Jen with Inclusion Innovation in Action Award from Inclusion Leader Awards 2026

We left Jen asleep in her bed.  Hardly surprising as last night we celebrated her win in style – Inclusive Innovation in Action at the Voice At The Table Inclusion Leader Awards generously sponsored by Paul from Relove Technology – with animated chat and a glass of bubbly despite the hour before finally heading to our beds.  Malcolm and I didn’t leave particularly early but it’s been a full on couple of days in London where inclusion has reigned and Jen’s talent to network has shone through opening doors and possibilities and firing the imagination of those who heard and understood the enormity of her message – ‘my disability doesn’t define me.’

Rina, our gracious host and founder of Voice at the Table, welcomed all from multiple walks of life to the conference, Inclusion for Business Impact in the beautiful surroundings of 20 Cavendish Square, the headquarters of the Royal College of Nursing. Alongside SheCan Engineer and Insurance C Awareness Network she kindly welcomed DanceSyndrome as an event partner, the charity Jen, Malcolm and I co-founded 17 years ago.

It was a real privilege to find ourselves in a forum curated by others where inclusion was not only discussed and encouraged, but rather expected.  It was the glue that meant that those engaged in the business of gaming found they had synergies with those from care homes, technology recycling, …….. and dance!

The keynote speaker was Dame Dawn Childs DBE FREng, CEO of nLighten who cut her teeth in the military where she received leadership training second to none, but found that when she left and took her energies into the commercial sector that totally different leadership skills were required of her.  She now had to earn her right to lead the team and discovered the enormity of ‘appreciative employment’.  Of creating an atmosphere based on inclusion where every person within a company knows that they matter, where trust and respect are the order of the day, and every person knows they are valued and have the right to be heard. 

Three panels of business leaders shared what has worked for them, what hasn’t, and what they’re still struggling with. I was particularly taken by the comments of Portia Watkins around kindness and compassion; and one person, one decision, one community at a time.  Breakout rooms gave opportunities to engage in smaller groups, or not. Jen joined one and chose to sit the next opportunity out as she needed to navigate this conference like any other in a way that worked for her.  To anticipate engagement from 8am – 6pm would have been totally unrealistic but when in receipt of and feeling appropriately supported, Jen is empowered to be her own person and make good decisions for her.  Having said that, too many gluten free goodies will always cloud her judgement!

I cannot thank the fabulous people we met and connected with enough.  You were so full of energy and positivity to help support the only world I believe will serve society in the future, the one where every person is valued as their own person, where we all contribute to the whole with our unique assets be they talents or specific skills, time, funds, spreading the word of the art of the possible, volunteering, listening, energy – recognising that not every person is able to operate autonomously, that some of us need the building blocks to be created and a hand up in order that we can fly. Jen told us when she was 21, “I have the right to a life of my choosing. And so do you.” She’s right.

Thank you Rina, thank you to all your team, your delegates, and thank you for your generosity towards DanceSyndrome and to us as individuals, Jen, Malcolm and Sue. 

Today I am totally relieved that Malcolm and I chose to plough our own furrow.  We have never been able to contemplate life in any way other than inclusively in spite of the constant pressure from the ‘system’ to marginalise and persuade us that Jen would be better off in the parallel universe, in that segregated boxed world designed for no-one in particular, but as a place to send everyone who doesn’t fit the norm.

As Jen’s mum I can’t help but look on proudly and marvel as one of those declared ‘won’t amount to much’ now works the room far more effectively than either Malcolm or I ever will, joins in discussions where she has a strong viewpoint, contributes to feedback with original thinking, and in so doing is an accidental role model opening doors for others with learning disabilities and those on the margins of society rarely seen in such settings.

Why not?  If we truly were an inclusive society people like Jen would be seen and be present in countless organisations and environments.  Inclusion would be normalised.  Speaking from experience, they would be contributing innovative creative solutions the rest of us are unable to see to problems and challenges presenting in numerous arenas.  Voice at the Table and others involved in the incredibly important job of creating places for inclusion to thrive, be heard, and be acted on, would no longer be needed.  Job done.  Sadly society has seen fit to build blockages and barriers ensuring it won’t become a reality any time soon, not for decades anyway.  So much needs to be undone and dismantled.  So many resources have been squandered which could have been used differently and arguably more beneficially.

Jen, Malcolm and I are in a minority.  We are all living lives of our choice and contributing to society in ways that would never otherwise be possible.  Jen’s mantra is Dream, Believe, Achieve.  She is recognised and valued in a multitude of ways.  ‘I love my life’ was her quote coined last night.  This should be the norm for everyone regardless of perceived disability. 

We can’t change the world overnight, but by taking just one step at a time every single one of us can begin to make a difference.

So here is my question for everyone we met at Cavendish Square, and for you, reading this now: who are you missing? Look around your boardroom, your team, your next conference, your street. Who isn’t in the room, and what might they bring if they were?

Then take one step this week:

• Sign our manifesto and join the Crusade for Social Change: blackwells.biz/Crusade-for-Social-Change
• See how Powering Possibilities CIC and DanceSyndrome can support you to create change for good: blackwells.biz/support
• Be among the first to read Beyond Extraordinary: Who are you missing?, out later this month: blackwells.biz/book

Jen would tell you to Dream, Believe, Achieve. I’m asking you to start: one person, one decision, one community at a time.

“When you make space for extraordinary, extraordinary shows up.”

Sue Blackwell, Beyond Extraordinary: Who are you missing?

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DanceSyndrome and Sue and Malcolm Blackwell were also shortlisted for Inclusion Leader awards this year.