One More Round of Shiny Moments

It’s the final day of BOLD UnConference 2024, but the spirit of innovation never rests. Before we bid farewell, we have a few more illuminating moments to share, designed to spark conversations and inspire our BOLD community.

Ghislaine Boddington (BDS Creative / body>data>space), Nwabisa Mayema (Branson Centre of Entrepreneurship, South Africa) and Johan Filip Axenpalm (Meta) have graced the stage for a fireside chat on “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion,” each offering their unique perspectives to our BOLD Minds.

Here’s a wrap-up of this enlightening session:

Johan highlighted the transformative power of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in businesses, showing how diverse teams are more resilient and profitable. He shared his tech background and personal story as the child of refugees to emphasize the importance of adapting to global shifts and leveraging diverse perspectives.

Nwabisa brought a personal angle, sharing her experiences as a black woman from Africa and challenging businesses to move beyond tokenistic diversity efforts. She urged those in positions of privilege to use their influence for positive change and to embrace discomfort to drive progress, while also calling for financial support and critical evaluation of current DEI initiatives.

Ghislaine discussed the intersection of digital identity and culturism, drawing from her Irish heritage and highlighting underrepresentation, especially of women in decision-making roles. She stressed the need to question cultural biases in our choices, advocated for the use of synthetic data to mitigate biases in digital systems, and called for international efforts to advance inclusivity.