PILAA Wins Best DE&I Training Provider 2025!

 

 

We are delighted that for a second year running, PILAA has won the Best DE&I Training Provider 2025, of the SME Greater London Enterprise Awards.

At a time when the world is going through a tense transition of values, in the struggle for the good parts of humanity that each and all of us stand for, having such a recognition only amplifies that equality, diversity and inclusion work, has, and will continue to be the bedrock of any successful organisation, let alone society.

There was a fear at the start of the year, that ED&I work and the many initiatives that are embodied through these practices, would be forcibly removed by disingenuous forces. Some out of fear, and others out of a lack of budget and cuts, were rolling back on their ED&I initiatives, or changing the dialect, having to operate in stealth mode.

Today however, the tides are beginning to change. The tensions we are facing in society, and in our communities (however you may describe community), trickle down into our workforces and everyday lives.

With this award, it is a bittersweet reminder of the need to take off the lid, to the pressure cooker that we are all in, through continuing to support, advocate and champion for equality, equity, diversity, inclusion, belonging, wellbeing and all of the associated virtues of this work, whether seen, unseen or felt.

We thank all of you for being part of PILAA’s journey, to our ED&I friends and partners, and also to our wonderful team on this achievement. Our work unwaveringly continues.

We leave you now with our recent Press to Workplace article Protest, Free Speech and the Workplace, for anyone who might be feeling the heat of how to tackle, constructively, these difficult conversations at work.

 

Dr Ope Lori, Founder & CEO 

Rules of Engagement

 

You can listen to Rules of Engagement here.

 

We look forward to seeing you all at the upcoming EDI IS, EDI ISN’T Virtual Town Hall Debate – Featuring CeLillianne Green to open the discussion, on the 29th of May at 15:00 – 17:00 (BST). To make sure that everyone who is attending can participate openly and freely, we have put together the following Rules of Engagement. These are key points and behaviours to consider, when participating and interacting with others.

In addition, we have put together a suggested Glossary of terms. Whilst many of these terms will come up naturally, we have listed a few here, which will act as prompts and can be drawn upon by the facilitator (or any other participant) throughout the meeting.

 

GLOSSARY (not exhaustive)

 

RULES OF ENGAGEMENT

 

o Be courageous

Speaking up can be difficult, especially in a room full of strangers. However, remember why you’re here and know that you’re amongst others with a common goal. The likelihood is that whatever you’re thinking about saying, there’s someone else in the room who’s already thinking it. So pluck up your courage, take a deep breath and speak your mind.

o Cameras

For best engagement, we ask that all cameras are turned on, however we appreciate that this doesn’t work for everyone. If you are blind, partially sighted, neurodivergent or have accessibility needs or are none of the above and just have technology gremlins working on the day, then that’s no problem. Keep your cameras off.

o Chat box

For best engagement we also advise that everyone uses their audio to speak, however if this is not possible for any reason, please use the Zoom chat box feature. The session facilitator will monitor the chat box as best as possible.

o Listen

It’s not possible to think clearly, without listening to others or even to yourself. We encourage you to actively listen to what’s being said before responding. Remember it’s not a race, so take your time, listen and respond.

o Open and safe

We want the town hall to be an open and safe space where everyone can speak honestly and freely without judgment. We appreciate that there will a mixture of people in the room, with different perspectives and viewpoints and so we ask for everyone to be respectful of each other. Feel free to challenge or support what others are saying, but please do so with politeness.

o Prompts

We know how awkward it can get when you have those uncomfortable silences and so to avoid those moments (unless the discomfort is related to a theme or argument, in which case do bring it up in the discussion), we have prepared a list of terms to be used as prompts. Feel free to familiarise yourself with these terms or come as you are, ready to expect the unexpected.

o Raise hands

Please use the raise hand Zoom function when you want to speak. The facilitator will moderate hands as fairly and quickly as possible.

o THINK

If all fails, we encourage you to THINK before speaking. Yes, THINK! We don’t want you to censor what you say, but by utilising the acronym THINK, consider whether what you’re saying is True, Helpful, Inspiring, Necessary or Kind?

