Forum50 celebrates IIRSM's 50th anniversary

Forum50, which took place at the Sheraton Grand London Park Lane on 20 May, represented an unparalleled opportunity to reflect on past achievements and celebrate our present community, as well as a chance to look further into what we need to do now for a safe, inclusive and sustainable future.

IIRSM President Rosie Russell led an inspiring discussion on ‘Privilege in safety and risk’ with Hugh Maxwell of Maxwell Safety Ltd and Katherine Evans, Founder of Bold as Brass. Katherine said she liked “pointing out problems” so that she could attempt to fix them but felt we live in a society that “likes to blame”. She called for people to create a “listen up as well as a speak-up culture” and said it was vital for organisations to make their workplace culture mentally safe in addition to physically safe.

The panel called for people to “own their privilege and power and use it for good”. 

In the second session, IIRSM Trustee Anna Keen put the question ‘Is sustainability the same as resilience?’ to our guest panellists and audience. Anna said the session was an “opportunity to take a step back and think more holistically” about the topic.

Ed Woolcock and Rich Phillips from Marsh discussed how organisations were increasingly asked to report on their own sustainability and resilience as well as on their impact on the world outside the organisation. They said there was value in different teams coming together to overcome tensions between the two areas. 

Intuety's Peter Thomas added that as safety and risk managers, “it is our professional responsibility to keep up with the pace of change”, which is moving increasingly rapidly. 

IIRSM Chief Executive Phillip Pearson, Trustees Ruth Denyer, John Pares and Anna Keen and President Rosie Russell took pleasure in giving thanks to those who share the Institute’s values and mission and provide valuable insights and collaboration that benefit our communities. 

Thanks in particular to Greg Davies, Steve Fowler, Tony Hayward, Hugh Maxwell and Melissa Fazackerley. 

Thanks to those who work on behalf of our international communities, Leo Dote, Matthew Cox and Branco Dennenberg.

Thanks to our partners and supporters, including SureTeam, Ashview Consultants and Workplace Options. 

Phillip also highlighted our appreciation for Ruth Denyer, Peter Hall, Anne Mallory and Connect Communications. 

Thanks to the headline sponsors of Forum50, Crowd Safety and the Pink Bows Foundation, and supporting sponsors Marsh and Workplace Options.