FANE GROUP ACCOUNTABILITY CHARTER 2024
The Fane Group is composed of Fane UK, Fane Australia, Fane Inc, Fane Speakers, Kontour, How To Academy and Love My Read. Our charter holds the whole Group accountable with specific areas of focus for each business.
We introduced our Accountability Charter in 2021 to be a driver of positive change within the arts and entertainment industry. From 2024, as we grow as a company and a team, our charter work will take a focused approach providing a framework for the Group’s efforts and ensuring that everyone is working towards a common goal with clarity and a shared sense of purpose. The focus will change year on year based on the evolving needs of the company or society, ensuring that we remain responsive to current challenges and opportunities. Setting a focus for the year encourages continuous learning and development – both internally and externally.
The choice of focus is decided by our employee-led Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Resource Group which consists of 6 employees from across the business including 2 senior representatives.
This year, the chosen focus is ACCESSIBILITY.
Accessibility definition: Making information, activities, and environments meaningful and usable for as many people as possible regardless of physical, mental, emotional, or any other restrictions. It’s about removing barriers and creating inclusive spaces and experiences for everyone, recognising and respecting the diversity of human abilities. It’s a legal requirement, a moral obligation and a fundamental human right.
Our focus on accessibility will involve enhancing accessibility in both our live & online events, supporting access to the creative arts industry, and fostering an accessible and inclusive workforce. Our commitments fall within three key pillars of the business: Audience Development, Creative Partnerships and Internal Practices.
Our Accountability Charter will include commitments aligned with our chosen focus alongside our core commitments which we are dedicated to continuously developing.
1. Audience Development
We are dedicated to ensuring that our cultural experiences are accessible to everyone. We strive towards constant improvements to our programming, marketing, and event production to engage with a broader and more diverse audience. Our pledge is to actively enhance the accessibility of our event programs, thereby expanding our outreach efforts and fostering a more inclusive and enriching environment.
By the end of 2024, we commit to:
#1 Reviewing and making strides towards updating all current marketing materials with a focus on having Fane’s social media accounts fully accessible by the end of the year. We will use the best practice guidelines set out by the Inklusion Guide – a booklet on how to make events accessible for disabled people of which Fane became an official sponsor in 2023. We will access specialist support on how to make devices/websites more accessible according to compliance status and accessibility regulations.
#2 Continuing to improve the accessibility of our events programme through our dedicated mailing list and proactively offering accessibility options for all live and online events, including:
· Moving our online programme from Vimeo to Driift – an award-winning platform for online events/livestreams. This will allow us to embed one language as closed captioning for the VOD and enable auto-generated live captions in English as standard for all online events. We recognise that auto-captions can be imprecise and we commit to continue to work on the accessibility of our online events where possible.
· Incorporating a BSL interpreter across all Fane events when requested. We will also provide Live Captioning and BSL interpretation by request on all events.
· Incorporating an 'accessibility' category into our UK venue database which counts over 225 sites. This will enable us to easily filter venues based on accessibility criteria, ensuring that we can match talent with venues that best meet their requirements as well as improving audience outreach.
· Using our most inclusive show ‘ADHD Love’ as a case study for other events and publishing our learnings from the review in our Charter report, identifying how these have impacted on the wider work of the group.
#3 Continuing to work with partner organisations to offer free and discounted tickets, committing to establishing 1 new free ticket partnership that aligns with the theme of accessibility.
#4 Engaging with x2 disability advocacy groups and community organisations to gain insights and perspectives on how to better serve diverse audiences.
2. Creative Partnerships
We actively seek out collaborations with creative partners who align with our commitments. This includes venues, publishers, community groups, charities, and outreach organisations. We particularly want to engage with those that help to amplify the voices, stories, and experiences of all marginalised groups and will proactively and sensitively seek out more diverse stories for our programme.
By the end of 2024, we commit to:
#1 Alongside our War Child partnership, working with another charity in line with our chosen focus. Following our team survey and consultations at the beginning of 2024, our charity for 2024 is Shannon Trust – a charity that helps thousands of people in prison to learn to read, so that they can build a different, more positive future for themselves and their families.
Our partnership aims to raise awareness for Shannon Trust, an organisation that may not be familiar to many. All donations collected will support Shannon Trust's literacy and numeracy programs in both prison and the community by financing resources like manuals and activity books, mentor and volunteer training, and on-the-ground program delivery. We will:
- Implement a £1 donation option at point of purchase across all Fane live and online events put on sale between May and December 2024.
- x1 B2C comms around our partnership in our Friends of Fane newsletter.
- x1 partnership announcement post across Fane Group social media.
- x1 internal Lunch & Learn session.
- x1 team fundraising event.
#2 Hosting x5 live events at Brixton House throughout the year – including two events that have already taken place in Q1. Our programming at Brixton House focuses specifically on platforming authors and artists from diverse backgrounds to continue reaching and increasing our diverse audiences. Our shows this year so far have included a panel event in partnership with Dark Matter celebrating Black Trans and Queer voices and a panel event with Kevin Morosky, Julie Adenuga and Africa Daley-Clarke celebrating the publication of Kevin’s book Black Women Always
#3 Securing x1 additional venue partnership in the North of England to expand audience access to our events outside of the London region.
