Ben Cohen, Founder of The Ben Cohen StandUp Foundation and former rugby union international and 2003 Rugby World Cup Winner, will be speaking at our January event with the forum starting at 6.30 p.m. followed by Q&A.

“Ben started The Ben Cohen StandUp Foundation in 2012 and it is the world's first foundation dedicated to raising awareness of the long-term, damaging effects of bullying by connecting communities and raising funds to support those doing real-world work to eradicate bullying.

They stand up against bullying regardless of to whom it happens supporting organisations and projects that help stop bullying, helping those hurt by bullying and/or helpingincrease equality and diversity.   People who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender are even more likely to be bullied. People who are bullied feel disconnected, leading to a sense of isolation and loneliness. They are often wary of others and lack quality friendships and can suffer from low self-esteem, poor achievement, an increased risk of depression or anxiety and, in extreme cases, a higher risk of suicide.

The Ben Cohen StandUp Foundation has grown from strength to strength since 2012 and is the proud supporter of over 50 charities and organisations that are taking action against bullying across a broad spectrum of areas including schools, online, in the workplace, among the LGBT community and in sport.”

We would appreciate if you could forward this invite on to any LGBT professionals that you think may be interested in attending. When doing so, please ensure that you copy in Roslyn Thornton to allow us to keep track of the invites that have been sent.

RSVP to Roslyn Thornton (rthornton@stmodwen.co.uk) by Friday 6th January 2017.