o Time and response

We know how passionate people can get when wanting to get a point across. We encourage your enthusiasm but ask that everyone is mindful about how long you speak for. If you find yourself speaking over 2 to 3 minutes when it’s your turn, wrap up your point and give the floor to someone else. We won’t be monitoring how often you speak; you can respond as little or as much as you like, but just be mindful of giving the floor to others. The facilitator will also help to move conversations along.

o Transcription

If you are deaf, have hearing impairments or want to aid accessibility and clarity with conversations, please make use of Zoom captions and transcripts. These will be activated at the beginning of the meeting and all participants can control whether they display or not.

 

Finally, we want to remind everyone to have fun and to remember that by participating in the town hall, you’re already contributing to an important conversation.

We look forward to seeing you there and if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

 

The Team at PILAA

EDI IS, EDI ISN’T: A Virtual Town Hall Debate

Listen to Event Description here.

Listen to Event Contributors here. 

 

Join this virtual (online) Town Hall for a timely debate on what EDI IS, EDI ISN’T. Featuring CeLillianne Green to open the Town Hall.

 

About this event

“We have to be courageous Reverand. Al Sharpton. We have to continue to make them say the words, diversity, equity and inclusion, not just DEI, because the virtues are in the words. “Diversity. Equity. Inclusion.” Every humane society respects those things.” – US Attorney Benjamin Crump

 

To address the current state of affairs around EDI (Equality, Diversity and Inclusion) in the UK or DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) as it is typically referred to in the US, we will be hosting a virtual Town Hall debate to address what EDI IS, EDI ISN’T. Whichever iteration one uses, our understanding of the essence of this work must continue despite some of the misunderstandings, negative rhetoric’s, and scapegoating of initiatives that seek to re-address inequalities and injustices.

In the advent of US Executive orders that are having an impact globally, to the detriment of the many faces of EDI work and its lasting legacies, we invite anyone who is interested in holding space on this topic, in joining us at our virtual Town Hall, on Thursday the 29th of May 2025 at 3 – 5PM BST, for a timely debate on what EDI IS, EDI ISN’T.

The Town Hall is open to everyone, irrespective of role or position. We want the space to be free of barriers (and ego), so that all participants can deep dive into exactly what is at stake, in our pursuit of the meaning of EDI. Whether you’re an EDI practitioner, work in HR, an academic, student, researcher, activist, creative, a thought leader, a leader in a leadership position, a staff network chair, a network member, or are just curious and passionate about EDI, without any work affiliations – we want to hear from you.

From the anecdotal, to the real, to the lived experiences, and best and worst practices in this area, we invite you to participate in some real talk!

We are honoured to feature CeLillianne Green, poet and lawyer, who will be opening the Town Hall debate. In 2016 CeLillianne Green wrote The Present, a poem to commemorate the opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC). The Present is now a poetic reaffirmation of the importance of the NMAAHC in response to the 3-27-25 Executive Order of the current U.S. President about the NMAAHC. Such orders undo many decades of work that museums, galleries and other educational and non-educational institutions have done in the decolonising project and in making these spaces inclusive to all. You can watch the present here.

We hope that at the end of the Town Hall, we’ll be able to create a 21st century PILAA visual guide on EDI, which we’ll be able to share with all participants. So we welcome you to be part of this diverstory.

 

To register your spot to participate, please visit Eventbrite here.

We will share the joining instructions and Town Hall rules of engagement closer to the time.

We look forward to seeing you there, for what we think will be a timely and open discussion!

