Diversity & Inclusion Summit
IN.CLUDE
Together with Global People , we organized IN.CLUDE, the Diversity & Inclusion Summit: a day when clients, suppliers, HR professionals, and leaders came together to address one key question:How do you truly put intentions and ambitions into practice?
IN.CLUDE brings organizations together to look beyond mere intentions. By engaging in dialogue and sharing knowledge, we create opportunities to learn from one another and to translate our ambitions for diversity and inclusion into concrete actions and lasting change.
Why Diversity and Inclusion Go Beyond Good Intentions
With a packed house and strong engagement from various organizations and sectors, it quickly became clear that this is a topic of great interest. Not just within HR, but across the entire organization. After all, diversity and inclusion directly impact leadership, collaboration, decision-making, culture, and talent development.
Keynotes, panel discussions, and open conversations among participants created opportunities for candid discussions about everyday practice. While virtually every organization recognizes the importance of diversity and inclusion, translating that into behavior, processes, and culture often proves to be a complex challenge.
Different perspectives make organizations stronger
During his keynote, Joris Luyendijk demonstrated that diversity and inclusion are not just about representation, but primarily about the quality of collaboration and decision-making. According to him, organizations that lack sufficient diversity often struggle to properly identify talent. As a result, potential remains untapped, and blind spots emerge within teams and leadership.
“Well-managed mixed teams simply achieve much better results.”
He also emphasized that organizations often believe they are acting objectively, while unconscious biases and existing systems still have a significant influence on who is given opportunities.
Culture is reflected in everyday behavior
Zoe Papaikonomou’s keynote also resonated deeply with the audience. She spoke about the influence of behavior and organizational culture on what is communicated and accepted within teams. Inclusion is found precisely in the small, everyday moments: in who is given space, who feels safe to speak up, and what behaviors leaders—consciously or unconsciously—allow.
“Your good intentions say little about the impact on others.”
How to Make Inclusion a Core Part of Your Organization
During the panel discussion, which included representatives from the KNVB, Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, the police, and Sky10, among others, it became clear once again that many organizations face similar challenges. The discussions focused not only on policy or objectives, but primarily on practical implementation:
- How do you create psychological safety?
- How do you ensure that different perspectives are truly heard?
- And how do you make inclusion an integral part of leadership and culture rather than a standalone initiative?
It was precisely the openness and sense of connection among participants that made the event so valuable. Many attendees noted that sustainable change can only be achieved when organizations make structural decisions about how they collaborate, lead, and identify and develop talent.
Diversity is a key focus at HeadFirst Group
At HeadFirst Group, we believe that diverse perspectives make organizations stronger. Not as a standalone topic or project, but as an integral part of how we collaborate, learn, and grow. That’s why we believe it’s important to keep this conversation going—not just at events like this one, but especially in our day-to-day work. Because inclusion isn’t something that happens on paper; it’s about behavior, choices, and culture.
The high level of engagement during the summit demonstrated that more and more organizations are actively seeking ways to take concrete steps in this area. And that is precisely why it is so important to keep this conversation going.