Are you ready for ESEA Heritage Month? Book your talk with me ASAP!

With the fourth annual ESEA Heritage Month in September - started by besea.n (Britain's East and South East Asian Network) - drawing near, there's no time like the present for organisations to take stock of three things:

1. The number of East and Southeast Asian employees you have and what you are doing to improve those numbers, assuming they are low?
2. The ways in which you are ensuring your ESEA colleagues feel included and supported, particularly when it comes to race equity, anti-racism and career progression efforts
3. And of course how you are going to celebrate ESEA Heritage Month and make those celebrations educational and impactful

I am currently the UK's first and only independent ED&I consultant that specialises in delivering talks and training covering ESEA-related topics, and can help you understand how you can fulfil the above three objectives. Keep scrolling to read more...

Why celebrate ESEA Heritage Month?

Here are three reasons why:

1. With more than ONE MILLION people of East and Southeast Asian heritage living in the UK, this fact shows just how large our community is but also highlights how unseen and forgotten we sometimes are
2. In a poll posted on a webinar by Race Equality Matters in May 2024, just 10% of people from different organisations present said they would be doing something for ESEA Heritage Month. Then, subsequently in another poll in June - following on from me talking about it - 46% of people who answered said they then planned to do something for it this year. This jump is encouraging but tells us that more than half were not going to for whatever reason
3. With many organisations showing extremely low to no numbers of ESEA colleagues in their workforce this will help improve further commitment to true racial equity, diversity, and inclusion within your organisation and open your eyes and mind to the wonders of ESEA heritage and cultures, as well as issues the community faces

My ESEA Heritage Month talk

My talk "Understanding and celebrating ESEA Heritage Month" covers:

• What does “ESEA” mean? And the richness and diversity of ESEA communities
• A brief timeline of ESEA history in the UK (I created and co-project managed the first ever YPAD campaign and exhibition on this very topic)*
• ESEA experiences in the workplace (using preliminary, first-ever research carried out by Voice ESEA , where I am Chief Operating Officer)
• How to support, include and uplift your ESEA colleagues
• Breaking down barriers ESEAs face – debunking the Model Minority Myth and breaking the Bamboo Ceiling*
• ESEA intersectionality – including them all year round

*these can also be delivered as separate talks as this one would condense the information down

In addition, I can tailor talks specifically to a company's ethnic makeup (and work with ESEA colleagues wanting to get involved), goals and strategies, and the type of company you are (e.g. if you are a mental health charity, the talk can feature ESEA mental health and wellbeing as one of the main topics).

Organisations that have already booked me this year or are currently in discussion to do so include two of the UK's biggest mental health charities, a national investment company, one of the nation's leading banks, and an NHS Trust. Will you join them?

Testimonials

Check out the below feedback I have received on ESEA-related talks I have previously given:

“The Yellow Peril Awareness webinar hosted by Voice ESEA was both engaging and insightful. Choon and Abbey Wong were knowledgeable and presented the content in a way that was both informative and thought-provoking.” - Lucian Main , Inclusive Companies

“Choon and was exceptional, providing a deep and impressive level of knowledge, a thorough overview of the topic and a thoughtful and considerate approach to the subject-matter.” - Dr. Christopher Owen , Manchester Pride

“Choon’s passion for ESEA inclusion and drive for race equity really helped us better understand the issues they face. It was eye-opening to learn so much and great to celebrate Heritage Month for the first time at Meli?.” - A. Robinson, Meli? Hotels International

Enquire

If you're interested in hiring me to talk at your organisation this September either as speaker, trainer, panellist or as a host, please do not hesitate to reach out to me here on LinkedIn to discuss pricing, availability and any further details you wish to know. Alternatively, you can find out more here, contact me on my website Tan's Topics or book a call with me on Calendly. The talk can be delivered remotely, hybrid or in-person (within England).

Note that I am away from 21st September until the end of the month.