From Here to Diversity - Online Conference

Welcome to From Here to Diversity

Increased diversity can offer so many advantages to forward-looking organisations, including; improved performance and better governance, greater creativity, a wider perspective and increased legitimacy and accountability.

This event will help you and your organisation be inclusive in language, behaviour and processes. We have curated a variety of sessions with experts that cover:

• Keynote on leadership and diversity
• New initiatives, the latest talking points and helpful resources in diversity
• Making your digital content more accessible
• Inclusive recruitment
• Committing to EDI (equality, diversity, inclusion)
• How not to do EDI
• Supporting neurodiversity as a leader
• Themed discussion groups (you can suggest topics)

You will go away with tips that will enable you to make the changes within your organisation (and your own behaviour) that will help improve society for all of us.

Full session details

View full session details here.

Breakout sessions and theme breakout rooms will not be recorded.

Agenda at-a-glance

09.00 – 09.05: Welcome – Join us for introductions, housekeeping rules and some audience polls to get started.

09.05 – 09.45: Keynote – Take the lead (recorded). Our opening keynote speaker will discuss the work of Centre for Mental Health, the importance of including mental health in EDI conversations and policies. And share guidance on the role organisations and leaders can take, in furthering these conversations. Speaker: Centre for Mental Health

09.45 – 10.00: Coffee break

10.00 – 10.45: Staying on top of your game (recorded) – New initiatives, the latest talking points and helpful resources you might not yet have come across.Get a quick overview of three diversity and inclusion topics in the charity sector with these brief 10-minutes presentations – 1. Annual Diversity Reporting Initiative, 2. Lived Experience Leadership – Lex movements, 3. Ethical fundraising.

10.45 – 11.00: Break

11.00 – 12.00: Breakout sessions: Choose between A or B. Both sessions will be recorded and available to watch for delegates after the event.

• Breakout session A: Inclusive recruitment – How to create inclusive teams for success. This session will help your organisations design their recruitment practices in an inclusive and equitable way, from job adverts, interview practises to onboarding recommendations. You will leave equipped with the tools and knowledge you need to implement more inclusive practices for attracting, recruiting and onboarding a wide range of top charity talent. Speaker: Mo Kanjilal, Co-Creator, Watch this Sp_ce
• Breakout session B: Committing to equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI). Equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) start at the top of the organisation and publicly committing to it can be a powerful statement. In this case study, we will learn from an organisation that has made a conscious and public decision to continually push itself to commit and re-commit to EDI across their organisation. Hear from the speaker about how they work with their staff, board and beneficiaries to improve equity and inclusion and the lessons learnt from their EDI journey so far.

12.00 – 12.15: Break

12.15 – 13.00: How to make digital content more accessible (recorded). As charities, we all want our content to reach a wide audience, but have you considered how accessible your digital content is to people with disabilities, neurodivergent readers, or those whose first language isn’t English? Small changes and tweaks – think image descriptions, use of emojis or capital letters – can make a big difference in improving overall accessibility of your digital content. In this session we will explore what they are. Speaker: AbilityNet

13.00 – 14.00: Lunch

14.00 – 14:45: Ticking boxes and virtue signalling: How not to do EDI (recorded). ‘Better done than perfect’ holds some truth when it comes to kickstarting your journey to a more inclusive organisation: There is always more to do on inclusivity for all of us, and not yet having the perfect solution to everything shouldn’t stop us from taking the first steps. Yet, we’ve all come across obvious tick-box diversity training sessions and ‘well-meant’ policies that just don’t hold up… In this session we will take a frank look at common traps and missteps to avoid on your journey to a more inclusive organisation.

14.45 – 15.00: Break

15.00 – 16.00: Breakout sessions: Choose between C or D. Both sessions will be recorded and available to watch for delegates after the event.

• Breakout session C: Inclusive language. Good intentions are a great start, but it takes effort, practice and humility to create positive environment where inclusive language is the norm. This session will look at how we as charities and individuals can be more intentional with our language to create a welcoming and respectful environment for staff, volunteers and beneficiaries. Speaker: Judeline Nicholas, EDI Associate
• Breakout session D: Supporting neurodiversity as a leader. The strengths and talents that neurodivergent team members can bring to your organisation often get overlooked while the challenges they face in a non-inclusive environment remain poorly understood by many. This session will focus on how charity leaders can create an organisational environment and culture that is inclusive and supportive of neurodivergent team members. Speaker: Helen Eaton, Associate Consultant

16.00 – 16.10: Break

16:10 – 16:45: Themed breakout rooms – Networking and peer-to-peer support on specific topics

• You will be able to choose one out of six suggested discussion topics in an audience poll
• Once you’ve made your choice, you will automatically be transferred into a breakout room with all other attendees that have chosen the same topic
• Discussion topics will be revealed closer to the time. If you would like to put forward a suggestion for a discussion room topic, please contact cs@dsc.org.uk.

16.45: Wrap up and close of the conference

Prices

Band A (Voluntary & Community Organisations with an annual turnover under £500K): £79

Band B (Voluntary & Community Organisations with an annual turnover over £500K): £99

Band C (Statutory and commercial): £109

Click here for more info and to book