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speaking about .’ Which is why speaking to you [ Cameron Roberts ] right now is important , because I can talk about these issues as someone who wants to be included . But I ’ m also going to speak about it from a professional point of view , not just because you need someone from a marginalised community to talk to .”
Next steps Our two experts both identified that the first step
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is often the hardest to encourage positive change , especially when it comes to the unknowns that are involved with DEI strategy for much of the events industry .
Encouraging eventprofs that effort will be recognised and rewarded , Ogiste said : “ Even if you slip up somewhere , it may happen , everyone appreciates the fact that you ’ ve tried and you are trying to get better . My advice to people is , you do need to take the steps , it may seem a bit scary because
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“ I think that if you are starting a DEI journey , open your mind open your mind to the issues that are going on in society .”
– Neil Basing
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Neil Basing |
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everything is when it ’ s new .
“ But if you do it , then you ’ re going to better the events that you do , you ’ re going to better the brands that you work with , you ’ re going to better the people that you bring together .”
For Basing , tackling tokenism starts with an action , any action , he said : “ Whatever action you take , just take an action . Just do something . I think that if you are starting a DEI journey , open your mind open your mind to the issues that are going on in society .
“ Pick a couple of angles to get you going and move from there . I find that once you start to understand some of the challenges and barriers faced by one minority group , then it ’ s a lot simpler to transfer that level of understanding to another group .”
The message is clear , eventprofs must start investing in DEI , not from a place of panic focused on optics , but from a place focused on being inclusive to more people within our industry . There ’ s a lot of people , from a lot of backgrounds , with a lot to say , the sooner we represent this in our speaker , employee and delegate lineups , the better . CN
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