27 • 08 • 2022

The Annual is a yearly gala celebration that champions community, diversity, and co-creation for sustainable social innovation. The Annual gathers people from different backgrounds and walks of life, who are standouts in their fields and have shared values to bridge fragments of society into a cohesive whole.

The Annual invites us to listen, learn, springboard change, share our power and create lasting social value.

Why Attend The Annual?

You deserve a night out!

Food, delicious food.

To connect.

Entertainment galore.

A legitimate reason to get dressed up in February.

What to expect at the Annual?

Commune with the movers and shakers from diverse backgrounds. Expand your horizon, network, and stimulate your intellect.

Have fun, laugh, be entertained and congregate with like minded social innovators.

What to Expect at The Annual?

Commune with the movers and shakers from diverse backgrounds. Expand your horizon, network, and stimulate your intellect.

Have fun, laugh, be entertained and congregate with like minded social innovators.

GALA PROGRAM

Scandic Holmenkollen

Kongeveien 26, 0787 Oslo, Norway

27.08.2022

Suited & Booted

The most ambiguous category leaves the door open for trendy items. Come in your "Sunday's best" and most comfortable and unapologetic expression of self. A smile is your best accessory.

Entertainment

Speeches by motivational speakers and subject matter experts. Artistic performances: Felicitas and Elsa, Agnes, Selecta Harmony, Hyacinth Walters-Olsen as "MC" and more. Dinner.

The Blaze Awards

The Blaze awards celebrate and illuminate the trailblazers - individuals and organizations - who actively and passionately uplift Diversity, Inclusion, Equity and Belonging (DEIB) initiatives in their workspaces, communities and society overall.

Meet Our Speakers

Chisom

Chisom Udeze

Founder of Diversify, HerSpace & Mettle Consult

Chisom is an Economist, Organizational Design and DEI Strategist, and a 3 times founder with over 12 years of experience working with organizations like the European Commission, The United Nations, ExxonMobil and Utrecht University. Chisom has an analytical mind and works to interrogate the cross-sectoral relationship between society’s inhabitants, resources, production, distribution and output…

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Astrid Sundberg

Director of Diversity + Inclusion at Oda

Astrid Sundberg is Director of Diversity and Inclusion at Oda, Norway´s leading online grocery retailer. She has 2 decades of experience in director level leadership roles within the people and talent arena…

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Dominic Gorham

Guest Relations Manager at The Thief

Mr. Guest Relations himself, Dominic Gorham is a man who has carved out a niche for himself and perfected his craft. Of all the trendiest and luxurious places to visit and indulge in Oslo over the past 20 years, Dominic has been at the helm of a majority of them. 

Read more

…and more

Meet Our Speakers

Chisom

Chisom Udeze

Founder of Diversify, HerSpace & Mettle Consult

Chisom is an Economist, Organizational Design and DEI Strategist, and a 3 times founder with over 12 years of experience working with organizations like the European Commission, The United Nations and ExxonMobil…

Read more

Astrid Sundberg

Director of Diversity + Inclusion at Oda

Astrid Sundberg is Director of Diversity and Inclusion at Oda, Norway´s leading online grocery retailer, who were previously known as kolonial.no. She has 2 decades of experience in director level leadership roles within the people and talent arena…

Read more

Dominic Gorham

Guest Relations Manager at The Thief

Mr. Guest Relations himself, Dominic Gorham is a man who has carved out a niche for himself and perfected his craft. Of all the trendiest and luxurious places to visit and indulge in Oslo over the past 20 years, Dominic has been at the helm of a majority of them. 

Read more

Performances

Your gala evening will be made unforgettable by the resonating performances of diverse artists.
Meryn Willetts as “Agnes”
Selecta Harmony
Felicitas and Elsa
And many more!
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Early bird ticket 2500 kr 2000 kr. Up to 20th of December’21.

Request an Invitation

The Annual is an inclusive event that aims to congregate people from all walks of life. As seats are limited, it is circumspectly curated. If you’d like to attend, we’d love to hear from you.

Space is limited.
Sign up today.

Would you like to partner with us?

