Human Resources Diversity
- Organizational Culture Change
How We Prepare You
- Training
- Executive Coaching
- Community Consultations
- Content & Research Development
- Keynotes & Guest Lectures
- Conferences
- Multi-Session Programs
Building Transformation Skills
KOJO Institute leads executives, managers and organizations through an innovative approach that reconstructs their paradigms and systems connected to equity, diversity and inclusion. We amplify the vision for change through deep-dive explorations that identify the scope, segment competencies and quantify resources required to birth social innovation.
With a clear focus on client expectations, we aim to produce actionable frameworks and solutions that ultimately better the lives your people and organization. Contact us.
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Years of Experience
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Brands That Trust Us
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Sectors We Serve
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Areas of Expertise
What Our Clients Say
Joanne Adair
Development Manager, House of Friendship
Development Manager, House of Friendship
Game Changing and Empowering
Kike visited House of Friendship for a Leadership/Management training session last June. It was incredible and life-changing for many of us. Kike’s gift to the world is to be able to openly name and allow us to sit in the discomfort of this work, holding us accountable, but also not judging anyone. She created a…
Javeed Sukhera
Chair, London Police Services Board
Chair, London Police Services Board
Profound and Actionable
The London Police Services Board asked Ms. Ojo-Thompson from the KOJO Institute to start off a day-long strategy session devoted to anti-racism in policing. Her presentation hit on all the right notes. In addition to challenging the Board to question long standing assumptions that are built upon racist legacies, she guided Board members towards actionable…
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Janine Manning
Granting Committee Chair, Laidlaw Foundation
Granting Committee Chair, Laidlaw Foundation
Conscious and Skillful
Laidlaw Foundation had the privilege and pleasure of having Kike Ojo-Thompson support our collective staff and board anti-oppression training. Our individual levels of awareness and competency on the issue was from ‘none’ to ‘well versed’. Regardless of where we were on the spectrum of knowing, she supported all of us, with patience and enthusiasm. Miigwetch…
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Chris Robert
Co-President, BOLDforce for Salesforce Canada
Co-President, BOLDforce for Salesforce Canada
Business-Critical Training
Kike exceeded our expectations at Salesforce. She dynamically navigated audience demographics to provide extremely relevant Equity Training that stimulated immense conversation and insight. Her teachings should be at the centre of every organization’s strategy moving forward. I can’t wait to work with her again!
Graeme Young
President, Eva’s Initiatives for Homeless Youth
President, Eva’s Initiatives for Homeless Youth
Enlightening and Effective
We thought we already had a pretty good handle on equity, diversity, inclusion and Anti-Black Racism, but Kike’s presentation was enlightening. I have used her concepts several times since. Her style is energetic and engaging and she has a very positive manner. Our thirteen board members were engrossed by her work. Extremely effective.
Yasmin Razack, M.Ed.
Centre for Global Citizenship Education and Inclusion
Centre for Global Citizenship Education and Inclusion
Global Mind Innovator
Kike Ojo has the depth, knowledge and experience to engage participants of diverse backgrounds with highly complex subject matters that are relevant to all organizations. The sheer brilliance of her mind and ability to connect ideas is masterful, which allows everyone in the room to powerful moments of learning.