 

Event Contributors

 

CeLillianne Green

CeLillianne Green (opening Town Hall) is an internationally known poet, as well as a lawyer, teacher, and speaker. She is a graduate of Drexel and Howard Universities. She was Editor-in-Chief of the Howard Law Journal, and is admitted to the Bar in PA, NY, DC, and MD. Her legal career includes a federal clerkship, Wall Street law firm associate, and an AUSA who tried cases from misdemeanors to 1st degree murders, and presented appellate arguments. She was a partner in a private law practice, served as a legislative counsel, a mediator, and as a law school instructor. In 2003, Ms. Green published her first poem, Because I Love You. In 2005, more poems started, and in 2009, the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity recognized her as a Social Justice Thought Leader for her poem, Lifted. Her first book, That Word, an epic poem was published in 2010. The recording, CeLillianne Says and her poetry collection, A Bridge were published in 2011 and 2015. She has been interviewed on radio and TV, quoted in newspapers, cited in law journals, and in online publications. She has contributed to anthologies, documentaries, and presented at public schools, universities, and organizations. Her 2023 production, CeLillianne Green’s Evening of Poetry & Jazz and other works are on YouTube / www.CeLillianneGreen.com. She is currently an Adjunct Lecturer in the English Department of Howard University teaching Technical Writing Professional / Pre-Law. Ms. Green continues to write poetry and prose about life, love, spirituality, relationships, history, and politics. www.CeLillianneGreen.com

 

Photo credit: Dr Ope Lori by Ajamu X

 

Dr Ope Lori (PILAA Founder & CEO)

Dr. Ope Lori (Town Hall facilitator) is the Founder and CEO of Pre-Image Learning and Action (PILAA), an Arts & Diversity company she founded in 2017. Some of their clients include, ACME, Tate, Sotheby’s Institute of Art, the Courtauld, the Open College of Arts, Corps Security and GamCare. She is also a practising visual artist; specializing using video and photography in her political practice. She has exhibited nationally and internationally, including at La Fondation Blachére, France; 198 Contemporary Arts and Learning and at Autograph in London.

She was a Lecturer at both Chelsea School of Arts and Leeds Arts University between 2009-2019, and continued to guest lecture at the Royal College of Arts until 2021, amongst other leading institutions of Art. She completed her PhD in Fine Art in 2013 and held one of the first Post-Doctoral Research Fellowships at TrAIN (Transnational, Art, Identity and Nation) Research Centre UAL between 2016-2018, before fully utilising her knowledge and training in the diversity and Inclusion industry.

She is the author of “Should I, shouldn’t I?’: A self-reflexive study in unpacking ideologies of race while devising a critical studies fine art programme”, in Hatton, K. (ed.) Inclusion and Intersectionality in Visual Arts Education, (UCL Institute of Education Press, 2019). She is also the author of her first solo forthcoming book, Beyond The Feminine: The Politics of Skin Colour and Gender in Visual Culture (Bloomsbury, 2025) due to be released on the 24th of July 2025.

Dr. Lori featured in the first ever UK Black Pride (UKBP) The Black Lesbian Power List 2024, brought together by UK Black Pride CEO Phyll Opoku-Gyimah and supported by DIVA.

PILAA News – Recruitment

 

We are pleased to announce that from February 2025, we will be including some of our friends and partners job vacancies on our website and newsletters. We want to include listings from organisations who are keen to get the best candidates, especially those who can demonstrate an awareness of ED&I either as part of their role, or as part of the desired inclusive behaviours and person specifications.

We will be including job listings from organisations that we’ve worked with over the years, and anyone who is keen to reach a diverse pool of candidates for their vacancies.

In addition, we will be putting together a pool of delegates who have taken our courses, such as the Inclusive Welcome CPD. They will be added to our database and notified to receive job alerts, when opportunities within the museum and heritage, visitor attraction and security sectors arise. If you need applicants trained in these areas, get in touch with us!

The hope is that by applicants taking our course(s), it then puts them in good stead to apply for such jobs, with organisations knowing that they’ve taken our training and already have a good introductory knowledge around ED&I and the encompassing inclusive behaviours that you may want to see; whether in an entry level role or whether as a senior executive in a leadership position.

We know the question of posting vacancies on a range of platforms, is key in diversifying teams and reaching new audiences, and we believe that PILAA can be a conduit between employer and reaching new applicant’s to do so.

If you are interested in listing your jobs with us or interested in our pool of candidates for your role, please get in touch here.

