Dear Participant in the European Conference "The Benefits of Diversity and Inclusion for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises",
On behalf of the European Commission we are very pleased to welcome you as a participant at the European Conference "The Benefits of Diversity and Inclusion for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises" taking place from 29 to 30 September 2006 in Limassol, Cyprus.
The conference will bring together about 130 representatives of European SMEs and those working with the SME community, offering a unique platform for exchanging experiences in diversity management and implementing anti-discrimination policies in small and medium sized businesses.
The arrival day on 28 September is reserved for a get together evening programme and dinner. This will allow delegates and speakers to get to know each other. On the first conference day, Friday, 29 September, a plenary session in the morning will lay the ground for the three workshop sessions to come. Introductory speeches by experts on diversity issues in SMEs will illustrate the basic discussion points of this European Conference.
The conference will enable all delegates to take part in three rounds of workshops. They are structured according to a step-by-step approach to diversity strategies in SMEs. On Friday afternoon, the first workshop round will generally discuss the pros and cons of implementing diversity policies in small and medium-sized enterprises. Speakers from different EU countries will illustrate their good practice examples, which will be a basis for discussion among all workshop participants.
In a second step a round of training workshops will enable delegates to experience themselves the issue of prejudices and stereotypes. Elements all companies have to face when working on a diversity policy. Professional diversity trainers from different EU countries will guide these workshops.
In a closing plenary session on the first conference day, the chairs of all workshops of rounds one and two will summaries the outcomes and most important points of each workshop. This feedback will give all conference participants a chance to learn from the variety of workshops and take with them as much good practice experience as possible.
Finally, on the second conference day on 30 September, the last workshop round will deal with the very practical question of “Where can I start?” Having learned about different concepts of diversity management in SMEs and having experienced themselves the sensitive issue of dealing with stereotypes, conference delegates will discuss the practical steps of implementing a diversity strategy in their own enterprises. In these workshops they can lay the ground for assessing their own businesses and making a start with their own diversity concept.
Again, a plenary feedback round will follow highlighting the most important points of discussion of all three workshops, before a representative of the European Commission will give the closing speech.
We are looking forward to an inspiring and productive conference with lots of interesting contributions from representatives from 25 EU Member States!
Your Conference Team!
