March 31st, 2020  

Dear Workplace Pride Members and Friends,  

As the world slowly begins to adjust to the new reality of the COVID-19 global pandemic, Workplace Pride has also been busy preparing our own response to the crisis.

The pandemic has led to the re-design of our annual International Conference which was planned for June 19th in Rotterdam. The physical conference will no longer take place on June 19th, but, instead, will be replaced with other initiatives using three important elements to guide us:

1. Cutting edge information about LGBTI workplace inclusion: Workplace Pride will create a number of online events leading up to June 19th that deal with this topic. These  “Keeping Members Connected” events will:

• Address specific, pressing issues for our members and the LGBTI community, particularly in light of recent events worldwide.
• Be online and available to our members via podcasts and live-streams.
• Draw upon the experiences of our members and stakeholders.
• Encourage our members to host conversations from their own virtual platforms on specific topics.

2. Exchanges of Good Practices: Workplace Pride will host an “LGBTI Workplace Online Symposium” on June 19th that brings our members together for 2-3 hours in a virtual, conference-like setting. The symposium will include speakers on specific topics, virtual breakout sessions, and interactive chats.

3. Networking amongst our stakeholders: As there is no real substitute for networking face to face, Workplace Pride intends to hold a “Conference Lite” on the 9th of October, provided that conditions have improved.

This event will take some of the conclusions from the previous Keeping Members Connected, and LGBTI Workplace Online Symposium elements and share them in a plenary session with attendees. The Conference Lite will start mid-afternoon and end in the early evening with a buffet dinner. The event will include “Speakers Corners” that are less formal than workshops and with more emphasis on networking.

Collectively, these three elements will be known as the “Workplace Pride 2020 Outreach Platform” to keep it in line with this year’s unique situation. 

Despite the change in format, the theme of the platform will remain the same as the conference namely:

“Great Expectations: Envisioning a new decade of LGBTI workplace inclusion”

We will be reaching out to all of our stakeholders in the coming weeks and months to inform and include you in our re-designed 2020 platform. For now though, stay safe and help us all keep the fighting spirit of LGBTI inclusion at work alive and kicking!  

Warm regards,  

David Pollard

Executive Director

Workplace Pride Foundation