 

The Team at PILAA

PILAA Wins UK Enterprise Awards

 

We are delighted that PILAA has won the award, Best EDI Specialist Professional Services Consultancy 2024, in SME News seventh annual UK Enterprise Awards.

This is a fantastic achievement, that would not be possible without the strong commitment and work ethic from our team, who continuously strive to always do better in the world of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion.

We would like to thank our clients and partners, where without them this work, recognition and mutual learning would not be possible.

We congratulate everyone who have made it possible, and we look forward to many more success stories as we move through the years.

Stay tuned for more exciting news to come!

 

Dr. Ope Lori, Founder & CEO 

How to support employees and colleagues during the current riots and national unrest

Many of us are currently waking up to the recent spate of riots and national unrest, following the loss of three young girls, who were fatally stabbed in Southport on the 29th of July. We have seen the community of Southport coming together, holding vigils to remember the young girls and the other children and adults who were attacked in the incident.

Sadly, we have also seen in the last week, rioters using this occasion to stoke up national unrest and unacceptable acts of hate and violence, targeting migrants, immigrants, ethnic minorities and Muslim communities in particular, with anyone else, who might be perceived as belonging to these groups. We know that the impact of these acts of xenophobia, islamophobia and racism, are indiscriminate, and many communities are being affected.

You are likely to have Muslim or colleagues from ethnic minorities, friends and relatives who will be experiencing strong emotions about the current state of affairs, or who will be feeling anxious, or frightened. You may have colleagues from any background working or living in communities where riots are taking place, feeling worried about their safety. How can you best support them at this difficult time?

The most important thing to remember – whether for this conflict or any others – is that it’s better to say something than to ignore the situation. Don’t worry about getting it wrong; showing people you care and that you’re there is what matters.

  • Acknowledge what is going on and avoid not stating some of the issues at play. For example, we know that the rioters are targeting migrants, immigrants, ethnic minorities and Muslim communities in particular, with anyone else, who might be read as belonging to these groups. You could perhaps mention it in your weekly newsletter or in your next meeting. You don’t have to offer any opinions – and you probably shouldn’t – but just say you’re aware that it’s happening and that it could be impacting on colleagues. Remind them that you’re there if anyone wants to talk.
  • We have seen scenes of people being attacked, neighbours’ buildings and businesses being swept into the roads of chaos. You could write specific colleagues who you know have friends or family who have been caught up in the events. You could send an email or a text message that says something like, “I just wanted you to know I’m thinking of you at what might be a challenging time for you. You don’t need to reply, but I’m here if you need anything.
  • Similarly, you can say something along those lines in a face-to-face conversation but be careful not to pressure them into talking about it, if they’re not up to it. Avoid any nosy questions, as you don’t need to know if someone has relatives in the areas being affected.
  • If people come to you to say they are struggling, consider whether you can reduce their workload or give them a personal day or two off.
  • Ensure you know what your workplace’s mental health policies are like and if there are any helplines, like your company’s Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) or healthcare professionals that your colleagues can contact if necessary.
  • Utilise staff networks/employee resource groups (ERGs) – can a safe space meeting be held for anyone effected or needing others to share their feelings with? Can you find ways to hold space for your colleagues in a compassionate way? Sometimes coming together to check in with your colleagues and speak about the best way of supporting your teams, with and amongst others can be healing and cathartic.
  • Consider whether your workplace can make a charitable donation to an organisation that is actively working towards tackling hate, islamophobia or racism. It can help people to know that a small, proactive step is being taken.
  • Make no assumptions about political views, and keep politics out of it, especially not while in the workplace. You don’t want to sow any discord among colleagues. Make work a friendly, safe space. Set up guidelines for conversation, if you feel that would be helpful.
  • Take care of yourself too. Even if you’re not from one of the communities or areas being currently effected, it can still be painful to keep up with the news. It’s okay, and often necessary, to take a break from reading or watching the latest updates.
  • If you are asked to facilitate a conversation on the topic and you don’t feel able to, it’s okay to say no.
  • Remind everyone that a little kindness goes a long way; the world is hard, and your workplace doesn’t need to make it any harder.

