M&IT sat down with Include
Summit founder, Gurmej Singh Pawar to better understand what it takes to pull
off the
UK’s first and only conference dedicated to equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in sport.
Gurmej, what’s the Include
Summit all about?
Our mission is to get one million underprivileged and underrepresented young
people into sports, with the long-term aim of transforming the diversity of the
sports sector workforce, as this is a core issue with so many EDI challenges in
sport.
Unfortunately, sport and access to opportunity in sport and
exercise is not equitable and there hasn't been a space where people
interested in changing that, can get together and discuss the issues and work
on solutions. The Summit was the first time that anyone with a passion for
driving EDI forward in sport was able to gather together in one place,
genuinely from the pitch to the board room and beyond, and across every area of
EDI in sport, from women’s sport to disability, LGBTQ+, race equality, health
and wellbeing, and so many other areas.
With so much to cover, how did you decide on the event
format?
The event had a packed two-day agenda including opening and
closing plenaries, panel discussions workshops, and specific workshops for young people, as well as an
inclusive-sport hub and an exhibition area. You can see from the agenda the topics we covered and the
calibre of over 120 speakers we were able to engage.
The event was hybrid with around 500 people attending in person each day and we
had up to 400 online, some from as far as Canada.
The event app was a fantastic platform for connecting people
together, whether in person or online, and will continue to be the way in which
we connect our audience together, and measure the impact of our achievements.
How did you ensure the summit was inclusive and accessible?
We gave away 200 free tickets each day for young people and
community leaders to atten the conference, both from local Birmingham and wider Midlands area, but further
afield too.
This the approach ensured that we had fantastic representation from the real-end of
sport and the merging of these groups with the other event attendees made for
the most diverse, inclusive and represented audience, we think, ever seen at a sports conference.
What’s the legacy of the Include Summit?
Every conversation at the Include Summit made a point around practical things
that can be done to support work in that area. We made sure that every session attendees went to,
they would leave it equipped with immediate ideas that they could go away and get straight on with.
Whether it be on something as simple as starting to collect data or how to have
more equitable recruitment processes there were lots of opportunities for
delegates to apply learnings.
Young people were a vital part of the event from leading
panel discussions and presenting on stage, to support the event delivery and media. We had a brilliant team from BCOMS
involved, and a number of local sports apprentices too.
The Include Summit was absolutely a landmark moment in sport and will continue
to lead the way in gathering people together to tackle EDI, working together to make a difference.
Together with the event itself and the connections it develops, the passion it
enthuses and the conversations it drives forward, our mission of getting one
million underprivileged and underrepresented young people in sport will
undoubtedly leave a positive legacy within sports and wider society.
A desire to travel led Holly Patrick to the business meetings and events world and she’s never looked back. Holly takes a particular interest in event sustainability and creating a diverse and inclusive industry. When she’s not working, she can be found rolling skating along Brighton seafront listening to an eclectic playlist, featuring the likes of Patti Smith, Sean Paul, and Arooj Aftab.