Contact us

gala@theannual.no

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Chisom Udeze

Founder of Diversify, HerSpace & Mettle Consult

Chisom is an Economist, Organizational Design and DEI Strategist, and a 3 times founder with over 12 years of experience working with organizations like the European Commission, The United Nations, ExxonMobil and Utrecht University. Chisom has an analytical mind and works to interrogate the cross-sectoral relationship between society’s inhabitants, resources, production, distribution and output. She is adept at efficiently and effectively unlocking complex systems, data management, forecasting socio-economic trends and research. Having lived in 7 countries across 3 continents, she is highly adaptable to different circumstances and people, and thrives in uncertain environments.
 
As the founder of Diversify, Chisom works with companies, governments and civil society to facilitate measurable diversity and inclusion initiatives in the workplace and society. In 2020, mid-pandemic, she founded HerSpace, a diverse and inclusive co-creation community for all genders, with particular focus on women-led companies and mothers. She is a thought-leader in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) and a passionate advocate for mental health and wellness. Chisom is a life-long learner, and is currently enrolled at Harvard University, through its extension studies program.

Astrid Sundberg

Director of Diversity + Inclusion at Oda

Astrid Sundberg is Director of Diversity and Inclusion at Oda, Norway´s leading online grocery retailer. She has 2 decades of experience in director level leadership roles within the people and talent arena. Astrid is a pioneer of the  employee experience as well as passionate about advocating for women in the workplace with a background in the start up and scale up climate. Oda have over 500 employees and recently hit unicorn status, so it’s a really exciting time of scale-up as Oda embarks upon a global expansion journey into Finland and Germany.

Astrid is a positive advocate of workplace diversity for understanding, accepting, and valuing differences between people as well as an ally for gender equality. She´s a regular speaker and contributor at conferences and summits across The Nordics, The UK and other parts of Europe.

Dominic Gorham

Guest Relations Manager at The Thief

Mr. Guest Relations himself, Dominic Gorham is a man who has carved out a niche for himself and perfected his craft. Of all the trendiest and luxurious places to visit and indulge in Oslo over the past 20 years, Dominic has been at the helm of a majority of them. A trusted partner of globally renowned artists, his availability often determines if and when International Stars come to Oslo. Dominic curates unforgettable, quality and rich experiences. His work ethic is unmatched and defines a standard of excellence above all others.

From a multi-ethnic background, he’s fluent in Norwegian, French and English. Dom comes from a large family and loves with a big heart. He’s fiercely loyal and his circle goes back to childhood friendships he nurtures to this day.

He is gracious, humble and a role model to many. He creates space where there are seemingly none, and holds the door open for countless others to pass through. If you are lucky enough to know him and call him a friend, then you will have a rich life.

It’s difficult to quantify a man like Dominic in words, he has to be experienced.

Nassima Dzair

CEO&Founder at InterBridge

Nassima Dzair is the founder and CEO of InterBridge, a social startup that educates youth into becoming impact agents, and provides companies and governments with Gen-Z insights.
She is a social innovator that is passionate about working for positive social impact and sustainable solutions. Her dedication is enabling the necassary changes for a more just and sustainable future.
As a global citizen, Nassima has traveled the world avidly, speaks five languages fluently, relates to different cultures and has acquired knowledge across disciplines.
She has a unique interdisciplinary background bridging health and peace including matters of global health, development, security, international conflict and human rights.
Nassima is also an accomplished public speaker, trainer and moderator. 

Frederikke Antonie Schmidt

Founder & Creative Director at Roccamore

Frederikke Antonie Schmidt has founded Roccamore with a mission to make more women stand strong and take their place in the world.

Roccamore makes beautiful high heels, with insoles that shape the feet to walk as anatomically correct as possible. Handmade in Italy and scientifically tested by Hvidovre Hospital.

Frederikke also sits on ByFounders Collective, the Board of Representatives for Kolding Design School and as Chairman of the government’s Restart Team for Fashion & Textile.

Melanie Coffee

PR & Media Relations Director at Crayon

Melanie Coffee is a communications executive focused on sharing the best stories to bring awareness to a cause, business or product.

She is an award-winning journalist with 20 years of editorial and journalistic planning, content development and management experience across both traditional and digital media platforms. She is currently the PR and Media Relations Director at Crayon, an innovation and IT services company that focuses on the power of technology to drive the greater good.

She’s passionate about diversity, equity and inclusion and is a Certified Scrum Master.