Our final word is to remind your teams that whilst the current state of affairs may seem depressing and frightening at times, that the situation will eventually pass. We must not forget the positive acts of seeing communities coming together, with people from all backgrounds, races, faiths and religions, helping and supporting each other so that the community spirit and love, prevails over hate and division. – It is also important to not lose sight of remembering the three young girls who lost their lives and to commemorate them.

We need to keep working, and sometimes may even find it helpful to keep our heads busy. At the same time, remember that we are humans with feelings, so it is important to show awareness of what’s going on, and how it might be affecting your people.

The Team at PILAA

PILAA News

In April, we were delighted to have been featured in the press. The first was in Your Business with James Caan, Spring 2024 edition, where we spoke about the importance of carrying out a good EDI health check and what it includes. Our CEO Dr Ope Lori, also lent her expert voice on themes related to Equality, Diversity & Inclusion. The full articles can be found on pages 194 – 197 and accessed here. 

We were also in The Evening Standard: London Business Guide, on Monday the 22nd of April 2024. Here we spoke about ‘Doing diversity differently’ and gave away a discount on our upcoming PILAA Inclusive Welcome CPD. If you didn’t manage to pick up a physical copy, do check us out here.

There is still time for you to book our PILAA Inclusive Welcome CPD, for Front of House teams or applicants looking to work in visitor attractions. Read the article for the discount code.

Finally, our Founder and CEO Dr. Ope Lori, featured in the first ever UK Black Pride (UKBP) The Black Lesbian Power List 2024, brought together by UK Black Pride CEO Phyll Opoku-Gyimah and supported by DIVA. This is an amazing accomplishment not just for our CEO, but for the wider PILAA family and our clients. Her much deserved recognition, will ensure that she continues to steer PILAA and the EDI industry ship, in a meaningful way. 

Read the full list here.

 

Stay tuned for more exciting news to come!

Inclusive Welcome Survey

Please fill out our short survey, which aims to find out what an ‘inclusive welcome’ by front of house staff would look like in a museum, gallery or visitor attraction spaces, for as wide a swathe of the public as possible.

An inclusive welcome can be defined as feeling included, invited, and that you belong in the spaces mentioned, irrespective of your background, or how you identify.

We estimate that it will take around 5 to 10 minutes to fill in. Please write as much or as little as you like.

Survey can be found here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/J9QWG6L 

Survey closing deadline: Friday 10th of May 2024.

 

Thank you for your time and effort and please pass on this survey to anyone you like.

Any further questions contact us at: info@pilaa.co.uk

 

A Message From Our CEO – A Happy Start to 2024

It is now the start of the first full week of the year, which sees many people returning to work after the festive holidays. Some of you however, might have started last week. Whatever your situation, we hope that you have managed to relax, recoup and are re-energized for what we hope will be a fantastic year ahead.

Last year at PILAA we had seen much growth in the organisation, beyond monetary value. We welcomed new Membership clients, and we are pleased to see how those relationships have flourished, with Members such as Corps Security winning awards for their commitment to EDI excellence in their specific industry.

We had won tenders at organisations doing meaningful work for their communities of service users. Some of those tenders have now come to an end, but we are grateful to the lasting relationships that we have made with those organisations. Like many of our clients that we have worked with over the years, we will continue to be good friends and offer support when needed.

We welcomed new team members at PILAA, with strong backgrounds in their respective fields. Despite the challenges of recruiting new employees under this current climate, we are pleased to say that we were still able to get the best people to join us and grow our PILAA family.

At the end of last year, we were pleased to have participated at London’s ExCeL Retrain Expo, running alongside The Business Show 2023. We met lots of interesting people from various industries and we are excited to let you know that 2024 will see the materialisation of some of those conversations into exciting projects. So do watch this space. We are also excited to share the winners of the competition we held at the ExCeL for free training. All entrants will be informed of the outcome after this message has gone out.

