Black Lives Matter. Our Statement on Representation, Amplification, Training & Development

Everyone has a voice.  But not all voices are heard equally.  We see and hear the inequality and injustice upon the Black community. We unite with all our community against racism and in our efforts to be actively anti-racist.  

We’re listening & learning at NSB/GSA about how we can be more effective allies; we’re having the challenging conversations about how representative we are of our society, and what we need to do to be better. 

We’ve identified three main areas where we have control and need to do the work:

1 – Representation – We are identifying gaps where we can improve the representation of Black speakers on our roster, and reaching out to make connections.  

2 – Amplification – We have a platform & responsibility to amplify Black voices on virtual & live stages for positive change. We’ll be proactively bringing Black speakers to the forefront both on issues of Black Lives Matter, and in their areas of expertise in leadership, communications, business, technology and more. We will ensure our recommendations of speakers for client events reflect our commitment to diversity.  We will contribute to events industry efforts to amplify Black voices.

3 – Training & Development – We’ll be increasing our own learning and training, and providing tools for our team & speakers to address bias, word choice, and share positive examples of meaningful change.

We’re proud to represent and to have learned from many great speakers who work tirelessly to spread messages on anti-racism and Black lives in Canada & the US.  You can find more information on some of them here: 

https://www.nsb.com/topics/human-rights-social-change-speakers/black-lives-matter-speakers/ 

There is more we will do, and need to be accountable for, as we do our part to ensure that Black voices are heard, and in contributing to dismantling systemic racism, as our knowledge and understanding continues to grow.