Inclusion Starts with the Team
Excerpt from Intentional Event Design, Our Professional Opportunity (2017)
Inclusion, Diversity and Perspectives
We live in a global economy and plan events for a great diversity of participants. We have looked at how we make events more accessible, consider local culture and craft inclusive experiences. The makeup of the planning team can assist you in creating inclusive experiences, as you draw from a variety of perspectives. Building a team of deeply experienced people and inviting those with less tactical experience but a fresh eye, with a mix of gender, age and cultural diversity will build a more inclusive and layered event, with broader appeal to your entire audience. If you create an open and creative environment with more people asking the beautiful questions about what will make this event more effective and purposeful for your guests, you are sure to make better decisions. Not always easier, but better.
To deliver inclusive events can mean many things, and while the key examples we have are from live events we also have to consider digital events. From designing spaces where people are comfortable with seating arrangements, can see and hear clearly, and can access what they need for nourishment, it all seems simple. This may mean ramps and smooth doorways and elevators for anyone on wheels or with crutches. buffets (remember those?) at a height suitable for people at all heights, or instantaneous captioning of speeches to screen, large or small and limiting background noise at receptions so those with any hearing limitations can fully participate in conversations. Managing dietary concerns from allergies to preferences is a challenge many Chefs are becoming more familiar with and able to manage with you, especially if you can provide good information about the participants. Understanding how to feed people and what to serve to provide an appropriate variety of food and beverage is a field unto itself.
With digital events particulary if you want people to attend as it is happening vs watching recordings, how are you creating inclusive experiences? It may be hosting it in a time zone where your audience is awake and wants to watch. Our lessons this year have included learning that our SITE China chapters like having content in the early evening, outside of work time, where our Australian members prefer a mid-morning to mid-afternoon live time. Even across North America it can vary, and certainly our West Coast members are used to earlier starts given how our time zones fit with the rest of the world. While much of the world speaks English, having subtitles or a translation service like Wordly offering real time subtitles can make it more comfortable to follow along. Offering video on or video off options will be determined by the event, but do be clear long before the event or meeting if you expect people to be camera ready.
One of my favorite work experiences has involved working with teams on Olympic Games activations. The teams come from around the world and there are always lots of small learnings, laughs and connections that lead to long term friendships and work collaborations that span the globe. Culturally there are minefields when we host events in countries where we are not familiar with customs or norms, and navigating all of the above and so much more becomes easier when you build a diverse team – levels of expertise and experience, a variety of backgrounds, even varied hobbies and interests will go a long way to building a well-rounded event. When your team has a collective objective and brings their diverse perspectives to work in an environment where they feel safe to share the entire experience is richer, every day. What examples have you learned from?
