This fourth iteration of our Sustainable Enterprise London Festival, the first year was in lockdown and  we were feeling helpless as we looked at enterprises struggling as their ways of generating income were challenged.  We also knew that ways of undertaking enterprise had to change, to put the planet at the centre and  to consider what security and sustainability really means. During that period we also knew that we needed to look at Inclusion, Equity and  Diversity, to consider how to decolonise business modelling and  to work actively to be inclusive in our practices. The Festival was a chance to explore these issues publicly, and  to use the privilege of the university to offer support to people beyond our students and  staff, and  to bring knowledge in to our learning communities differently too.

To the first two sessions – so excited that Diane Louise Jordan, tv presenter, first Black presenter for Blue Peter and  one of the most tenacious, gentle activists we’ve met, is our first speaker. She will be in conversation with us, giving us insight in to the motivation for and  process of Making of Black Britain, her oral history project. This project marks the 1948 British Nationality Act and  explores the rich and  complex making of Black Britain.

In the afternoon, Alice Whiteley let’s us in to the inspiration for her brand: Yawn. A sustainably focused nightwear brand, that encouraged us to celebrate rest and relaxation. She will let us know about her values, approach and  challenges of running a fashion brand.

Adrian De La Court & Siân Prime