Annual Reception 2025
Video credit: William Wilfred Graham
Our Annual Reception this year was hosted by DLA Piper, who welcomed us to their beautiful event space with a terrace offering views across London. We were happy the rain held off!
Our speakers and panel explore disability inclusion in the world of sport.
Opening the event were Joanne Conway, Head of Inclusion and Culture for EMEA and Asia Pacific, DLA Piper and Diane Lightfoot, our CEO.
Diane then led our panel discussion ‘A sporting chance: the transformative power of disability inclusion in sport’ with brilliant contributions from:
- Julian Bajada, M&A Corporate Lawyer, DLA Piper, and Paralympian and Secretary General, Malta Paralympic Committee.
- Ross Hovey, Inclusive Workplace Lead, Lloyds Banking Group and Liverpool FC spectator.
- Alan Mochrie, Wellbeing Consultant, NatWest Group.
- Lottie Birdsall-Strong, Head of Youth Strategy, England and Wales Cricket Board.
Our panel each brought their own unique perspectives on the positive impact of sport participation and spectating for disabled people.
They also discussed how business can support access to sport and reap the benefits of sport participation: teamwork, personal empowerment, resilience and improved mental health and wellbeing.
It was great to see so many of our Members and Partners stay on after the panel discussion to network and connect. Thank you to everyone who attended, and to DLA Piper for their wonderful hospitality.
If you have an accessible event space and are interested in hosting a BDF event, we would love to hear from you. We also have sponsorship opportunities. Find out more: Sponsorship | Business Disability Forum
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Picture credit: Ollie Rudkin