Black inclusion week conference: Every voice heard and valued
To celebrate Black inclusion week, the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion team hosted - in conjunction with Maudsley Charity - a sold-out conference at the Ortus to promote inclusive practices and find out how to get a seat at the table.
Black inclusion week is a transformative annual event which started in 2021 to celebrate and highlight the importance of inclusion while uplifting black and culturally and ethically diverse voices.
Our work across the Trust to become an anti-racist organisation was explored, looking at several of the programmes we have supported to help the community, work within CAMHS, and our ongoing work on PCREF.
Arleen Elson, EDI Lead said: “Thank you so much to every single person who came to the conference today. It was incredible to be in a room filled with so much curiosity and dedication toward change. Events like this highlight the importance of becoming an inclusive workplace and shows that we’re on the right path. A huge thank you to Maudsley Charity for funding this day and to all our speakers for sharing their thoughts, findings and insights.”
A highlight of the day included Bernadette Thompson, Director of EDI Kings’ talk on the biggest barriers to black inclusion within the workplace. Attendees felt the lack of representation in leadership was the biggest barrier, closely followed by micro-aggression.
During her talk, Bernadette highlighted that the boroughs we serve including Southwark and Lambeth have some of the highest black populations across London. She noted that while progress is slow, we’re getting closer to a black inclusive society.
Throughout the day, we heard from incredible speakers from our organisation: Bandi Mbubi, Jonathan Northfield, Sophie Doswell and Julia Emezi. In addition, there were several insightful talks from external speakers including Rachel Evans, Chief People and Strategy Officer at Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust and Tosca Fairchild, Chief of Staff South East London ICB.
Thank you to all the speakers and event organisers who made today possible.
Find out more about the Anti-Racism action plan: Anti-Racism Action Plan - South London and Maudsley
