Stellina Ibrahim – Center for Intercultural Dialogue

ICD Exercise #7: Anti-Bias Advocacy

The next ICD Exercise is now available. Ifeoma Onyebuchi, Stellina Ibrahim, and Favour Ilolo have designed an exercise for anti-bias advocacy.

This exercise engages participants in recognising how biases shape interactions and contribute to exclusion or discrimination. Using Bias Jenga, an interactive activity, participants will visually experience how biases accumulate and destabilise social and professional structures. The exercise introduces practical advocacy techniques such as active listening, challenging stereotypes, and promoting inclusive language. Through reflection and discussion, participants will learn how to effectively address biases and advocate for more equitable and welcoming environments.

The heart of the exercise uses Jenga blocks, labeled with the names of multiple types of potential bias, as a prompt for group discussion. Once the Jenga tower has been constructed, participants take turns pulling out a Jenga block. If they pull a labelled block, they read the bias aloud and discuss:

• How does this bias affect individuals in real life?

• How does it impact workplace culture or social interactions?

• How can this bias be addressed or challenged?

As with prior publications, ICD Exercises are available as free PDFs; just click on the thumbnail to download the Jenga labels, and on the link in the citation to download the exercise itself.

Onyebuchi, I., Ibrahim, S., & Ilolo, F. (2025). Anti-bias advocacy. Intercultural Dialogue Exercises, 7. Available from: https://centerforinterculturaldialogue.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/icd-ex-7-anti-bias-advocacy.pdf

If you have an exercise you’ve used that works, and you would like to share it, please submit it. All authors will be asked to answer the same set of questions, and to make the exercises available for others to use, thus these are being published with a Creative Commons license (as is the case for all CID publications). If you are new to CID, please provide a brief resume. This opportunity is open to masters students and above, on the assumption that some familiarity with academic conventions generally, and discussion of intercultural dialogue specifically, are useful.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Wendy Leeds-Hurwitz Director Center for Intercultural Dialogue

ICD Exercise #4: Implicit Bias Awareness

The next ICD Exercise is now available. Ifeoma Onyebuchi, Stellina Ibrahim, and Favour Ilolo have written about implicit bias awareness.

This exercise is designed to help participants identify and reflect on their implicit biases, understand how these biases influence their thoughts, actions, and interactions, and develop strategies to mitigate their impact. Through personal reflection, group discussions, and collaborative strategy development, participants will deepen their awareness of implicit bias and enhance their ability to engage in more inclusive and mindful communication in diverse settings.

Implicit bias refers to the unconscious attitudes, stereotypes, or preferences we hold about certain groups of people based on their race, gender, age, appearance, or other characteristics. These biases are automatic and often operate without our awareness, influencing our perceptions, decisions, and behaviors in ways that may not align with our conscious beliefs or values. Recognizing implicit bias involves becoming aware of these hidden prejudices and understanding how they can affect interactions in professional and personal contexts.

As with prior publications, ICD Exercises are available as free PDFs; just click on the thumbnail to download.

Onyebuchi, I., Ibrahim, S., & Ilolo, F. (2025). Implicit bias awareness. Intercultural Dialogue Exercises, 4. Available from: https://centerforinterculturaldialogue.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/icd-ex-4-onyebuchi-et-al-1.pdf

If you have an exercise you’ve used that works, and you would like to share it, please submit it. All authors will be asked to answer the same set of questions, and to make the exercises available for others to use, thus these are being published with a Creative Commons license (as is the case for all CID publications). If you are new to CID, please provide a brief resume. This opportunity is open to masters students and above, on the assumption that some familiarity with academic conventions generally, and discussion of intercultural dialogue specifically, are useful.

Wendy Leeds-Hurwitz
Director Center for Intercultural Dialogue

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Stellina Ibrahim Profile

Stellina Ibrahim holds a BA in Economics and an MBA in Business Administration. She is currently pursuing an MA in Intercultural and International Communication at Royal Roads University in Victoria, BC.

Stellina Ibrahim As of October 2024, Stellina has joined the Center for Intercultural Dialogue (CID) as an intern, collaborating with her team, “3 Connect-1 Voice,” to develop initiatives centered on intercultural dialogue. In her role at CID, Stellina focuses on creating Intercultural Dialogue Exercises to address stereotypes and bias, managing a new Instagram account for the Center, and translating some of the Key Concepts in Intercultural Dialogue into Yoruba, one of Nigeria’s primary languages. Her passion for intercultural communication stems from her extensive experience as an Information Manager for a Nigerian government organization, where she cultivated a deep interest in diversity and cultural exchange.

Stellina’s current studies in Canada have enriched her understanding of global cultures, allowing her to engage with individuals from diverse backgrounds and experience the convergence of cultures firsthand. She is dedicated to fostering meaningful dialogue and bridging cultural divides.

Work for CID:

Stellina Ibrahim was an intern at the Center across fall 2024-spring 2025, and one of the co-authors of ICD Exercise 4: Implicit Bias Awareness, ICD Exercise 5: Challenging Cultural Stereotypes through Intercultural Dialogue, ICD Exercise 6: Exploring Cultural Symbols in Intercultural Dialogue, and ICD Exercise 7: Anti-Bias Advocacy.