Finally, in December we were pleased to be on the judging panel of the DOJ Gaminz Festival, held by our clients DOJ Gaminz in Nigeria. It was an awe-inspiring two-day event; the first with leading gamers in Nigeria and the second with game developers responding to the theme of ‘breaking stereotypes’ in their video game submissions. There was so much talent and innovation in this sector, and we are grateful to our friends at DOJ Gaminz, who have allowed us to be part of their EDI journey within the gaming arena.

Further, we were also fortunate to have been able to deliver our CPD Course ‘The Grassroots of Diversity’, to Security Officers at the event. It was great to see Officers engaging with many EDI themes, such as unconscious bias, providing inclusive welcomes, (dis)ability and accessibility, but applying it to the landscape of Nigeria. Doing EDI work in the UK has its own challenges, but tailoring EDI for it to be culturally specific to where our clients are based, brings new and exciting learning opportunities and we were grateful to be in such a position.

Whilst we know there is lots more to be thankful for and to do, our focus for this year is to build on being a forward-thinking organisation, addressing EDI within and beyond its own parameters. This year you will see input from expert thinkers on exciting new topics. You will see the development of our EDI image bank and A-Zs in various identity categories. You will see the development of new PILAA-led research and resources. We will continue to deliver our workshops unpacking EDI issues at their root causes, whilst learning about the various industries that we enter through our work with past, present and new clients. We will continue to answer your mental health, accessibility, and well-being questions, irrespective of whether they seem too big or too small. Finally, we will continue to be advocates of EDI and continue to collaborate with organisations and individuals who are committed to engaging with EDI in a socially conscious way.

From us at PILAA, we would like to wish you a happy start to the year and an inclusive future in 2024.

Dr Ope Lori

How to support employees and colleagues during the current conflict

You are likely to have Jewish and/or Muslim colleagues, who will have friends and relatives in Israel and Palestine, and who will be experiencing strong emotions about the current conflict in the Middle East. How can you best support them at this difficult time?

The most important thing to remember – whether for this conflict or any others – is that it’s better to say something than to ignore the situation. Don’t worry about getting it wrong; showing people you care and that you’re there is what matters.

  • Acknowledge the war. You could perhaps mention it in your weekly newsletter or in your next meeting. You don’t have to offer any opinions – and you probably shouldn’t – but just say you’re aware that it’s happening and that it could be impacting on colleagues. Remind them that you’re there if anyone wants to talk.
  • Write specific colleagues who you know have friends or family in the region or who belong to the affected ethnic groups an email or a text message that says something like, “I just wanted you to know I’m thinking of you at what might be a challenging time for you. You don’t need to reply, but I’m here if you need anything.”
  • Similarly, you can say something along those lines in a face-to-face conversation, but be careful not to pressure them into talking about it, if they’re not up to it. Avoid any nosy questions, as it isn’t your business to know if someone has relatives in the region. Make no assumptions about political views.
  • If people come to you to say they are struggling, consider whether you can reduce their workload or give them a personal day or two off.
  • Ensure you know what your workplace’s mental health policies are like and if there are any helplines or healthcare professionals that your colleagues can contact if necessary.
  • Consider whether your workplace can make a charitable donation to an organisation that is actively working towards peace in the Middle East. It can help people to know that a small, proactive step is being taken.
  • Try not to get into political discussions, especially in the workplace. You don’t want to sow any discord among colleagues. Make work a friendly, safe space. Set up guidelines for conversation, if you feel that would be helpful.
  • Take care of yourself too. Even if you’re not Jewish or Muslim and even if you don’t fully understand the situation, it can still be painful to keep up with the news. It’s okay, and often necessary, to take a break from reading or watching the latest updates.
  • If you are asked to facilitate a conversation on the topic and you don’t feel able to, it’s okay to say no.
  • Remind everyone that a little kindness goes a long way; the world is hard, and your workplace doesn’t need to make it any harder.

Life goes on, even amidst such depressing conflicts. People need to keep working, and sometimes even find it helpful to keep their heads busy. At the same time, though, we’re humans with feelings, so show awareness of what’s going on, and how it might be affecting people.

 

The Team at PILAA