Summer Events

Welcome to our newest DRose Update!

As usual, we have been keeping busy and promoting values-based business and projects. Please join me in celebrating that both DRose Academy and Diverse Business Network are now signatories of the Charter for Inclusive Entrepreneurship. Led by Nottingham University Business School, the charter requires organisations to commit to and promote the principles of inclusive business practices. 

We have been enjoying a wonderful summer of attending speaking events and meeting new people. Getting to work with my handsome and supportive husband, building our businesses, travelling around speaking at events or just attending to learn, share and expand our community.

Sabrina and 4 guest speakers on the seminar stage at the Birmingham Black Business Show

From hosting a high-power panel discussion at the Birmingham Black Business Show in June. We explored cultural isolation in leadership spaces for global majority executives. This is a recurring topic in the community and we hope to provide a webinar on how we can work together to address this to achieve more collaborative outcomes.

It was particularly special as so many of our DBN community members and connections were in attendance or exhibiting at the event. Get in touch to put your name down for the DBN members' tickets, for the UK Black Business Show in London in October - [email protected]

Damian & Sabrina outside UCL for the RACE Summit

To the wonderful RACE Summit at UCL in London on 12th July, discussing the intersection of Environmental sustainability and diversity action. With attendance from a lot of UK environmental charities and NGOs and discussions about how to implement the existing research, like the Route Map Towards Greater Ethic Diversity. And the electric energy of the young people from Students Organising for Sustainability, I am confident that change is coming.

Damian & Sabrina attending the UKBBEC

Attending the third UK Black Business Entrepreneurs Conference was another fun and engaging day, with data from the accompanying report shared in relation to the economic value of Black British business and leadership. We got to connect and reconnect with other entrepreneurs, met some amazing small business owners with exciting products which incorporate ethics, sustainability and wellbeing.

To the Milton Keynes Education Awards, where we sponsored a table so one of the EDI finalists, Q:Alliance (a queer youth work charity), could attend the awards.

Sabrina and the Q:Alliance team at the MK Education Awards

Sadly, they didn’t win but we did have a fun-packed evening surrounded by educators from across the region. It was also a great way to launch DRose Academy our accredited training platform.

Damian, Hannah & Sabrina at the UnderOne Festival

To the UnderOne Festival at the University of Northampton, where we got to finally meet the inspiring powerhouse that is Hannah Litt, in person. We also connected with a range of other like-minded people from across the UK, all working towards equitable outcomes.

Sabrina hosting a leadership forum at the Underone festival

I hosted a leadership forum on the topic of how to apply principles of Corporate Social Responsibility and Diversity work. With regulations changing in the UK and Europe, raising awareness of organisations’ obligations and sharing ways to achieve good practice by establishing values-based equity approaches was a great way to spend an afternoon in a marquee on the university campus.

I am in the process of developing some training to support businesses with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and we will be releasing content linked to establishing effective and ethical Equality Data processes, to prepare to report on gender, ethnicity and disability. Watch this space!

So far, I have enjoyed a wonderful summer, even if the weather has been a bit patchy. I have met some inspiring and sensational individuals, been treated to tasty lunches and snacks, discovered new places and innovative use of space, learnt about small businesses making a difference in their communities and I have connected with other passion-driven change makers from across the UK and the globe.

My aim for the summer was to step up and step out. Be the champion and the advocate for the valuable work we do and share the love of people and planet. I feel like I have succeeded.

The Diversity in Practice community is all about bringing together a range of Diversity Professionals from various sectors and specialisms to provide support and share good practice. If you would be interested in joining our free DIP monthly community calls, which are for anyone working in the diversity space, please register using the link.

We have also been creating more social media spaces for our community to engage together. You can follow us on Facebook, DRose Academy or in our Facebook Diversity in Practice Group. We also have our Instagram page, drose_academy. We would appreciate your support and patronage.

Have a wonderful week and I look forward to seeing you soon.

Best wishes,

Sabrina

2026 Update - This article was originally published in 2024 so some of the links and promotional content from that time have been removed. Apologies for any old links or out-of-date content. I felt it was important to keep the articles which track my lived and professional experiences available within the community space. With the high numbers of us working through high-stress situations, particularly in relation to mental and physical health, our own or through care responsibilities, I wanted to keep the space open for discussion and support. I believe we need to prioritise women's health, reproductive health, mental health, family well-being and societal well-being, none of which are discussed enough. We can only change that by talking about it and fighting for better health policies, education and funding.

If you are interested in learning more about my health updates, you can find more articles on DRose Insights.

If you would like to know more about the professional development options available from DRose Academy, please visit DRose Ethics in Action to explore our content and development options.