Facing the Change – Celebrating diversity for Black History Month

To celebrate Black History Month this year, inclusion consultancy Watch This Sp_ce and business support network Sussex Innovation are bringing you a day of thought provoking events and learning experiences to think about how to include everyone in what we do. Tickets for each session can be booked separately so guests can pick and choose which sessions to attend or join us for the whole day!

10-10.45am – Challenging Your Assumptions – Understanding Unconscious Bias

We all make assumptions about people when we meet them. These can be biases we have which are both conscious and unconscious. Why is it important that we acknowledge this and how do you uncover what your unconscious biases are? This interactive workshop will explore the importance of assumptions we make, unconscious bias and how you can start to identify and understand your own biases. The session will be a combination of talks, workshop and group discussion.

2-3pm – Making Meaningful Change

The Black Lives Matter movement has driven demand for greater equality and inclusion which has left many businesses struggling to know how to respond and what changes they can make. Showing solidarity on social media has been a popular move by many companies but this is meaningless if it’s not backed up by good organisational practices or at least a willingness and desire to make change.

The panel for this session will include:

Mo Kanjilal and Allegra Chapman, Watch This Sp_ce

Through their work, the team at Watch This Sp_ce have seen first hand how far many businesses have to go before they are diverse and inclusive. They’ll be sharing their insights alongside top tips on how you can go about making meaningful change within your organisation.

Eva Poliszcuk and Daisy Wood, Sussex Innovation

Eva and Daisy will be discussing Sussex Innovation’s Diversity Action Plan and the steps that the organisation is taking to make their Centres diverse and inclusive for both staff and members.

6-7pm – Wine and Di-verse Rhyme

To finish off the day’s events join us for an evening of poetry, creativity, drinks and chatter. We’ll be asking guests to bring their favourite poem by a Black poet to share with the group and kickstart the discussion; we’ll then be running some creative poetry exercises. Celebrate Black literary excellence and indulge your creative side at this informal virtual meet up.