19 September 2008
Northwest Equality & Diversity Conference
• Regional equality data launched
• Showcasing winning films from ‘Celebr8, Don’t Discriminate’
festival
The 3rd Northwest Equality & Diversity Conference takes
place today (Friday 19th September) to raise awareness of equality
& diversity challenges and opportunities in the Northwest.
The Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA), Government
Office North West, 4NW, NHS North West, and the Learning Skills
Council are joining together with over 200 guests in Manchester to
raise awareness of the work being done in the region on equality
and diversity and showcase the winning films of Celebr8 on the
Silver screen part of the Celebr8 Don’t Discriminate festival.
The day-long conference, hosted by the BBC’s Ranvir Singh, is
aimed at individuals making a difference on equality and diversity
in the Northwest. The day commences with an overview of the latest
equality data and survey results, interactive sessions on ‘the
challenges the region faces’ and ‘the solutions and way forward’,
and keynote presentations by Baroness Prosser, Deputy Chair,
Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) on ‘Closing the Gender
Pay Gap’ and Amanda Jones, Head of Diversity at the Co-operative
Group on ‘Why diversity is good for business’.
Steven Broomhead, Chief Executive of the NWDA said: “England’s
Northwest is a culturally diverse region and the NWDA is committed
to enabling all the region’s people to satisfy their basic needs
and enjoy a good quality of life, without compromising the quality
of life for future generations. This event and the activity we are
doing with our partners on equality and diversity will help to
raise awareness of the issues, consolidate commitment from regional
partners and set clear objectives and determine priorities for the
region on equality and diversity issues.”
The conference offers delegates the opportunity to influence
Equality and Diversity priorities for the Northwest’s new
integrated regional strategy and question the various partners and
agencies involved in the future direction of the equality and
diversity agenda in the region.
The afternoon session includes a presentation from Tim
Wainwright, Director English Regions for EHRC on ‘Making fairness
count’. This is followed by a Q&A session on ‘Responding to the
challenges’. (For the full Agenda, see Notes to Editors).
Liz Meek, Regional Director of Government Office for the North
West, said: “There is a challenge for all of us in the Northwest to
ensure that equality and diversity is part of the fabric of our
everyday working lives. Government Office is proud to be involved
in the celebr8 (don’t discriminate) festival and to support the
aims of today’s conference.”
- Ends -
Notes to Editors
Northwest Equality & Diversity Conference, Friday 19
September 2008
Manchester Deansgate Hilton
9.30 Registration & market place
10.30 Introduction & housekeeping – Ranvir Singh
10.35 Picturing Equality in the Region: overview of latest
equality data and survey results
Patrick White, Executive Director of Policy, Northwest Regional
Development Agency (NWDA)
10.50 Still closing the Gender Pay Gap