Albergo Etico Roma is a socially responsible, non-profit hotel located in Rome. The hotel is part of the Albergo Etico network and the second of its kind in Italy, focusing on promoting social inclusion and accessibility. The hotel employs 20 individuals of which 12 have a disability.
The Rijksmuseum is the national museum of the Netherlands. With a collection of over 1 million objects, the museum tells the story of 800 years of Dutch history by displaying 8,000 objects at any given time including paintings, sculptures, and historical artifacts. The Rijksmuseum reopened in 2013 after a ten-year renovation. It currently employs approximately over 750 people.
Trigon Hotels employs 300 employees to run three properties in Cork, Ireland, and has been in business since 2009. Their services include accommodation, dining and conference facilities for both leisure and corporate guests.
Electra Hotels and Resorts has been in the hospitality industry for over 60 years with six properties throughout Greece. The organisation is committed to delivering exceptional guest experiences while positively contributing to local communities. Thirty years ago, Margarita Guarantee introduced Greece’s first job-matching platform specifically designed for individuals with intellectual disabilities, helping them secure employment by connecting them with potential employers.
Associação Pão a Pão (Bread by Bread) is an NGO that uses food to provide cultural connections and support the integration of refugees and migrants in Portugal.The organisation operates a restaurant and offers catering services for events and workshops.
There is much to discuss about diversity in the workplace, specially as demographics shifts, technology, and more accessible educational opportunities have provided organisations with an unprecedented access to a diverse and talented workforce. Reports suggest that 69% of executives consider diversity not only beneficial for employee productivity and motivation, but also a top priority for developing a positive workplace culture. Diversity refers to what makes individuals unique based on specific characteristics such as gender, age, religion, ethnicity, disability and sexual orientation, as well as differences in personalities, skills set, education, life experiences, and beliefs. Organisations that value diversity recognise, respect, and value these distinct qualities by creating a sense of belonging where employees can be themselves. They also challenge biases around marginalised groups and ensure equal opportunities, allowing all employees to thrive in the workplace. This is achieved by implementing both policies and practices that go beyond legal compliance and prioritise employee wellbeing. As more organisations commit to embracing a culture of diversity, it is worth reflecting on why they are doing so and how measuring its impact can be used to drive continuous improvement.
According to the WHO, approximately 16% of the world’s population- about 1.3 billion people- live with a disability. The Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) defines this as ‘having a long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairment that – in interaction with the environment – hinders one’s participation in society on an equal basis with others.’ Simply put, having a lasting condition that makes it harder to participate equally in a community. As the planet’s largest minority group, high relevance is attributed to creating an inclusive environment for this vulnerable population. People with disabilities are at risk of lower levels of employment, resulting in higher poverty rates. For these reasons, different organisations are expanding their efforts to promote the full integration of people with disabilities into society. For example, the CRPD successfully got 185 countries to work toward increasing the awareness of disability-inclusive employment by advocating for their rights within the work marketplace. These international efforts highlight the importance of building a supportive and empowering space where people with disabilities can economically and socially thrive.
A new training model is developed in industry collaboration to respond to the labour shortage and ensure the integration of foreign employees in the Lappish tourism and restaurant industry.
The Mindful Kitchen is an innovative project focusing on the wellbeing of chefs, with training aimed at Culinary Arts 1st and 2nd-year students at the School of Culinary Arts and Food Technology at Technological University Dublin. The project, through applied learning modules, aims to bring awareness to the importance of building a positive and respectful work environment in kitchens, as well as generating a creative space for students and developing skills related to such self-awareness, relationship building, communication skills, creativity, social gastronomy and food sustainability.
The Hotel Principe di Savoia, known more simply as Principe, is a historic Milanese hotel. When the hotel first opened as ‘Principe e Savoia’ in 1927, its chosen square was on the outskirts of the ‘heart’ of Milan, but the location near to Stazione Centrale made it perfectly positioned for burgeoning business tycoons of the era. The hotel’s central location is within easy walking distance of the newly built Porta Nuova district, with its breathtaking architecture, and the art-loving Brera district’s bustling galleries and art studios. In 2003 the hotel was acquired by the Dorchester Collection, a London-based company wholly owned by the Brunei Investment Agency.