Positive About Inclusion’s sixth Inclusion Forum North East was held on 21st January at the historic Alington House Community Association in Durham. As this was our first event of the year, the focus was New Year, New Start and we extended a warm welcome to forum members who share a passion for equity, diversity and inclusion, and who represent a diverse range of organisations in the public, private and charitable sectors.
Nearly half of attendees were joining us for the first time so we began with an introductory/ice breaker activity facilitated by Karen Faulkner, taking the opportunity presented by the new year to reflect on learning, achievements and memorable moments from 2024.
This was followed by a presentation from our Director, Lucy Malarkey sharing her thoughts on the bigger picture and predicted areas of EDI focus for 2025, namely:
- geopolitical instability and how these worldwide issues and incidents impact the workplace
- economic downturn and the pressure to deliver the same results with less resource
- legislative changes in the UK and employer preparedness for reforms already made and with more to come
Having reflected on the ‘big picture’, we then completed a group exercise by asking attendees to consider a selection of EDI-related areas of focus and to identify what they felt were the five most important topics for their organisations in 2025.
Whilst each group came up with a different list, there was some commonality with a general consensus that leadership buy-in, investing in people managers and meaningful key performance indicators were going to be key areas of organisational focus for the coming year.
As well as giving attendees an opportunity to reflect on their plans and priorities, this New Year, New Start event provided some useful insight in to the areas of focus that could add value for future Inclusion Forum North East events.
“Brilliant morning at the the Inclusion Forum North East. Lovely opportunity to meet new people and to discuss key issues.”
Dr Kelly Henderson, Managing Director, Addressing Domestic Abuse CIC
“Thank you so much for today! It was one of the best networking sessions I’ve been to. Really enjoyed the format which allowed me to meet lots of people and to hear so much and good practice in different organisations.”
Lisa Barclay, Senior Workforce Solutions Manager, Workforce One
Our next Inclusion Forum North East will take place in April 2025. Please contact us if you would like to be added to the mailing list or to find out more about the consultancy and training services we provide.