3. Internal Practices
We are dedicated to developing work practices and policies that promote an inclusive and accessible workforce where individuals of all abilities can thrive. We believe in equal opportunities in employment and enabling access and insight into the creative industry.
By the end of 2024, we commit to:
#1 Offering x2 work placement opportunities to young people/students for in-person experience and insight into our work:
- x1 week in April with Speakers for Schools.
- x1 day in October with ALP Parkview Academy: an Ofsted registered Independent Special Needs School for individuals excluded from the workplace because of access needs.
#2 Continuing to support inclusive hiring practices by hosting x1 compulsory diversity awareness session for all hiring managers, including disability awareness, to help foster understanding and empathy towards people with different abilities.
#3 Launching our new 'Culture & Wellbeing' hub which hosts our calendar of Celebrations & Awareness Events along with all our company policies in one easy-to-navigate space.
#4 Making our company-wide meetings x2/year more attendee-friendly, and setting standards to ensure that they are accessible and inclusive internal meetings. We will:
- Circulate clear agendas ahead of any meeting.
- Share a recording of the event for those unable to attend.
- Create a sensory-friendly meeting environment by adjusting lighting, noise levels and seating arrangements.
- Use a mix of verbal, visual and written formats, use easy-to-read fonts and avoid white backgrounds on presentations.
- Provide hand-outs when required.
#5 Becoming a Level 1: Disability Confident Employer : a Government scheme that helps employers remove barriers and ensure that disabled people and those with long-term health conditions are fully supported to fulfil their potential in the workplace and realise their career aspirations. The scheme has 3 levels, with different actions and steps to take at each level.
#6 Implementing a new Fane Group Policy Handbook with:
- Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Policies around supporting equal opportunities (including menopause, disability, transgender and non-binary employees, neurodiversity and gender diversity)
- Flexible Working policies with hybrid and remote working, time off in lieu, statutory requests for flexible working and company equipment for home working.
- A Mental Wellbeing Day and a Holi-Birthday to be taken once a year
- Enhanced maternity and paternity leave
#7 Allocating a £250 employee budget towards remote set-up to ensure employees can access everything they need when working from home.
CORE COMMITMENTS
In addition to our focused commitments, we commit to continuously review and enhance our core commitments in key areas such as Equity, Diversity and Inclusion; Sustainability and Employee Wellbeing.
By the end of 2024, we commit to:
#1 Maintaining the amount of ethnically diverse talent within our events programme – 25% for live events and 40% for online events. We will implement a detailed reporting system to track talent engagement across multiple protected characteristics.
#2 Continuing our partnership with War Child through:
- x 1 Fane client charity fundraiser event
- x 1 internal Lunch & Learn session to raise awareness about the work War Child does and how everyone can get involved
- Having Fane representation at War Child’s events
#3 Supporting employee wellbeing and mental health by continuously reviewing our Employee Benefits Booklet including:
· Hosting x4 Employee Wellbeing Seminars
· Allocating an employee wellbeing allowance of £40/month to be used for anything that enhances the employee’s wellbeing. Some examples include:
- A gym membership, fitness classes or personal training, or sporting equipment/clothing, learning a new skill, any other (non-alcohol based) experience related to boosting wellbeing – massages, Treatwell or spa vouchers, treating themselves to flowers, candles, books or a night away somewhere.
· Supporting Clemmie as Wellbeing Champion and Culture Manager, giving her access to tools and resources to grow her role including x1 Mental Health First Aid Training and x1 access to the Diversity & Inclusion - Actions, Results & Impact Conference hosted by Global Impact Conferences (Sept 2024)
· A dedicated EAP Service with Spectrum Life
· Resetting our employee resource groups:
- Equity, Diversity and Inclusion: discuss, challenge and shape our company’s ED&I strategy and commitments. Meetings 1/month.
- Sustainability: discuss how to make the office a climate-positive workforce. Meetings 1/month.
- Social: drive extracurricular activities to help support our work/life balance and wellbeing, foster employee connectivity and unwind together. Meetings 1 every 6 weeks.
#5 Implementing a quarterly Hall of Fane recognition scheme giving employees the chance to give a colleague the recognition they deserve. All nominations are shared with the wider group and the winner will receive a £100 voucher.
#6 Providing introductory EDI training to all employees within the first 6 months of employment as well as next level training every year.
#7 Considering our environmental impact at every level in our decision making, aiming to meet high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability. In February, we engaged Sustainability Consultancy team, Eight Versa to carry out a carbon footprint baseline, aid in the design of a carbon reduction plan and to certify the data to Natural Carbon solutions standards. The project consists of three phases – all of which we commit to have finalised by the end of 2024.
Phase 1: Carbon Footprint Calculation: This phase will focus on reviewing the existing environmental performance and policies in place across the Fane Group, in addition to understanding our current emissions through the calculation of a carbon footprint baseline.
Phase 2: Carbon Reduction Plan: Considering the results of the carbon footprint baseline assessment, a dedicated Sustainability Strategy will be developed for the Fane Group. This strategy will focus on identifying opportunities for carbon reduction and will consider feasible reduction targets that could be developed across the group.
Phase 3: Natural Carbon Solutions Certification of our Environmental Consultancy: Natural Carbon Solutions will independently verify the results of the carbon footprint calculation and associated analysis to confirm that the Fane Group has achieved a Natural Carbon Solutions certification and label for the reporting year.
Fane Accountability Charter Reports
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