Our biggest event of the year brought together hundreds of leaders, employers and inclusion advocates at Titanic Belfast for a day of connection, challenge and inspiration.
Yesterday, 7 October 2026, we welcomed our Diversity Mark community to Titanic Belfast for the Diversity Mark Annual Summit 2026 and what a day it was.
Under this year’s theme, Future Ready, Human First, more than 200 leaders, employers, inclusion practitioners and changemakers came together to explore what it means to build organisations that are ready for the future without losing sight of the people at the heart of them.
From thought-provoking keynote conversations and powerful personal stories to practical insights, real-world experiences and plenty of opportunities to connect, the Summit was a brilliant reflection of what our Diversity Mark community does best: coming together, sharing, listening, challenging and learning from one another.
Future Ready, Human First
The theme running throughout the day was simple but powerful: people remain every organisation’s most important asset.
We were delighted to welcome Ben Hurst, one of the UK’s leading voices on healthy masculinity, allyship and emotional literacy, as our keynote speaker. Through his work with Beyond Equality, Ben has spent almost a decade supporting organisations to navigate modern workplace culture, and his contribution brought a powerful perspective to the conversations around people, culture and the future of work.
We were also honoured to hear from Dr Caoimhe Archibald MLA, Minister for the Economy, who opened the Summit and spoke about the importance of ensuring technological progress and economic growth ultimately improve people’s lives and wellbeing.
One of the strengths of the Summit was the breadth of voices and experiences represented across the programme.
We heard from Professor Mary Hannon-Fletcher, Dean for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at Ulster University, who brought a deeply personal perspective through our In My Shoes series. We were also joined by Corey Mullan, whose personal journey and work with White Ribbon NI demonstrated the power of conversations to inspire positive change.
Gary Gates, CEO of Neurodiversity Spark and PhD researcher at Ulster University, challenged us to think about what meaningful neuroinclusion looks like in practice, exploring “Neuroinclusion in Action: Designing Workplaces for Different Ways of Thinking.”
Nazia Latif brought an important and timely perspective to the conversation with her session on “Navigating Fear, Racism and Polarization in Today’s Workplace”, exploring how organisations can respond to complex challenges through understanding, collaboration and meaningful action.
We were also grateful to Helen Devlin for sharing Northern Ireland Water’s story and practical experience, while Samuel Fretwell from Encirc, Jude Copeland and others brought further insight and challenge to the day’s discussions.
And we cannot forget Brendan McNally, whose deeply personal story of losing his sister Natalie to violence brought a particularly poignant and important perspective to the Summit. Brendan’s courage in sharing his experience encouraged reflection on violence against women, the attitudes and behaviours that underpin it, and our collective responsibility to create safer societies.
Closing the Summit, Judith Gillespie CBE brought her experience and insight to the conversation. As Co-Chair of the Diversity Mark Independent Assessment Panel, Judith knows the importance of turning commitment into meaningful progress, and her closing reflections were a fitting way to bring the day together.
Our wonderful host, Carolyn Stewart, kept the day moving with her trademark energy and warmth, creating space for conversations, questions, reflection and connection throughout.
A huge thank you to our partners
An event of this scale simply would not be possible without the organisations that believe in what we are trying to achieve.
A very special thank you to our headline partner, Allstate Northern Ireland, for your continued support and partnership in making the 2026 Summit possible.
We are also incredibly grateful to our supporting partners:
NIE Networks | Belfast City Council | Gilbert-Ash | Encirc | The CIPD in Northern Ireland | Deloitte | Ulster University | Translink
Your support allows us to bring our community together for a day of learning, challenge and connection, and we are hugely grateful to each and every one of you.
A huge thank you also goes to Titanic Belfast, our host venue and valued Diversity Mark Signatory.
Most importantly, thank you to everyone who joined us.
To every Diversity Mark Signatory, inclusion practitioner, business leader, speaker, partner, supporter and guest who took the time to be in the room — thank you.
The Summit is ultimately about the people who attend it. The conversations over coffee. The questions from the audience. The ideas shared between sessions. The introductions made. The experiences listened to. The moments that make someone stop and think differently.
Taking the conversation forward
If there was one message that stayed with us from yesterday, it is that being Future Ready, Human First means recognising that technology, strategy and progress can only take us so far.
People bring the lived experiences, ideas, perspectives, creativity and human connection that make organisations stronger.
As Christine White, Director of Diversity Mark, reflected during the Summit, the fundamentals for future growth are uniquely human. The challenge now is to take the conversations from yesterday and turn them into action.
Thank you for being part of #DMSummit26.
We hope you left with new ideas, new connections and a renewed sense of what is possible when we put people first.
We cannot wait to see where our Diversity Mark community takes the conversation next.
Future Ready. Human First. 💜
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