telling the stories of marginalised voices
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Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Consultancy

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Louise Boston-Mammah and Louisa Adjoa Parker

Louise Boston-Mammah and Louisa Adjoa Parker

The Inclusion Agency (TIA)

Louisa is co-founder of The Inclusion Agency (TIA), a community interest company which she set up with Louise Boston-Mammah, educator and programme co-ordinator. TIA champions Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in the arts, heritage, education and other sectors, and their vision is of a more cohesive and inclusive community for all.

TIA aims to bring marginalised and diverse voices to centre stage; create connections between people of different ethnic backgrounds living in the south west; work to reduce prejudice and racism; and develop strong partnerships with individuals and organisations to promote ED&I in the south west and beyond.

Recently they worked with The University of Bristol to deliver the Student Diversity Engagement Project where they worked with Black, Asian and ethnically diverse students to discuss their perspective on student life, looking at issues of racism and sexism to create change for the future.

The findings were then used to inform and deliver further EDI training to over 200 staff and students online and face-to-face from the University of Bristol and the University of West England (UWE), on ‘race’ and ethnicity; gender and sexism and mental health and wellbeing. 

TIA also delivered the Where are you really from project during 2020, which told stories of black and brown people living in the south west and other rural parts of the UK.

TIA offers a range of services which include bespoke ‘race’ equality or anti-racist training; diversity audits; partnerships on arts and heritage projects; talks and workshops; and more. They can work with organisations to support them to become more inclusive, particularly (but not exclusively) in relation to representing and engaging with ethnically diverse communities. They offer a ‘fresh eye’ on an organisation’s practices and inclusivity in a non-judgemental way. 

‘On behalf of FARSCOPE CDT, I would like to extend my thanks to Louisa and Louise for delivering such a positive, insightful and thought-provoking session. We have received a number of messages of appreciation from our students, thanking you for your time, expertise and the opportunity to learn more about this crucial and timely issue. I thoroughly recommend The Inclusion Agency to all universities interested in learning how to become more equal, diverse and inclusive. We really look forward to working with The Inclusion Agency more in future.’
Paul Harper, CDT Manager, FARCOPE CDT, University of Bristol & the University of West England (UWE)

‘TIA helped us identify specific challenges we face with ED&I within the faculty.  They provided a safe space for frank discussions with students from under-represented groups & presented their findings in an honest & helpful way. They’re now working across the faculty to help us develop strategies to remove barriers & be as welcoming as possible to students/staff from all backgrounds.’
Sean Lancastle, School of Civil, Aerospace, and Mechanical Engineering, University of Bristol

 ‘Louisa and Louise have provided a number of training events for us at Bristol University, both for staff and students. I have always found their sessions to be very informative and powerful, with plenty of personal lived in experience of racism and its effect on their lives. Their approach of non-judgemental spaces to discuss race and racism is excellent and has helped to engage our staff and students in discussing difficult topics in a way that is breaking down barriers. They are very professional and have provided some impactful reports for us to use going forward in tackling racism within our institution. Highly recommended.’
Professor Stephen Eichhorn, School of Civil, Aerospace, and Mechanical Engineering, University of Bristol

 

Previous ED&I consultancy work

Prior to setting up TIA, Louisa delivered various diversity consultancy work, which began when she assessed the extent of social inclusion at Lyme Regis Museum in 2003. She was then commissioned by Lyme Regis Development Trust to assess the needs of young people in the town. Louisa was one of three consultants who worked on the Chapelhay Arts Inclusion Project, which assessed the needs of Weymouth people in relation to the Arts.

In 2015 to 2016 Louisa worked as an Agent for Change as part of a pilot project run by Arts Council England. Agents were matched with organisations in the South West to support them to become truly inclusive. Louisa worked with Plymouth Museum and Art Gallery to develop representation of BAME communities; this included planning gallery content and setting up an ethnic diversity panel.

 A legacy of Louisa’s work with the museum was that she and Hilary Bracegirdle co-organised the Plymouth Hidden Histories seminar on 29th and 30th November 2016. The seminar was hosted by Reach South West in conjunction with Plymouth University and funded by Arts Council England. The aim was to showcase examples of good practice in relation to researching diverse histories, and speakers presented on black history, LGBTQ history, disability and mental health.

The event was a great success – delegates described it as: ‘Transformative’, ‘positively emotional,’ ‘inspiring, challenging, thought-provoking’ and ‘accessible, stimulating, varied.’

 ‘Louisa worked with Plymouth Museum as an Agent for Change. We clicked immediately, both as an organisation and as individuals. Louisa worked with tact and enthusiasm, encouraging staff to think holistically in terms of diversity, and encouraging open discussion. We subsequently appointed Louisa to co-develop and co-deliver the Hidden Histories Seminar, which was one of the highlights of my career. Her positivity and encouragement has given me the confidence to challenge assumptions around diversity across organisations with which I am involved.’

Hilary Bracegirdle, Plymouth Museum and Art Gallery.