Gypsy and Traveller Training Through Safer-Space Dialogue

You cannot become “competent” in somebody else’s culture during a two-hour training session.

That is why Proud Gypsy Traveller CIC does things differently.

Our sessions are led by ethnic Gypsy and Traveller facilitators and create honest, structured conversations where participants can ask difficult questions, challenge assumptions and examine how their decisions affect real people.

This is dialogue, not a lecture.

More than cultural awareness

Traditional cultural-awareness training can leave people knowing a few facts without changing the way they think, ask questions or make decisions.

PGT provides context, but we also make room for curiosity, uncertainty and the real situations participants are dealing with in their own work.

Learning about people has limits. Talking with people can create understanding.

What is a safer-space conversation?

A safer-space conversation is a carefully facilitated discussion with clear boundaries.

It is a space where people can be curious, make mistakes, hear different perspectives and examine difficult subjects without the conversation becoming hostile or harmful.

Safer does not mean comfortable.

Racism, stereotypes, cultural conflict and institutional practice can be uncomfortable subjects. Avoiding them does not make them disappear.

Ethnicity, not stereotypes

Our training centres Romani Gypsies, Irish Travellers and Scottish Gypsy Travellers as ethnic communities, not as a set of stereotypes about caravans, mobility or lifestyle.

That matters because health, education, policing, planning and public services can look very different when viewed through the lens of ethnic identity, racism and intergenerational experience.

We may also discuss wider GRT civil-society issues where they overlap. The aim is not to divide people, but to make sure important differences are not lost.

What can a session cover?

What happens during a session?

Sessions usually combine essential cultural and historical context, interactive discussion, questions people may have been afraid to ask, real examples, reflection on organisational practice and practical actions participants can take afterwards.

Sessions can be delivered online, but in-person delivery is usually preferred where practical because dialogue works best when people can stay in the room together.

We tailor the session to the organisation, role, level of experience and purpose agreed in advance.

Who is it for?

We work with local authorities, NHS and healthcare teams, schools and universities, police and criminal-justice organisations, housing and planning professionals, social-care and safeguarding teams, charities, employers and other public-facing services.

Sessions can be designed for frontline staff, specialist teams, managers, senior leaders, trustees and decision-makers.

Led by lived and professional experience

PGT does not speak about Gypsy and Traveller people from a distance. These conversations are led by people from the communities being discussed.

Dr Violet Cannon brings close to three decades of community leadership, advocacy and facilitated dialogue experience. She is a Council of Europe-trained Intercultural Mediator and an experienced safer-space and Deep Democracy facilitator.

Lived experience matters, but so does facilitation skill. Difficult conversations need both.

What participants have said

Training is only the beginning

A successful session can increase knowledge, confidence and understanding. It cannot compensate for discriminatory policies, inaccessible services or decisions made without community involvement.

We encourage organisations to treat training as the beginning of change—not evidence that the work is finished.

If nothing changes after the training, the organisation has learned something without acting on it.

Commission training with PGT

Training and facilitated dialogue are commissioned professional services. We will discuss the audience, purpose, format, length, location and any specific challenges you want the session to address before agreeing a fee.

We are happy to adapt sessions for different organisations, but we do not offer generic cultural-awareness training designed simply to complete a compliance requirement.