Why Queer Confabs Matter & What We Learned From Organizing EUROUT 2023

EUROUT 2023 ExCo

On the morning of the 17th of November, in the greenroom behind the main stage of Nuffield Hall at the London Business School (LBS), the excitement and anticipation in the air were palpable. Months of preparation — seen and unseen — were finally taking concrete shape. Even the sun was out — as were hundreds of students from well over twenty universities from across Europe.

LBS’s Out in Business (OiB) Club members, all in blue custom-made jumpers and powered by copious amounts of coffee, were dotted across campus, ensuring that the mise-en-scene was playing out as meticulously rehearsed. In the greenroom, we were conversing pleasantly with senior executives from Ares, Bain & Company, BCG, Strategy& and nearly every large firm you can imagine, Inside, we were nervous wrecks – happy nervous like a singer before their first note into the microphone. It was finally time for the 13th edition of EUROUT. Triskaidekaphobia be damned, it was going to be the best edition of EUROUT ever. (Spoiler alert: It was!)

How Companies Are Failing Queer Employees Panel

GROWN 13 TIMES LARGER IN A DECADE

EUROUT, Europe’s largest student-led LGBTQ+ conference, is a fixture in the LBS calendar, having grown wildly popular over the past decade. “When it was founded in 2010, it was 30 people in a room for an afternoon,” says Alistair Adams (he/him), who, along with Devon Chen (he/him), co-chairs OiB. “Now, it sits across 3 days, with over 400 delegates coming from over 20 schools. It is humbling to think of the tangible impact the conference has for so many people, and the knock-on effect that trickles down from that,”

EUROUT has always been about more than just perfunctory handshakes and complementary beverages. As organisers of this year’s conference, it was particularly heartening for us to see that EUROUT is indeed greater than the sum of its parts. Sure, there were panels, fireside chats, keynote speeches, and workshops (this time, involving no less than 50 speakers), but the conference is about more than solely business and professional networking. In addition to conversations focusing on navigating the corporate experience and opportunities to rub elbows with successful businesspeople, the weekend explored allyship, feeling seen, understanding what it means to be a queer person of faith, and how expression and equity in the LGBTQ+ community is driven by the arts. At the end of the day, it is intersection of the practical and the personal where progress and connections can be made; that the essence of being a fully authentic queer person — at home and at work — can be realized. EUROUT has always underlined this authenticity, as did our illustrious speakers.

Both progress and building these connections was top of mind in this year’s EUROUT, with the theme centered around “Breaking Barriers and Building Bridges.” In a world that currently feels like it cannot decide whether to take a step forward or several steps back when it comes to LGBTQ+ rights, it was essential to us to curate an agenda of meaningful conversations that reflect on the past but also look forward to the work to be done. We reached out to a wide array of industry leaders and LGBTQ+ activists and allies who would tell their stories — warts and all — and not shy away from difficult topics. They certainly delivered.

EUROUT 2023 crowd enjoying a laugh together

‘COURAGE IS CONTAGIOUS’

Across the three days of programming, our team witnessed, both from backstage and from within the audience, the impact that the conference speakers’ words and stories had. During a series of spotlight speeches, the room collectively took a deep breath when NAM’s Matthew Hodson recalled coming out at the height of the AIDS crisis and the “political choice” we make in choosing to be ourselves and fighting for advancements in the LGBTQ+ community.

Later in the conference, attendees leapt to engage in Q&A with panelists who had engaged in a dialogue regarding inclusive faith. In addressing the complex relationship between religious institutions and queer people, panelists from various backgrounds and religious experiences underscored how communities of faith must accept and support their members for who they are.

Perhaps one of the most galvanizing moments from the conference came from a panel discussion of BCG’s study on where companies fail their trans and gender non-conforming employees. What began as a recounting of the disappointing statistics around safety and well-being for trans employees in the workplace, progressed to an unflinching call for a better future and a reminder that LGBTQ+ employees deserve inclusion. It will be hard to forget the words of Trans in the City Director Emily Hamilton: “Claim and hold your space. Courage is contagious.”

EUROUT Ball, Grand Hall, Lincoln’s Inn

‘A PLATFORM FOR GIVING BACK’

There remained just one thing for EUROUT 2023 to be declared a triumph: attend the EUROUT Ball. On the final evening of the conference, participants took over the historic Grand Hall in Lincoln’s Inn to mark the success of the EUROUT and come together as a community, aided by a performance from Lawrence Chaney of RuPaul fame. It was an evening of celebration and pride, and a weekend of learnings and inspiration, leaving us eager for next year’s installment.

As the weekend wrapped up, behind the big smiles and tired eyes, there was a palpable sense of gratitude and comfort in the air. We had just spent jam-packed days with other students from around the world and heard riveting stories and words of wisdom from inspirational speakers, both on and off the stage. It was incredibly heartening to witness their deep commitment to attending such events and to giving back. As Viktor Hainski, EUROUT’s lead for corporate engagement and a EUROUT Scholar, commented, “Beyond the conference, EUROUT is itself a platform for giving back. I was delighted to be one of the first people to receive the EUROUT Scholarship, the first ever LBS scholarship founded and funded by a student club, with the aim of raising the profile of LGBTQ+ business leaders. It is a key initiative for the conference and our aspiration is to continue supporting incoming students with the EUROUT scholarship in the years to come.”

We are also committed to making next year’s EUROUT bigger and better. We hope yours will be among the many happy, inspired faces that we will see as we peek out at the audience from the greenroom.

The authors are MBA students at the London Business School and are part of the Content team that helped organise EUROUT 2023

Go to the next page for additional pictures from EUROUT 2023