Culture Forum North symposium

5 December 2018, The Whitworth, Oxford Rd, Manchester M15 6ER

How can partnership develop workforce diversity?

10.15:  Registration See the list of participating organisations here.

10.45: FRESH: Katie Jones, Lauren Goldsby; Francesca Russo; Andy Yates

Frustrated by lack of BAME representation in teaching and working, these students from Manchester School of Art have developed FRESH – an award-wining movement determined to make a difference.  Katie, Haseena and Lauren say it how it is, what they strive to achieve, and how FRESH wants to connect with our sectors to influence change.

Francesca Russo is Higher Education Coordinator at Opera North, who happens to have a disability. Her experiences and her reflections on workplace culture will trigger collective discussion about how we do it now, and how we can do it better.

Andy Yates, a Creative Producer at Open Eye Gallery, grew up and studied in Bootle.  A series of fellowships and scholarships enabled him to learn, develop and exhibit his photography and he is working with children and researchers in Ellesmere port, exploring how to raise aspirations.  Andy will reflect on his experience, to prompt discussion on how we can work together to enable better socio-economic equality.

10.55:  Welcome from Alistair Hudson, Director of The Whitworth and chair of Culture Forum North

11.00: Nina Bhagwat, Off-screen Diversity Executive, Channel 4

“Creating an inclusive culture that recruits, retains and progresses a diverse workforce has to be underpinned by intelligent data and a commitment to diversity that is baked into every level of an organisation.”

Through provocations that explore current and new practice, and innovative ways of interpreting data to identify where the real needs lie, her keynote will draw on her experience in delivering Channel 4’s 2015 Diversity Charter and as a trainer in the film and broadcast sector, as well as her knowledge of how the health and banking sectors are stepping up to the challenge.

Followed by half-hour table discussions and a 20-minute panel Q&A with Nina and FRESH

12.15:  Introduction to the lunchtime marketplace

Lunch and round-table conversations (basic butty, water and fruit – you might want to pop a snack in your bag)

13.10:  Sarah Fisher, Director, Open Eye Gallery interviews Andy Yates

Followed by half-hour table discussions and a 20-minute panel Q&A with Simon and Andy Yates

14.15:  Tea/coffee break

14.30: Kate Pahl, Professor of Arts and Literacy, Manchester Metropolitan University

“Understanding diversity through collaborative action research is a key to building pathways from the community to employment in the cultural sector. Re-imagine your workplace as a co-produced space. What would it look like? Whose voices would we hear? How can we listen differently, and come up with inclusive visions of what ‘could be’? How can we create knowledge outside our organisations and use it to make better decisions?”

Drawing on over ten years of collaborative research and co-production of cultural material with diverse groups, Kate will urge us to consider how we might stretch this learning to co-produce a diverse workplace.

Followed by half-hour table discussions and a 20-minute panel Q&A with Kate and Francesca Russo

15.45:  Summing up, next steps.  Close by 16.00

This event has been made possible with generous funding from our partners: –