Reflections from the 2025 Inclusivitii Culture Forum

In dialogue with Aduke Onafowokan, Paul Olubayo and colleagues across our ecosystem

Yesterday’s Inclusivitii Culture Forum reminded us why this work matters, even when it feels heavy, contested or exhausting.

This year’s Forum took the form of a live, honest conversation between Aduke Onafowokan and Paul Olubayo - Liverpool City Council's Anti-racism Lead, alongside contributions from leaders and practitioners across public, community and organisational life.

It was a shared space for reflection, learning and truth telling about what it means to keep showing up for culture, equity, leadership and systems change in the world as it is now.

What we are seeing on the ground

Over the past year, we have had the privilege of being in deep community conversations across the country. From Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities to refugees, frontline nurses, grassroots organisers and public servants, we have been invited into people’s lived realities.

What has struck us most is not difference, but commonality. The shared desire to be seen, to be safe, to be treated with dignity, and to live lives where basic needs are met without fear.

Across communities, some of the most inspiring work is happening quietly. At grassroots level. In rooms without headlines or applause. People showing up every day to listen, to care, to meet need, and to keep going even when systems move too slowly to respond.

That work has changed how we see the world.

Leadership in hard moments

This year has not been an easy one to hold space for inclusion, equity and anti racism. From riots and rising hostility, to political shifts and global violence, many leaders are grappling with how to keep this work front and centre when fear, fatigue and polarisation dominate the public narrative.

One of the most profound insights shared during the Forum was this:

People are not feeling safe in their own skin.

That truth cuts across race, gender, religion, disability and identity. It reframes what inclusion work really is. At its core, this is about safety, dignity and belonging. About whether people can go to work, move through their communities, and exist without fear.

In moments of crisis, leadership is not about hiding behind systems, policies or neutrality. It is about humanity. Reaching out. Being visible. Standing on values when they are tested, not shelving them until things calm down.

Courage, urgency and responsibility

A recurring tension this year has been urgency versus bureaucracy. Communities are experiencing fear now. Parents are worrying now. Harm is happening now. Yet institutions often respond with measured timelines and process heavy reassurance.

That gap matters. When people fear for their lives or their children’s futures, slow responses erode trust.

What we have learned is this: courage is now a leadership requirement.

Courage to speak when silence feels safer. Courage to embed equity not as a project, but as a lens across everything we do.

Inclusion is not an agenda item. It is how we examine waiting lists, workforce progression, access to services, safety at work, and whose needs are centred by default.

Legacy and continuity

One of the most hopeful realisations shared during the Forum was that this work does not rest on one person. The torch is being carried by others, often younger leaders, who are choosing to stay in this space despite the cost.

That matters.

It reminds us that success is not doing everything ourselves, but building something that continues when we pause. Legacy is creating conditions where others can lead, challenge and progress the work without any one person holding every thread.

What we are taking forward

This year has taught us a few things we want to hold onto:

• Our future selves will thank us for speaking up

• It is okay to be tired. A pause is not a full stop

• Silence creates space for harm. Courage creates space for change

• This work is not just strategies and training. It is about lives

When the headlines fade and the politics shift, the work still matters.

History shows us that the dust always settles. What remains is who stood firm, who showed up, and who refused to look away.

That is the work. And it continues.