Agiito has become
the first agency to bring Eventwell’s wellbeing hubs to their events as a
solution for customers looking to be more inclusive and accessible.
Eventwell, the
charitable social enterprise dedicated to educating, campaigning and supporting
better health and wellbeing across the events industry, launched the hub
concept in 2021. The Hub by Eventwell® is a quiet room and sensory space
designed to provide a gentle escape from the rich and often overwhelming
environment of a conference or event.
Recognising
a need to make events more inclusive and accessible, Agiito’s sustainability manager Dana Moore said: “The data from mental health charities shows that up
to one in six event attendees could be struggling with their mental health and we
want to accommodate that. We wanted to extend the wellbeing solutions we have
implemented in business travel to our meetings and events division, and what
better way to support this than partnering with the award-winning mental health
voice of the events industry.”
The Hubs feature dim lights, noise-cancelling headphones, books
on breathwork, meditation, diffusers, and other tools to combat sensory
overload as part of their concept of a ‘10-minute break’ - rather than taking
people away from events.
For those who
do need to take longer, Eventwell can stream the conference or key notes onto a
TV in the room and provide headphones, allowing a neurodivergent audience the
chance to remain connected to an event. Many of the hubs also come with a
trained Mental Health First Aider to
safeguard users and provide critical support. The profits from the Eventwell
Hubs fund the training so hosts can continually develop their service.
Agiito has a long-established partnership with mental health not
for-profit organisation Eventwell, with its director of venue find and events Caroline Medcalf also a voluntary trustee for Eventwell.
Medcalf said: “Mental health and
inclusion doesn’t need to stop at the door; we recognise our customers want to
look after their people by creating a selfcare culture at their events. This partnership
means we can expand our offering with wellbeing and accessibility in mind.”
Now the infrastructure is in place, Agiito
employees are able to offer this service to customers who are looking for options
to support their delegates’ needs.
Helen
Moon, chief executive at Eventwell, said: “We wanted to be more than an
organisation providing training, we wanted to create something that was preventative
and actionable. We wanted to develop a service that’s bespoke to each event and
puts real support in place. The hubs are transformational, with delegates
needing just 10 minutes for the brain to be refreshed.”
