The regular meeting of Diversity Charter Ambassadors to exchange good practice – Small Talk – took place in mid-February and the topic was inclusive language and the challenges of its using. A linguist from the Slovak Academy of Sciences, Lucia Molnár Satinská, shared tips on how to handle the challenges of using gender-sensitive language and how to effectively address everyone without being awkward. Eleonóra Barcziová from the creative and communication studio Büro Milk presented Duhovy kompas (the Rainbow Compass) – a tool for everyone who wants to talk sensitively, respectfully and without prejudice about LGBTI+ people and topics. The companies Deutsche Telekom Services Europe and Henkel Slovakia shared their practical experience with the challenges of using an inclusive language.

At the beginning of the Annual Meeting, the Charter's activities for the past year and plans for the future were presented to the signatories. The program also included the election of the new Diversity Charter Advisory Committee. The meeting also offered a foreign inspiration from the field of I&D in the form of an internal campaign of an Estonian bank aimed at promoting care and mindfulness in the workplace. "We have absolutely zero tolerance for discrimination, harassment or bullying. A respectful culture and a safe working environment are very important to us," said Iti-Christella Mägi, Diversity Area Manager at Swedbank Estonia, which is the largest bank in Estonia. In order to spread awareness of positive work culture among their employees, they prepared a campaign called Dare to care. It included a website that contained information about workplace bullying, the purpose of this campaign, as well as opportunity to send any positive message to colleagues. The key element of the campaign were videos featuring well-known Estonian actors and actresses. The second part of the campaign focused on the hybrid work model. "The main message of the campaign was that a pleasant positive working environment is still important, no matter where people work," added I.-Ch. Mägi. They visualized the various situations that can arise during hybrid operation through videos, in which this time the bank's employees themselves acted.

Psychologically safe working environment has been another topic of the event. A two-year Google study within the Aristoteles project demonstrated that psychological safety should be the cornerstone of effective teams and necessary for their good functioning. In companies where there is a high level of trust, people feel less stress, have more energy at work, are more productive, more engaged and experience less burnout. Clearly defined company values are part of the entire life cycle of people at work and contribute to the creation of a psychologically safe environment, as well as open communication within the company, work with feedback, support for independence, room for mistakes, building of inclusion, well-being, but also an education system or leadership.

The program included discussion tables where the signatories debated together on various topics of diversity and inclusion. The participants of the meeting had the opportunity to share their experiences and good practice in the areas of parents’ support, employment of people with disabilities, age diversity, LGBTI+ people and strengthening of mental health in the workplace.

The Diversity and Inclusion in Practice training prepared the Slovak Charter as this year's novelty for its signatories. The training offered employers an overview of the areas in which their attention needs to be paid, but also an overview of tips on activities and measures in the given areas. An expert from the Slovak National Center for Human Rights talked about the benefits to support diversity and inclusion at workplace.