Fundación Diversidad, together with the Representation of the European Commission in Barcelona, organized the third edition of the European Diversity Month, on May 22, in Barcelona.

The event was a great success, with 354 registrations (for the streaming and for the event).  In addition, 549 people have watched the recording of the event. And near 8 million people were reached through social media with the hashtags #MesEuropeodelaDiversidad #EUDiversityMonth.

Manuel Szapiro, Director of the European Commission Representation Office in Barcelona, highlighted during the opening of the event: “Diversity is in the DNA of the EU. United in Diversity is our motto and this motto of unity in diversity and solidarity makes perfect sense in the current context of Putin's war of aggression against Ukraine. Our diversity is our strength, solidarity is our engine and peace continues to be, more than ever, our collective objective”.

Maravillas Rojo, member of the patronage of Fundación Diversidad, invited all organizations to join the European Diversity Month and to put "the spotlight on the evaluation of diversity and inclusion in their companies, to ask themselves if their diversity policies work and if their strategies help create respectful, empowering and inspiring environments.”

This official event for the European Diversity Month 2023 was framed within the European Year of Skills. The main message was: Diversity is essential to promote any business strategy; it is important to put people at the core of business, taking into account the diversity of talents, skills, and points of view. Two interesting panels encouraged the debate among the public and also on social networks. The journalist Cristina Villanueva (LaSexta TV) led the panel "Diversity as a strategic factor in a changing and complex world". Ricardo Martín, general director of Corresponsables media, led the second panel discussion "Young talent: challenges and opportunities for companies".

The famous violinist Aaron Lee, member of the patronage of Fundación Diversidad, performed the piece "La Ciaconna" by Johann Sebastian Bach. The expert Xavier Marcet, President of “Lead to Change”, gave a keynote speach on leadership and talent, which was trully inspiring.

Fundación Diversidad introduced 17 organizations that have signed the Diversity Charter for the first time, and 23 companies which renewed their commitment for two years.

María Eugenia Girón, President of Fundación Diversidad, expressed during the closing ceremony: “Diversity is competitiveness. Numerous research and economic studies show that companies that embrace diversity are more successful. To face this challenge, it is important that companies focus on people and the talent they can provide”.

The European Diversity Month had the support from the companies CaixaBank, Diageo and Vivofácil, which have signed the Diversity Charter and are largely committed to diversity and inclusion.  For the first time, we have had three official media partners for the European Diversity Month: RTVE (Spanish public radio and TV), Atresmedia (Spanish private TV group) and Corresponsables (media specialized in CSR). Thanks to these collaborations, the EU Diversity Month has had a greater diffusion. The event was also broadcasted in streaming.

Photos of the event available here.