Taking a broad look at issues with my projects so far, this idea happened…

TEDxNorwichED was the 2nd education event I’ve helped organise and the 2nd that has been criticised for lack of diversity in the speakers…

How wonderful that no one can create an education event now, no matter who they are (even 3 teachers on a voluntary basis) and get away with lack of diversity.

The first event I saw this happen was at the Politics in Education Summit featuring the most knowledgeable and influential speakers on the topic the lady organising this could secure. Were they worthy? YES.

did ALL of the incredible people creating these events agonise over lack of diversity? Yes.

Is there a simple way we can make sure authentic and diverse speakers hear of speaking opportunities at events in time to be fairly considered?

…I’ve been looking for this and would have paid for and/or promoted the provider of this service!

What if we set this up ourselves?

That’s the question Bukky, Allana, Jaz and I are exploring in THIS Public + Live meeting…

We could have done this privately via Skype but that wouldn’t be ‘10% braver’ (the #WomenEd slogan in tribute to that community in which we met) or all that inclusive given the enthusiasm for this idea.

P.S. Only got 5 min? Here’s an awesomely inspiring 5 min video created by our co-hosts Jaz which very brilliantly sets the scene and a clear call for action on having this conversation…

And here’s even more content on #Diversity sparked by this kick-off meeting:

• Diverse Speakers by B Yusuf
• I can’t be the only one…… by Allana Gay

UPDATE: There have been numerous enthusiastic comments from a wide range of people who’ve seen this meeting video between Jaz, Allana, Bukky and myself. In contrast to this enthusiasm, I’ve felt somewhat -flat- when thinking about moving this forward.

Sure, there are brilliant intellectual reasons to go straight towards where this can have the most impact i.e. serving event organisers, but…

How might I(we?) start making an impact on encouraging Diversity of Speakers at Education Events without this feeling like spreading too thin? What’s already at our fingertips?

(1) In the kick-off meeting video you’ll catch the brilliant idea of creating free content for self-selected diverse individuals who want to develop confidence in speaking and in applying for speaking positions. This would be the ‘nurturing’ part of the project HOWEVER I’ve never been one for regular content (as those subscribed to me via email will know!) as I prefer to write only when there is something needing said and I’ve time to express it to a level I’m happy with, BUT I HAVE FOUND THIS >

The Eloquent Woman provides regular “inspiration, ideas and information to help women build public speaking content, confidence and credibility” Not quite the diversity focus, but I’ve found her blog updates informative and fun.

(2) The kick-off meeting began with Allana asking Jaz how she’s come to be in a position to be sought for speaking opportunities and the answer was essentially ‘become an expert in something you care about‘ - now THIS is a topic I absolutely love!

ASK YOURSELF: Do you have an interest you feel may ‘one day’ be more than a hobby? If so consider ways you might build status to become the person who’s approached for speaking opportunities. If you write to me with where you’re at and what you want to be known for, I’m sure to come up with some idea just for you. Try me.