BLAZE INCLUSION
AWARDS 2022

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What are The Blaze Inclusion Awards

The Blaze Awards celebrate and illuminate trailblazers – individuals and organizations –  who actively and passionately uplift Diversity, Inclusion, Equity and Belonging (DEIB) initiatives in their workspaces, communities and society overall. With a focus on the Nordic region, the Blaze Awards highlight DEIB champions in each country and recognise outstanding individuals and organisations whose practices shine within and beyond the Nordics.  

Why does it matter

Blaze Inclusion Awards (BIA) was initiated when Diversify identified a need to be aware of and highlight people and companies that are actively working towards an equitable and inclusive society. In our experience, these people and their work do not often get the recognition they deserve.

Consequently, we decided to empower and celebrate the growing diverse community of people across the Nordics who authentically champion Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) within their communities and workplace. 

BIA also aims to raise awareness about the importance and benefits of implementing intentional and measurable DEIB Strategies across all social and professional structures. To date, DEIB is still considered as a “nice-to-have”, instead of a “need-to-have” in companies and communities across the Nordics. We are on a mission to change this.

 

BIA reflects our relentless commitment and drives to create an equitable society, where every person, irrespective of their race, gender, ethnicity, religion, nationality, disability, socioeconomic status, identity and sexual orientation feels seen, heard and empowered to thrive.

 

Furthermore, BIA recognises that performative DEIB work is harmful and thus, we must collectively focus on creating and implementing DEIB initiatives that are intentional, actionable, measurable and impactful.

BIA will identify, center and celebrate the individuals and organizations who are doing the work across the public and private sectors.

Nominees and winners will have the unique opportunity to share their stories, experiences, policies and partnerships that have increased diversity, promoted equity and advanced full inclusion. Thus, they will serve as an inspiration to the community and society at large.

DENMARK

FINLAND

SWEDEN

ICELAND

NORWAY

Timeline for the Blaze Inclusion Awards

Nominations begin
on 16th of February 2022

Nominations began

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Categories

The Blaze Awards Call for Entries is now open. 
Below is a list of the 2021 CATEGORIES & DEFINITIONS for all six category types.

1

DEIB Practitioner

An individual who has demonstrated an outstanding commitment and proactiveness in the DEIB field in the past year.

2

Diversity, Inclusion, Community Engagement

An organisation that works to externally advance equality and equity on gender, race, ethnicity, disability inclusion, sexual orientation, and/or religion within society. A catalyst for change.

3

Diverse/Inclusive Workplace

A truly diverse workplace, where there is  representation across all company functions. Internally, staff members thrive, have equitable opportunities, are included and valued as they are.

4

Sustainability, Climate and Environmental Protection

An individual/company who/that actively works or advocates for climate and environmental protection. This organization or individual understands that there is a clear link between diversity, inclusion and climate protection.

5

Representation in the Media

Individual or a media house who/that continuously engages in diverse and inclusive thought-leadership. Here, representation of diverse people and stories matters.

6

Innovation & Tech

A company/start-up/scale-up with a product or service that is diverse, inclusive, innovative and responsible.

How is it structured

Eligibility requirements

Nominated individuals and/or companies must be based and operate in the specific country they are nominated in. Upon nomination Diversify will carry out a background check of the operations and achievements of the nominees within the DEIB field. In case of finding no trace of activities within the DEIB field, the nominees will be disqualified.

 

Organization award overview

We accept nominations of individuals and/or companies/organisations from all sectors (public, private, non-profit) who/which actively and passionately advocate for and lead the way for a more diverse, inclusive, and equitable society and workspaces.

The main category – The Trailblazer (DEIB), covers a broad spectrum of fields and topics to ensure that anyone who has been passionately fostering DEIB within all fields can be celebrated. The rest of the categories focus on specific themes, fields, or engagements, such as community engagement, workplace inclusion, environmental protection, media representation, and inclusive innovation.

Process

16th of February – 1st Panel Discussion “The state of diversity and inclusion in the Nordics”

16th of February – 30th of March  –  Nominations period within each country;

23rd of March  –  2nd Panel Discussion;

13th of April  –  Top 6 nominees in each category within the country announced;

13th of March – 25th of May National voting period;

18th of May  –  3rd Panel Discussion;

1st of June  –  Country specific Winners announced;

22nd of June – 3rd of August  –  Regional Voting period;

Announcement The Blaze Awards winners at The Annual

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Kimya Sajjadi

Founder of Big Enough Global

Kimiya Sajjadi is the founder of Big Enough Global. She has been nominated as one of Dagens Naeringsliv´s 30 under 30 leaderstars. She studied law for 2.5 years before she decided to be a full time entrepreneur. Today she also serves as a board member for to companies, and works as a columnist for E24. She also helps companies in the private and public sector with their diversity and inclusion strategies.

Chi Lee (They/Them)

DEIB Advocate

Chi Lee has a Masters Degree in Museum Studies from Harvard University.  For over two decades, they have been a freelance consultant for design/build studios working with global retail companies. Chi previously worked as a liaison and organizer for Arts for Humanity, a non-profit bringing the arts to underserved communities. They have also served as a translator for Four Seas Group, a Chinese-American non-profit increasing accessibility to the performance arts for local communities.

Anthony Kalinde

Stand-up Comedian

Born in Malawi and raised in 7 countries by the time he was 21, Anthony Kalinde has lived, studied and worked in different countries across several continents, giving him a uniquely international perspective. By day, Tony is an IT consultant. But don’t let that fool you! His fast, intense, observational wit is anything but dry.

Numa Edema

Singer-Songwriter

Numa Edema is a Norwegian singer-songwriter.  He made a mark as one of the greatest and most innovative soul artists in Norway. With his hit Delta Man, he charmed the entire country with folk-inspired soul. He has released 2 albums and 1 EP. He has played for Nobel Peace Prize winners and toured the United States with Stephen Stills and Judy Collins. He has also performed at Lindmo, TV-aksjonen and during the medal ceremony for the 2016 World Biathlon Championships at Universitetsplassen in Oslo.

 
 

Sunniva Lundh

Singer and Composer

Sunniva Lundh is an artist, composer and singer. She released her debut album Contradictions in January 2019 with excellent reviews and a 5/6. Her album was named one of the best albums in 2019 by thewilhelmsens.com. Sunniva Lundh has been featured on a number of Spotify playlists, including Nu-Blu, New Music. While her first album had a more experimental sound, her second album, Fall from Grace, is slightly more down to earth and acoustic.