Black Young Professionals Leadership Conference kicks off with Will.i.am
Thousands of black professionals and allies are taking part in an online conference this week to learn skills and lessons from some of the world’s most successful black entrepreneurs.
The BYP Network Leadership Conference is an annual event which is taking place virtually on Thursday 28 and Friday 29 October.
The 60 speakers range from artists, political figureheads and tech entrepreneurs, including US musician and record producer Will.i.am; award-winning writer, director and broadcaster Reggie Yates; and Bernadette Thompson, deputy director for inclusion, wellbeing and employee engagement in the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government.
Now in its third year, the conference will involve 40 sessions for attendees focusing on the theme of ‘Collaboration is Key’.
Ms Thompson will lead a discussion on ‘Cutting Through the Noise: Thriving as an Introvert’.
Other topics being covered at the conference include:
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‘Opening Your Doors of Business’
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‘Taking Your Local Network to Global Heights’
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‘Progression X The Collective Diaspora’
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‘The Secret Behind Fund-raising’
The BYP Network was founded after 2016’s Black Lives Matter protests by former Great Britain athlete Kike Oniwinde, with an aim to harness and elevate the status of the black professional.
According to Ms Oniwinde, she established the network to connect black professionals and students from all over the world for role model visibility, career opportunities and business support.
She was joined by Meera Raikundalia as a co-founder and the duo focus on amplifying black talent, working with corporate partners to diversify acquisition pipelines and driving positive change across all industries.
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In 2020, BYP held a historic million-dollar crowdfund which allowed them to grow their team by tenfold.
Ms Oniwinde said: “Many conferences rarely have black speakers as they deem it ‘difficult’ to find black professionals with the relevant expertise; however every year BYP successfully finds leaders across a range of fields, proving that they do exist.
“With the theme of the year being ‘Collaboration is Key’ as part of our ‘Decade of Proactive Change’ series, we are excited to be virtual again to truly get that global audience and cater for Black professionals around the world.”
Tickets are free for black professionals globally and can be reserved here: bypconference.com/tickets .
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