One year on - from conversation to consequence.
A year ago, we planted a seed. Not just any seed – one rooted in courage, conviction, and a willingness to ask the uncomfortable question: what if inclusion wasn’t an afterthought, but the starting point?
The first Inclusion by Default conference lit the spark. This year, we turned that spark into a fire.
Over 100 changemakers joined us – from employers and educators to entrepreneurs and community champions. Not to tick boxes. Not to hear themselves speak. But to get stuck into the real work of creating a North East where everyone can thrive.
The data that can’t be ignored
We started with the facts – not to depress, but to drive action:
Almost 1 in 2 people report being discriminated against at work in our region.
Women still earn just 73p for every £1 a man earns – and get fewer leadership opportunities.
Ethnic minorities face higher unemployment and underemployment, despite being qualified and ready to contribute.
Disabled people in the North East are half as likely to be employed – not due to lack of skill, but lack of opportunity.
These aren’t abstract stats. They’re real lives, real barriers, and real missed chances.
From insight to action: the Inclusive Innovation Sprint
This wasn’t a day of PowerPoints. It was a 90-minute hands-on Inclusive Innovation Framework Sprint, where participants tackled real-world scenarios using design thinking, data, and service design.
Ten tables, ten themes – from how we communicate in diverse workplaces, to how we collaborate across systems, and how we celebrate untold stories.
The solutions were practical, powerful and people-centred. Reframing job ads to support neurodiverse applicants. Rethinking promotion pipelines for working-class women. Building trust in communities where institutions have failed.
It wasn’t just theory – it was designing change in real-time.
Stories with soul
What really moved us weren’t just the solutions. It was the stories.
We heard from:
A single mum navigating three jobs and still being told she’s not “committed enough”.
A wheelchair user rejected for five interviews before anyone saw past her chair.
A young refugee finding her feet – and her voice – in a new land.
Raw, powerful, and humbling.
This is what inclusion really looks like – listening, learning, and doing better.
What’s next?
This wasn’t a one-off. It was a commitment. We’re now:
Publishing a regional inclusion roadmap, shaped by the ideas and lived experience from the conference.
Rolling out the IIF Sprint across public, private and third sectors to spark culture change from within.
Launching a Regional Inclusion Index, because if we can’t measure it, we can’t move it.
But most of all, we’re staying accountable.
Inclusion by default means more than posters or pledges. It means systems change, led by those most affected.
A North East worth fighting for
We’re a region of world-firsts and recordbreakers. A place with heart, humour and hustle. But for all our grit and graft, there are still too many left behind.
Inclusion by default is our way of saying: not anymore.
It’s time we made this region not just the most beautiful and resilient – but the most inclusive in the UK. A place where no one’s potential is wasted because of what they look like, where they were born, or how they move through the world.
That’s our North East. And we’re building it – together.
So… are you in?
Ammar Mirza CBE is Chair & Founder of Asian Business Connexions, Executive Chair of the AmmarM Group, Honorary Colonel of 101 Regiment RA and holds various positions across the public and private sectors with a deep interest in Inclusion, Innovation and Internationalisation.