On Wednesday, 17th September, I had the pleasure of attending the BYP (Black Young Professionals Network) event in London, which focused on “Building Influence and Securing Opportunities.” The event brought together inspiring leaders and changemakers to explore how we can use our voice, skills, and networks to create meaningful impact in our professional and personal lives.
The session featured powerful talks from Jermaine Craig, Founder of Kwanda; Leory Logan, one of the founding members of the Black Police Association; and Alex Adebayo Asomuyide, Director and Head of UX and Design in AI. Each speaker shared honest and empowering insights on resilience, representation, and the importance of staying true to your values while striving for growth and influence.
For me, the event served as an important reminder of why CSSC’s ongoing commitment to equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) matters. Building influence isn’t just about personal success—it’s about creating spaces where everyone has access to opportunities and feels empowered to contribute.
At CSSC, we continue to reflect these values through our EDI initiatives, ensuring that our workplace, membership, and community engagement truly represent the diverse communities we serve. We have many exciting opportunities underway, including updating our website to make it more user-friendly, delivering diverse events, developing a Partnership Charter to ensure all current partners align with our policies, and creating an EDI Events Pack to make sure all events are fully accessible and inclusive. Through these initiatives, we are embedding equity, diversity, and inclusion at the heart of CSSC and the communities we support.
Attending events like BYP reinforces the importance of collaboration, representation, and allyship in driving long-term cultural change. It was inspiring to hear how leaders across sectors are shaping a more inclusive future—and it motivates me to bring that same energy and learning back to our work at CSSC.
Take a look at the speeches below for an insight into the event and the inspiring stories the speakers had to share