WiHTL and Diversity in Retail to stage annual Inclusion Summit with June Sarpong
WiHTL and Diversity in Retail, the Collaboration Communities devoted to increasing diversity and inclusion in the Hospitality, Travel and Leisure (HTL) and Retail industries, have announced that their annual Inclusion Summit will be held on World Inclusion Day on Tuesday 10 October at the iconic London Hilton on Park Lane in the heart of the West End.
The Inclusion Summit marks a high point in the calendar and is now recognised as the pivotal annual event celebrating diversity and inclusion across these key sectors.
Building on the success of last year’s event which was attended by over 500 delegates, the Summit aims to celebrate best practice and showcase the latest thinking from leaders. WiHTL and DiR will also be sharing their research on how the industry is progressing and providing inspiration to energise and accelerate the pace of change towards an inclusive work environment for all.
Delegates attending on the day can look forward to gaining valuable insights from a range of guest speakers, learning from the experience of C-suite executives and hearing inspirational stories from the graduates of WiHTL and DiR programmes. The event will also provide the opportunity for networking with peers and colleagues in a series of inspiring and thought-provoking sessions throughout the day.
The headline keynote speaker will be June Sarpong OBE, TV Presenter, Diversity Expert, award-winning author and former Director of Creative Diversity at the BBC. June has long campaigned for diversity and inclusion and her recently published work ‘The HQ Creative inclusion Lab’ gives a voice to people from underrepresented communities and backgrounds.
Tea Colaianni, Founder and Chair of WiHTL and DiR, said: “We are delighted to be staging our Inclusion Summit for the second year running and are looking forward to welcoming colleagues from across the industry for what promises to be an exciting and informative day. The importance of diversity and inclusion in building successful, dynamic businesses is overwhelming and our Summit provides the perfect platform for sharing best practice and ensuring that we maintain momentum on this critical subject”.
Patricia Page-Champion, Senior Vice President & Global Commercial Director at Hilton, said: “Creating an inclusive environment that empowers every individual to thrive is fundamental to the success of any business. The hospitality, travel and leisure industries are rich with opportunity for people from all different backgrounds to forge a fulfilling career, and as business leaders, we have a responsibility to ensure every individual has the support they need to reach their full potential. As Hilton continues on its journey to build an inclusive culture for all, events like the WiHTL & DiR Inclusion Summit provide the perfect forum to exchange ideas, share experience and celebrate success – and we look forward to joining these important discussions.”
Elliott Goldstein, Managing Partner at The MBS Group, said: “We are thrilled to once again be a partner in the WiHTL and DiR Inclusion Summit. D&I is critical to the sustainable, long-term growth of consumer businesses – and I look forward to hearing from industry leaders, sharing best practice from businesses in our sectors, and presenting our sixth year of research with WiHTL & DiR into D&I in the hospitality, travel and leisure and retail sectors.”
WiHTL and DiR Collaboration Community member companies will receive 5 complimentary tickets, but the event is open to everyone in Hospitality, Travel, Leisure and Retail. For further information click here
