{"id":4250964,"date":"2021-07-08T14:06:49","date_gmt":"2021-07-08T12:06:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.deptagency.com\/insight\/dept-celebrates-pride-month\/"},"modified":"2021-07-08T14:06:49","modified_gmt":"2021-07-08T14:06:49","slug":"dept-celebrates-pride-month","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/www.deptagency.com\/en-uki\/insight\/dept-celebrates-pride-month\/","title":{"rendered":"DEPT\u00ae celebrates Pride month"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\t\n\t<\/svg>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tBack to all articles\t\t<\/span>\n\t\n<\/button>\n\t\tDEPT\u00ae celebrates Pride month\t<\/h1>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/picture>\n\t\n\t<\/div>
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\n\t\tBrian Robinson\t\t
\n\t\tManaging Director UK\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t8 July 2021\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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\n\t\t\tDEPT\u00ae is cultivating an environment where everyone can be themselves, where Depsters can be proud of who they are no matter who they love. Where individuality is not just tolerated, but is celebrated.\t<\/h2><\/div><\/div>\n\n

Diversity, equality and inclusion are key pillars that help shape our culture. We are lucky to have 65+ nationalities represented at DEPT\u00ae, and we work hard to make everyone feel welcome and appreciated. As part of this, we manage a diversity calendar to celebrate some of the things that make us different by acknowledging key dates and giving our team opportunities to educate themselves and get involved in activities.

Pride month is an exciting time, dedicated to celebrating our LGBTQ+ family, building allies and supporting LGBTQ+ communities and organisations all around the world. And although these initiatives run continuously throughout the year, our efforts are amped up and reinforced during Pride season as a way to take part in international celebrations, raise internal awareness of LGBTQ+ social movements and demonstrate our commitment to making positive progress for all.

Connecting DEPT\u00ae\u2019s LGBTQ+ Community Globally\u00a0<\/strong>
Throughout the month of June, we ran internal communication campaigns on global, country and local levels to engage and educate our team members about the significance of Pride. This kicked off with an all-agency \u2018Ask me Anything\u2019 session with our CEO, Dimi, which included a roundtable discussion with personal stories shared from UK Managing Director Brian Robinson, Lead Developer Duarte Nobrega and Digital Producer Amanda Ramos.\u00a0

At the virtual event, DEPT\u00ae\u2019s Chief Operating Officer also interviewed Sita Shah Head of Creative and Julia Gunkel, Head of Projects, on how diversity and LGBTQ+ voices are transforming brand storytelling by showcasing projects underway with a variety of clients, including TikTok and Samsung.\u00a0<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Depsters were also encouraged to express themselves creatively with a design that promotes diversity, equality and inclusion. The winner of our \u2018Be Proud\u2019 theme art contest was Billy Osborne (top left) and runner-up Niamh McConville (left).<\/em>

DEPT\u00ae\u2019s internal magazine, Stroopwafel Stories, shined a light on gender diversity, covering conversational topics and personal journeys, while relaying advice and information sources. It also promoted upcoming activities, such as DEPT\u00ae\u2019s 5K Run in Rainbow. The DEPT\u00ae Apparel<\/a> clothing range available exclusively for Depsters, made from recycled materials or deadstock, launched Pride tie-dye t-shirts; and we raised funds for All Out<\/a> – a global movement for love and equality.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/picture>\n\t\n\t<\/div>\n\n

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\n\t\t\n\t\t“It\u2019s about being visible for those that aren\u2019t yet liberate<\/em>d”\t<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\tGaydio Proud Pride Partners<\/strong>
To amplify the voices of DEPT\u00ae\u2019s LGBTQ+ community, we entered into a partnership with the UK\u2019s largest LGBTQ+ radio station, Gaydio. Over eight weeks, audio vox pops from DEPT\u00ae\u2019s LGBTQ+ staff and allies are being broadcast across its network to half a million listeners per week.\u00a0
We\u2019re also producing two short videos with Depsters explaining what Pride means to them, which will be shared across Gaydio\u2019s social channels and will live on the Pride pages of their website for the rest of the year.


We\u2019re proud to give Depsters this podium to share their values and experiences with the world. Enjoy these snippets from their recordings:\u00a0

\u201cPride to me is about community. It\u2019s about feeling like you belong and like you can be your true self. Even more, it\u2019s about my kids and them feeling like our family is a valid unit.\u201d\u00a0<\/em>\u2013 Sara Wilson

\u201cPride for me means being proud of what the generations before us have already achieved in terms of equality and inclusion, but also looking forward to seeing what we can improve. And of course rainbow flags everywhere.\u201d\u00a0<\/em>\u2013 Frank Schmid\u00a0

\u201cAs an ally to the LGBTQ+ community, Pride to me is about celebrating my wonderful friends and colleagues to let them know they are loved, they are supported and that they are respected.\u201d\u00a0<\/em>\u2013 Mellissa Flowerdew-Clarke

\u201cPride is not just a celebration of liberation, it\u2019s about being visible for those that aren\u2019t yet liberated.\u201d\u00a0<\/em>\u2013 Amber Fryer\u00a0

\u201cTo me, celebrating Pride means that you respect all of those who have gone before us to fight for LGBTQ+ rights. \u2013\u00a0<\/em>Brian Robinson


Developing inclusion through knowledge sharing<\/strong>
The first step towards shaping an inclusive culture is developing mutual respect and understanding. We equip our team with the tools and knowledge, through information sessions hosted by fellow Depsters and inspirational guest speakers. For Pride, we reviewed the basics of inclusivity, diversity and equality; defining the difference between these concepts and how they\u2019re related. We also looked at ways they are relevant within our daily work for, and with, our clients.\u00a0

We were delighted to bring in Aisha Shaibu to talk about her work as an LGBTQ+ activist, Head of Community at UK Black Pride and London Queer Fashion Show, member of the Board of Trustees for GiveOut charity and Founder of Moonlight Experiences. She informed us about the power of tourism and social gatherings to help amplify marginalised voices and transform communities. Aisha also shared insight on identity and the gender spectrum, why pronouns matter and the importance of allyship, providing a great opportunity for Depsters to ask questions and widen their perspectives. We were proud to contribute towards Aisha\u2019s\u00a0GoFundMe<\/a>\u00a0campaign, supporting the growth of her social enterprise dedicated to the celebration of queer culture and belonging through tourism and nightlife.\t<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n\t