Sarah Saem Bergmann is a dedicated trainer who develops creative and sustainable concepts for collaboration. Her focus is on designing processes that emerge from within the team itself: by making strengths and potential visible and encouraging individuals to advocate for their own needs. Key themes in her work include resilience, self-care, and awareness of one’s own privileges. Since founding Act Aware e.V. in 2020, she has been committed to creating discrimination-free spaces and supporting FLINTA* empowerment. Since 2022, Sarah has been deeply involved as a New Work Coach, embedding systemic awareness within teams to foster a better working environment.

Sandra Boertien has firsthand experience in (sudden) late deafness/hard of hearing and is an enquirer and speaker in the area of accessibility and inclusion of the deaf and hard of hearing. She also organizes events such as World Deaf Day and the International Congress for Sudden and late Deaf. Among other projects of the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science and organisations such as HandicapNL and Possibilize, she works actively to make festivals and the arts and culture sector more accessible.

Mika Christoffersen is Head of DEI (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion) and behaviour at the Roskilde Festival group, working closely with safety to ensure that a more diverse group of people can participate and thrive at live events and festivals. Mika is the lead on Roskilde’s social sustainability work focused diversity leadership and equal access, as well as doing consultancy work with other festivals, venues and live-events to ensure the inclusion and well-being of young people in the cultural industries. Mika Christoffersen has a background in behavioural design, event management and teaching leadership and communications.

OHS Technician in Fujitsu. Accessibility Technician in “Music for all Foundation”. Embracing diversity, committed to making a difference with enthusiasm and teamwork and working towards a more inclusive future.

Founder of Possibilize and Revelland. Speaker, author, consultant and supporter of Creative Accessibility: accessibility in such a way that multiple groups benefit. Possibilize is a platform for projects in which a limitation is a source of inspiration, like Sencity: an international multisensorial music festival for deaf and hearing people. Revelland is a network of music industry professionals, leading festivals, passionate musicians, cultural experts, branch organisations and groups representing the audiences to which Revelland aims to create impact for: deaf people and people with intellectual disabilities. Revelland is determined to make performing arts both more immersive AND inclusive.

Duduzile Mathonsi is a vibrant and passionate South African artist with 13 years of experience in the arts and media industry, excelling as a freelancer in acting, writing, producing, and public speaking. She holds a national diploma in Language Practice (Linguistics) from Tshwane University of Technology and a Bachelor’s Degree in Acting from Østfold University College. As a certified journalist, Duduzile has developed strong storytelling and communication skills, beginning her career in radio and expanding into TV, theatre production, and content creation. Her work has garnered international exposure, including speech-writing opportunities and nominations for her radio shows. A self-starter and collaborative team player, she has created thought-provoking theatre pieces and secured project funding through her writing.

Holger is one of Europe’s leading networkers in the music festival branch. Among other topics, he has a special focus on sustainability and social responsibility for festivals and events. Holger is General Secretary of YOUROPE and leads the pan-European think-tank GO Group (Green Operations Europe) that focuses on sustainability-related and environmental issues at events. Holger looks back at 30 years working at festivals, including the legendary RhEINKULTUR and Bizarre Festival. Today, Holger is a booker at DAS FEST in Karlsruhe.

Marie Valentin Beck is an experienced advisor specializing in DEI and is the owner of the boutique consultancy firm Bureau M. She helps companies and organizations develop diversity strategies and inclusive cultures.

Katharina Weber is lead project manager at Bonn Promotion Department (BN*PD) and is as such also heavily involved in YOUROPE – The European Festival Association. In all of the various projects the association is a part of, Katharina works on creating tools and guidelines that help festivals become fit for the future. Her most recent key topics are event sustainability and diverse festivals. Before joining the music industry, she had worked as a journalist at newspapers and radio stations in Germany for seven years. She received degrees in English Studies and Applied Linguistics from the University of Bonn, Germany.