Social Awareness is the ability to take the perspective of and empathize with others from diverse backgrounds and cultures, to understand social and ethical norms for behavior, and to recognize family, school, and community resources and supports.
Below are 4 steps to improve your social awareness in your community or group
1. Search for volunteer opportunities. Connect in your community. Take your empathy skills to the next level by understanding what other people experience as a group or culture, for example. This will help you be socially aware at a community, or perhaps even global, level.
Find a volunteer opportunity that requires you to listen to and tend to the needs of another person or group. For example, you may wish to work at a food pantry or soup kitchen to understand the needs of people in poverty. You may wish to visit homebound senior citizens experiencing loneliness. You may wish to help new immigrants learn the language of their new country.
Explore service opportunities in schools, cultural centers, political organizations, religious communities or neighborhood activities.
2. Educate yourself about different people and their concerns. Meet people in the population you are interested in. Read books written by people in this group, or listen to podcasts with a host from this group. This will give you insight into their lives and increase your awareness of problems they face.
3. Travel abroad. Immerse yourself in a different culture. Step out of your comfort zone to experience unfamiliar groups. Exposing yourself to diverse cultures and ways of life will expand your thinking and view of the world. Being immersed in different belief systems, cuisines and lifestyles is useful for expanding your social circle and building tolerance for diverse viewpoints.
If you are a student, spend a semester or do coursework abroad.
Talk to people on your travels. Many people will be friendly and willing to share their country with you.
To really learn about a country, venture out of tourist areas and into local neighborhoods. This gives you a better opportunity to see day-to-day life unfold.
4. Travel to a new part of town. If you can't afford a trip out of the country, consider local opportunities to learn about other cultures. You may be surprised at the variety of people who live near you.
Visit a local museum devoted to an ethnic group or culture.
Spend a day in an ethnic neighborhood in your community (or perhaps nearby larger city). Walk around the neighborhood and try a new food for lunch.
Attend a religious service of a faith different from yours.
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