‘Enabling Diversity & Inclusion – Learn. Think. Do.’ Summit.

On Tuesday the 15th of September 2020, the Equal Employment Opportunity Network (EEON) hosted its bi-annual summit on ‘Enabling Diversity & Inclusion – Learn. Think. Do.’ Summit. This years summit looked a little different as it was successfully hosted online. The Australian Intercultural Society was a proud sponsor of this important summit.

The summit was a whole day event, where four experts presented on an array of issues relating to diversity and inclusion in the workplace. Keynote speakers included Russell James from Coles Group who discussed applying business principles to drive inclusion outcomes. Russel gave attendees an insight into Coles’ journey to becoming the largest private sector employer of Indigenous Australians. Second speaker of the summit was Fadzi Whande from Western Power who spoke on how workplaces can bring healing by embracing racial equity in the Inclusion agenda. Fadzi explored the need to view race through the lens of social justice and human dignity in order to promote belonging. Third speaker of the day was Karen Farquharson from University of Melbourne who articulated the value of diversity and the challenges of implementing diversity management in Australia. Final keynote of the summit was Asif Sadiq from Adidas in Germany. Asif spoke on The journey from diversity and inclusion to belonging, emphasising the importance of moving away from diversity boxes and creating truly inclusive environments, that engage the entire workplace in D&I.

Overall the 2020 summit was a great success with 130 attendees. Small ground round table discussions throughout the day were a highlight enabling attendees to reflect on the keynotes addresses, generate deeper commentary and create sharing amongst the participants.