Just over a year ago, the amazing Elina Ashimbayeva, one of my colleagues at AllySkills NZ (and a personal friend from a few other bits and pieces), had an idea.
It was during a bit of an informal chat with Erica Austin (the other AllySkills facilitator) and myself when we were discussing where to go next for Ally Skills NZ. It had been a few years since Lauren Peate had initially kicked it all off, and we had been doing workshops for corporates and companies across the motu for that time.
These workshops, while amazing and exhilarating, when we’re doing them, are squeezed in amongst other mahi, life, whānau and a whole host of other things. “Where to next” seemed difficult, if we were being honest.
Elina didn’t take no for an answer and so gathered other people to help: (in alphabetical order) Laura Kerrison, Paula Neme and Kauri Tearaura, and very quickly (or glacially slow due to the excitement), AllyShift 2024 was born.
Using the unconference format, the team created a one-day gathering to deepen connections and deep-dive into what allyship means when you’re really walking the talk.
This is the final photo of the day; it shows how much energy people still had after an entire day of workshops, keynotes and discussions.
Although I was mostly helping with logistics during the day, there were some strong key takeaways that resonated across the event:
Key takeaways
Definitely walk the talk. Elina, Laura, and Paula were the powerhouse team behind the bulk of the organising and were considerate and caring for all the ways to make the event as accessible as possible. This meant looking at physical access requirements (Is the venue wheelchair accessible? What if a participant is blind or deaf?), as well as safety requirements (we’re still in the midst of a global pandemic, even if some people pretend we aren’t) and all other logistics that make an event (childcare, dietary requirements and so many other things). Everything was thought of carefully and in detail. It meant that on the day before, when we realised there was no ramp onto the stage, colourful rugs were brought in to improvise a stage on the same level. If one of our speakers can’t go onto stage, no one would.
Do difficult conversations, even if you think they will hurt your brand. One of our most powerful speakers on the day was Lauren Peate, our original founder. She spoke from her heart and talked about her experience of her friends in the occupied Palestine Territories. She admitted how nervous she was about broaching the topic but that it was necessary. We cannot ignore a genocide while we talk about diversity and inclusion halfway across the world.
You don’t need to have experts to have a conversation. All too often, when planning an event of this calibre, we worry about what flashy keynote we can bring in from overseas. Having the right people in the room meant that we had flowing conversations and tangible actions that people took back to their daily lives straight away. Having keynotes that spoke from their lived experiences made everything seem much more real and connected. That’s not to say we didn’t have experts. Everyone in the room was an expert in their own right, everyone in the room working and championing DEI in their lives and their mahi. Why shouldn’t we hear from them?
Now that it has been a few weeks, all I can say is that we need to make this a regular thing. Everyone can take a well-deserved rest, and let’s start talking about AllyShift 2025!
Vivian Chandra 