A Gathering of Global Changemakers: UnderOne Festival 2025
The 2025 UnderOne Festival united changemakers, creatives, and advocates for a one-day gathering in the heart of London. Hosted at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business London Conference Centre, just steps from St Paul’s Cathedral, the venue provided a modern, globally respected setting for insight, reflection, and momentum.
Now in its second year, the festival was supported once again by Clyde & Co, whose commitment grew from Diamond Sponsor in 2024 to Headline Sponsor in 2025. Their continued partnership, along with a strong network of speakers, exhibitors, and returning attendees, helped make this year’s gathering even more ambitious, inclusive and impactful. The sense of community was unmistakable: hugs were exchanged, conversations picked up where they left off, and new connections formed with ease. People weren’t just networking; they were celebrating each other and reaffirming a shared commitment to progress.
“You could feel the heartbeat of this community, strong, present, and growing. UnderOne Festival isn’t just an event, it’s a space where people bring their whole selves and walk away feeling seen and re-energised, ready to take action and build new connections.” — Corina Pascal, Programme Director
A Snapshot of UnderOne Festival 2025
This year’s festival featured over 20 sessions, including keynotes, panels, interactive workshops, wellness activities, live poetry, and hands-on experiences. Among the immersive highlights was the return of Equally Yours by AKD Solutions, a game-based learning experience that challenges thinking through play. New additions included the Inclusion Escape Room by Vivida, inviting participants to step into others’ shoes, and Improv for Inclusion led by Christina Murdock and Monica Gaga, using theatre-based exercises to spark empathy and quick connection.
The programme included over 30 speakers and facilitators sharing bold ideas and lived experiences. Several 2024 UnderOne Award winners returned to lead sessions, offering their Blueprint for Success through practical, high-impact case studies, including Briony Grogan (Harnessing Neurodiversity to Transform Workplace Culture), Yasmine Alani (Embedding Inclusion and Sustainability into Company DNA), and Jon Hering (Blueprint for Driving Social Mobility in Your Organisation). The day also featured a moving performance by poet Anisa Butt, whose words set a powerful tone for reflection and connection.
The festival welcomed 10 underestimated exhibitors, many returning from last year, and spotlighted five underestimated founders through the InclusionX LIVE PITCH powered by Diversity X VC. Respondents rated the experience 8 out of 10 or higher, with 100% saying they would recommend it to a colleague.
Alan Holmes, Head of Diversity and Inclusion at Clyde & Co, shared his thoughts on the event, stating,
“The UnderOne Festival continues to grow as a dynamic and purposeful space for learning, connection, and collective action. With its uniquely immersive and creative approach, the event once again demonstrated why it’s such an important platform for driving meaningful conversations and progress on inclusion. We were proud to support it as headline partner and to stand alongside so many committed changemakers.”
Insights and Key Takeaways
One of the most compelling moments of the festival was the opening fireside chat between Alan Holmes, Head of Diversity and Inclusion at Clyde & Co, and speaker and coach Frederick Afrifa. Together, they unpacked what real DEI impact looks like, urging organisations to move beyond surface-level gestures toward deep integration across operations, talent pipelines, and client engagement. Alan spotlighted Lifeworks, Clyde & Co’s six-month paid parental leave policy, as a business-backed case for equity done well. Both speakers stressed the importance of tailoring DEI messaging to meet people where they are, especially when business drivers outweigh moral arguments.
The session ended with a powerful reminder: DEI is cyclical, often politicised, and always evolving, but the work remains essential.
“We’ve been here before, and we’ll be here again. The key is to stay grounded, stay strategic, and use communities like this one to keep going.” — Alan Holmes, Head of Diversity and Inclusion, Clyde & Co
Other sessions explored the emotional resilience needed to sustain DEI in today’s climate. In Beyond the Backlash, speakers from Ogilvy, Crowe UK, Capgemini, and The Inclusive Experience Group reflected on the pressures of cultural change and the leadership needed to maintain momentum in the face of resistance. In The Hidden Toll, Emily Foster (The Third Culture) and Michael Adu (The London Stress Centre) shared their experiences navigating burnout, boundary-setting, and the emotional labour often carried by DEI practitioners. Together, these sessions highlighted that DEI sustainability isn’t just strategic; it requires care, courage, and internal structures that support the people doing the work.
The evolving role of Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) also featured prominently. In Building High-Impact ERGs, delegates gained practical insights into how small shifts in language, sponsorship, and measurement can lead to long-term impact. Everywhen, formerly Ardonagh Advisory Group and a 2024 Award winner, shared how their ERG structure evolved to prioritise sustainability, intersectionality, and results that resonate across the business. ERG Systems that Scale brought together voices from Novartis, Morgan Stanley, and RICS to explore how ERGs can inform policy, shape decision-making, and influence company-wide strategies. Across both sessions, the message was clear: ERGs, when properly supported, can be engines for real change, not just community.
Breaking Barriers with Carla Antonelli
The festival closed with one of its most powerful sessions of the day, a bilingual session with Carla Antonelli, Spain’s first openly transgender parliamentarian, in conversation with Francisco Gallego, Global Inclusion and Diversity Manager at Expedia Group (Spain). Carla reflected on her decades-long fight for trans rights in Spain. Her message was clear:
“No one gives you rights. You fight for them. You take them.”
Carla’s personal journey, steeped in activism and resilience, reminded us that visibility matters, language has power, and the struggle for inclusion is universal. Her presence was a call to keep pushing boundaries, political, cultural and personal, and to ensure that progress is not only defended but advanced, everywhere.
Looking Ahead
As the festival transitioned into an informal drinks reception, the energy didn’t fade. It evolved. Conversations deepened, ideas sparked, and commitments were made to carry the day’s momentum forward. For many, it wasn’t just a moment to unwind but a space to reflect, reconnect, and envision what comes next.
Across the day, attendees called for bolder leadership, greater transparency, and long-term commitment to equity that stretches far beyond event spaces. This year wasn’t a starting point, but a step forward. As one delegate put it, “You could feel we were part of something building, not just attending.”
A Call to Action
The journey continues, and it needs all of us. We invite you to explore the upcoming UnderOne Manifesto Paper, shaped by your voices, your feedback, and the insights shared throughout the day. It is not just a summary. It is a springboard for change.
Whether you’re leading system-wide strategy or shifting culture one conversation at a time, your work matters, let’s keep pushing forward with purpose, with people, and with each other.
Thank you for being part of this story.
