Last month, Saving Grace Events helped to bring She Leads for Legacy’s first in-person conference to life. Aimed at black female professionals and allies, this purposeful event celebrated Black History Month and was all about making meaningful change.

 

ABOUT SHE LEADS FOR LEGACY

Founded by a mother and daughter team, Sharon and Afiya Amesu, She Leads for Legacy is a social enterprise, championing the acceleration of Black female professionals to reach senior leadership and Board level roles within the workplace and across their communities.

 

THE BRIEF

She Leads for Legacy wanted to explore how, as individuals and organisations, we can better advance the equality agenda and create more diverse and inclusive workplaces.

The one-day conference was to include a mixture of plenary and masterclass sessions, exploring how we can use our voice, optimise self-care, and be inspired by the work of both Black women and Allies across the UK. The themes were education, interaction, enablement, support, and celebration.

 

OUR SOLUTION TO THE BRIEF

To begin with, we reflected on the brand and personality of She Leads for Legacy’s co-founders: inclusive, professional and cultural. We also knew that we wanted to design an informative and educational experience for ticket holders.

This event meant a lot to the Saving Grace Events team and particularly our Founder Rebecca, who is from mixed heritage herself and feels passionately about supporting black leaders. Proud to be part of this conference, we wanted to create something that would be highly engaging and immersive. We also wanted to impress all those attending with a stylish and slick venue.

Eight months in the planning, Saving Grace Events championed the design and management of every element from start to finish. This included arranging the venue, handling all of the audio and visual production for the day, plus managing all of the speakers, content, production, entertainment, goody bags, food & beverage, sponsors, staffing, and resourcing.

Two women stand at a table with coffee cups and pastries. One pours coffee whilst the other holds a sheet of paper. People and plants are visible in the background.
Two women in matching bright red dresses speak to an audience seated on tiered steps, some of whom are watching attentively or taking notes. The setting appears to be an indoor event or presentation.
A group of people sit closely together in an auditorium. Two women in the front row are engaged in conversation, smiling and holding drinks, whilst others around them listen or chat. Warm, indoor lighting fills the space.

       

 

THE EVENT LOOK & FEEL

The venue of choice was Bloc in Manchester, which is a very modern and purposeful building, with breakout spaces, meeting rooms, and lots of greenery. A ‘New York’ type setting created a dynamic but relaxed atmosphere.

When creating this structured but informal event, we made sure to incorporate She Leads for Legacy’s branding across various mediums, including branding throughout the site. One key theme was embracing black culture, especially weaving in female, black history. The event programme was based on To Kill a Mockingbird, for this reason.  We also named the breakout session rooms after inspirational black women, as well as having branded cards of conversations, with topics to help get guests talking and mingling during break times.

A group of singers performs energetically on stage before an engaged audience seated on stairs, while someone in the crowd records the event on a mobile phone.
A sign reading The Tree of Knowledge sits beside a decorative tree with purple flowers, an orange sofa, and a chair. A mesh basket and brochures are on a small round table.
A woman stands in front of a large conference schedule board titled Programme for the Day, reading the event agenda. Shelves with books and decor are visible in the background.

       

Throughout the day, there were four workshops in total, based on the theme of empowerment. This included ‘Black Girl Finance’, ‘Power up your Career’, ‘Bold Self-Care’, and ‘Make Yourself a Little Bit Famous’, as well as inspirational panel discussions.

Other elements included having tasty food from Thrive, plus fresh pastries and cakes from black, female-owned businesses, like Bluestrings Bakery. To get guests up dancing, we had DJ Mello providing music during the post-event reception, and AMC Gospel Choir singing after lunch. In addition to this, we had a tree of knowledge, with cards and ribbons to write advice on for future female black leaders. This will be transformed into a book.

Sounds like a pretty unforgettable event, right? We had the whole event captured with videography and photography, just to make sure!

EVENT HIGHLIGHTS

The best thing about the event for us was the atmosphere and level of energy. The audience were really engaged and up for a great day, and they seemed to really resonate with all elements. We think a lot of value was packed into the day, and we were delighted to receive such positive feedback from the client and guests. Bring on next year’s conference!

Watch the video testimonial below!

 

Are you looking to deliver a conference with purpose and impact? Get in touch to see how we can help bring your event vision to life.