DIVERSITY CONFERENCE 2015 Many sectors of our economy e.g. financial sectors are going through a dynamic process of change and development in order to align themselves with the broader socio-‐economic agenda. At the heart of this process of flux are catch phrases such as ‘transformation’, ‘reform’, ‘empowerment’, ‘inclusion’ and other similar and interrelated words. We the organizers of the Change and Diversity Conference 2015 acknowledge the critical role that the different sectors play in the future development of our country and further appreciate the positive changes that are happening within and around them. We have simply subsumed the themes into one word, DIVERSITY. We have asked ourselves the simple question; ‘How can we harness the intrinsic value within our rich and diverse national and corporate human resources in such a way as to realize the full potential of our country?’ To enhance the discourse we will be hosting a change and diversity management conference and have identified a few organizations in Namibia as pivotal role players, who will be engaged to garner valuable insights on this critical issue and to hopefully attain support for the initiative. Change and Diversity Conference 2015 Cornerstone Joe Public Consultants (Pty) Ltd will be hosting a conference on change and diversity in Namibia. Meeting with different stakeholders confirms that the conference comes at the right time. Engagement meetings show stakeholders are excited and have confirmed their need for tools on how to manage diversity to derive the benefits thereof. Objectives of the Conference The conference purpose is two fold: 1. Create awareness on diversity management in Namibia and the benefits thereof, i.e. start the conversation on diversity management in Namibia, and 2. Create an appetite amongst the top leadership in the country (private and public) on how to craft, lead and establish a winning culture within organisations (related to leveraging diversity
P O Box 81144 Olympia, Windhoek – Namibia | Tel/Fax: +264 (0)61 24 6110 | Mobile: +264 (0)81 122 8041 info@diversitynamibia.com | www.diversitynamibia.com (under construction)
in any organisation) To assist in achieving the purpose, we will be bringing in Fons Trompenaars from Amsterdam (Holland). He is a co-‐owner of Trompenaars-‐Hampden (see his profile attached) to Namibia. Who is Fons Trompenaars? Fons consults for Fortune 500 Company’s and is rated one of the world’s top 50 thinkers in his area of expertise. Why him? He is an expert in his field and his credentials speak for themselves. I had the privilege of being trained by him in the early 2000’s and thought him to be dynamic and in my opinion, is the right person to stir our thinking as leaders in the nation. Please have a look at his TEDxAmsterdam talk on the following https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmyfjKjcbm0, if you are unable to see the talk by following the link, please type in “Riding the Wave of Culture” on YouTube, by Fons Trompenaars TEDxAmsterdam. Hope you enjoy it. Where and when is the conference? The conference will be hosted on 11-‐12 February 2015, starting with a panel discussion on diversity in Namibia on night one. On 12 February the conference takes place the whole day. Professor Joseph Diescho from NIPAM has been approached and he is supportive of the initiative and also forms part of the steering committee. Other prominent leaders in Namibia are also being approached to support. Benefits? Private sector and government will walk away with tools on how to manage diversity in their respective fields. It will help business and public sector to enhance recruitment, knowing the talent pool we would be drawing from (shortcomings and all), it will enhance creativity and innovation (many hands….), would help Namibian leaders (in the public and private sectors) build employee commitment and work ethics. The end purpose once again is to encourage us to view diversity in a different light, to view it as a unifier that will enable Namibia’s development. Who are we targeting? Senior leadership in both private and public institutions (Ministers, Chief Executive Officers, Managing Directors, Directors, executive leaders, etc.) Conference Organisers / Who are we? Margareth Gustavo from Cornerstone Joe Public Consultants (Pty) Ltd, in partnership with very energetic volunteers, consisting of Professor Joseph Diescho (NIPAM), Andrew Jansen (Simonis Storm Securities), Natasha Williams-‐Phatela (Grow Training and Advisory Services and Franklin Covey Namibia), Florence Amuenje (Consultant), Hilda Basson-‐Namundjebo (Oxygen Communications),
P O Box 81144 Olympia, Windhoek – Namibia | Tel/Fax: +264 (0)61 24 6110 | Mobile: +264 (0)81 122 8041 info@diversitynamibia.com | www.diversitynamibia.com (under construction)
Taamba Iithete (Consultant), Priscilla Husselman (Nedbank Namibia), Tracey Eagles (Old Mutual Namibia and Brendan Ihmig (Pointblunt Pro). Committed Sponsors Old Mutual Namibia committed N$100K to the conference Simonis Storm Securities committed to funding the conference launch in November. For more information please contact the conference organizer. Also contribute to the discussion on the Diversity Namibia Facebook page called “Diversity Namibia”. The Website is currently under construction and will be ready by 11 November 2014. Thank you, MARGARETH GUSTAVO CONFERENCE ORGANISER
P O Box 81144 Olympia, Windhoek – Namibia | Tel/Fax: +264 (0)61 24 6110 | Mobile: +264 (0)81 122 8041 info@diversitynamibia.com | www.diversitynamibia.com (under construction)