BCD Meetings & Events and
ACA Live have pledged to support the REACH University Scholarship Initiative
for the 2024 student intake at Bournemouth
University.
The REACH (Race
Ethnicity And Cultural Heritage) events scholarship initiative was launched in 2022 by Robert
Kenward and Gabrielle Austen-Browne to provide a fund and help Black, Asian and
unrepresented minority ethnic students to study on events management degree
programmes and enter the industry.
Gabby Austen-Browne, co-founder of REACH said: "We're so excited to have ACA Live and BCD as donors for the REACH scholarship initiative. Their investment in the future of our industry is not only transformative for the recipients but also a powerful statement about the value of diverse perspectives and experiences in the events sector."
The initiative provides a £5,000 yearly
scholarship to support with living expenses.
Michelle Biggane, head of talent acquisition UK, BCD Meetings &
Events said: “We are excited to be sponsoring future talent in their
educational pursuit within the meetings & events industry. Here at BCD
M&E, diversity, equity and inclusion is a core pillar of our value
proposition, and a foundation we’re proud to be actively prioritising. By
partnering with REACH and providing students with the tools they need to be
successful, we hope this has a direct impact in enhancing the representation of
historically underrepresented groups in our sector.”
Alex
Crawley, client director, ACA Live added:
"At ACA Live, we're investing in the next generation of talent and helping
to break the vicious cycle of a lack of diverse representation within the
events industry. The REACH events management scholarship helps us to redress
the balance, directly benefiting students from Black, Asian, and Minority
Ethnic backgrounds. We work in a creative industry and a plurality of voices
and perspectives can only benefit our agency and the industry as a whole. We're
really proud to be involved in REACH, providing young people with a foot up on
the ladder of success."
Robert
Kenward, co-founder of REACH said: “I’m incredibly proud of the impact that
REACH has achieved so far and thrilled that we have two agency powerhouses
onboard for 2024. We are now in our third year and we can actually see the
impact REACH is having on real people across two universities. This is a
continuing campaign, we will continue to work with a new university each year
and we are actively looking for more companies to come on board and help
increase the diversity of our industry, from the ground up.”
The
initiative is working with Bournemouth University to support students wishing
to study on the 2024 intake.
Jonathan Goode, head of fundraising
and alumni relations at Bournemouth University, said: “We are pleased to be
joining other universities to deliver REACH Scholarships to students joining
our degree programme in events management from September. Inclusivity is a core
value at BU and this initiative enables us to join with like-minded organisations
to deliver positive change and create a more diverse events sector and
workforce. We are thankful to our two company partners for providing this
scholarship funding and look forward to seeing the impact this will have on the
recipients. We’d love to hear from other companies wanting to increase
diversity in their workplaces through this innovative programme.”
The initiative was launched in 2022
to attract more people from a Black, Asian and underrepresented ethnic minority
background into the events industry. The initiative was launched with students
at Manchester Metropolitan University who are now in their second year of their
events management degree course, with grants supported by DRPG, Identity, TRO,
and You Search & Select. In 2023 NorthStar Media Group, Because Connected
Experiences, and EMC3 supported students starting their event management degree
courses at The University of Hertfordshire.
Simran, REACH Scholar, at Manchester
Metropolitan University said: “I come from an Indian family, and my parents
wanted me to follow a ‘safe’ profession such as medicine or law. They didn’t
know about careers in events, so this in itself was a barrier as they thought
it was risky. Having the scholarship gave them some reassurance as it showed
that there were credible companies out there that wanted to attract people like
me.”
Companies that are interested in
making a positive and long-term impact to D&I in the industry can contact Gabby
Austen-Browne ([email protected]) or Robert Kenward ([email protected]) for more information.
