Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson,
British Paralympic athlete, six-time London Wheelchair Marathon winner and
crossbench peer in the House of Lords, has been revealed as the opening keynote
speaker at IBTM World.
Acknowledged as one of the most gifted and courageous
sportswomen of her generation, Baroness Grey-Thompson has competed in five Paralympic Games
winning 11 gold medals, four silver medals and one bronze medal. In 2005, she
was made a Dame for her services to sport and, in 2010, was elevated to the
House of Lords as a crossbench peer. Once there, she used her expertise to
focus on sport, disability, health, welfare and youth development, and has made
significant contributions to debates on welfare reform, assisted dying and
sports governance.
Her session, ‘People Potential:
A Conversation with Baroness and Paralympian Tanni Grey-Thompson’, will open the main stage on day one of the show, which takes place at Fira Barcelona on November 19 to 21. She will share her journey, revealing how fostering a culture that
embraces diversity and celebrates human potential can transform not just
events, but lives.
Baroness Grey-Thompson's session is part of IBTM World’s #PeoplePowered
campaign, the social responsibility track of its conference
programme.
Other speakers on this track include Shani
Dhanda of Innovating Inclusion, who will be looking at evolving workforce equality laws in ‘The
changing face of accessibility, equity & inclusion in meetings and events’,
Dr Vincent Walsh, an expert in biodiversity, forest
design and regenerative farming, will lead a session on ‘The living earth (and why
we should give a sh*t)’, while Janthea Brigden, CEO and director of childcare at
Nipperbout and Sammy Connell, head of events at NASUWT - The Teachers'
Union, will explorethe benefits of including children at events from a corporate and association event organiser's standpoint in their interactive session on day one.
Martin
Fullard, director at The Business of Events, and Eloisa Urrutia, head of sustainability at Amex GBT Meetings & Events, will address the
challenges of overtourism in a session on the Impact stage, while Monica Molina, DEI, accessibility and sustainability consultant at DEI Consultoria will lead a session on day one titled ‘Workshop:
how to incorporate DEI into your event RFP?’.
Claudia Hall, exhibition director at IBTM World, said:
“Tanni is a powerhouse who has dedicated her life to creating a fairer and more
just society. She has always used her platform to strive for change, and has
made phenomenal progress in this endeavour. We’re delighted to welcome her to
the IBTM Main Stage, and know her session will be just the start of a
fascinating stream of content focused on social responsibility.
“With important sessions in this track around
sustainability, accessibility, DEI and wellbeing, and driving a positive social
impact, we don’t shy away from asking big and difficult questions of our
industry. Through this process though, and with the support of incredible
speakers sharing their insights with such optimism, we hope our valued
attendees will leave with the hope, inspiration and practical tools necessary
to start creating a better future, together.”
