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Our Community Impact: 2025 Year in Review.

Looking back and reflecting on the projects, events, achievements and community impact that we've had over the course of the last year as a team, collective, and organisation.

A photo showing a crowd of people seated at a WCS event, overlaid with the WCS logo.

2025 marked a key milestone for We Create Space. As we celebrated five years of building inclusive learning spaces, we also laid important foundations for our future as a global hub for talent development, leadership, and community building across our global ecosystem.


At the start of the year, we launched our 2025 Community Action Plan, informed by insights from our 2024/25 Community Survey and shaped by the evolving needs of our global network. As a proud social enterprise, our commitment remains to reinvesting profits into free resources, events, and growth opportunities for our community.


This report reflects on the progress we’ve made, not only what we delivered, but how those actions strengthened our learning pathways, expanded access, and supported visionary leaders to thrive.



1) We introduced New Learning Pathways for Talent Development.


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Inclusion | Wellbeing | Leadership


In 2025, we redesigned our entire community engagement strategy around three clear learning pathways, each providing structure, guidance, and progression for professionals at every stage of their journey. We integrated these pathways across all events, retreats, online learning, and content.


“WCS gave me the confidence to be more vocal about all aspects of my identity, leading to more authentic leadership and advocacy work.” - Sebastian Dalla Ba
“WCS has given me the chance to collaborate with like-minded people, exchange ideas, and be part of impactful conversations.” - Cindy Nasenya



2) We shared our Data-Driven Inclusion Insights through WCS | Reports.



Building on our DEI Insights and Trends 2025 Report, we continued our commitment to data-driven learning by expanding our research, trend reporting and insight generation to support leaders with creating more inclusive workplaces for diverse talent.


Key Impact Highlights:


“It felt very reassuring to be in the space with others and honestly discuss some of the narrative and discourse around EDI at the moment.” - Attendee Feedback from Feb 13 2025 DEI Insights & Trends Event. 


3. We Strengthened Professional Networks Through Community Activations.



Our community events continued to be a powerful tool for professional and social connection. 2025 saw us experiment with new event formats, tools and interactive methods, both online and in person.


Key Impact Highlights:

  • Hosted 74 community events.

  • Connected 2,000+ professionals while centering safety, belonging and intersectionality.

  • Partnered with 8 grassroots organisations to support visibility.


Event strands delivered this year:

  • Queer Women in Business

  • Global Speed Networking 

  • WCS x DEI Leaders Roundtables

  • A Space for Dialogue (new series themes)

  • Community Building 101

  • Queer Leadership 101

  • Queer Leader Awardee Speed Networking

  • WCS Leadership Collective Speed Networking


“Being part of the WCS community and then later becoming a Board member has been incredibly meaningful. It’s given me a space to connect with other leaders, exchange ideas, and amplify my work.” - Kevin Hawkins



4. Our Retreat Programming focused on LGBTQ+ Leadership and Wellbeing.



This year we rebuilt our retreat model from the ground up with an emphasis on rest, leadership, community, and sustainable wellbeing practices.


“The retreat has been a beautiful space to come back to learning new skills to self-regulate... Communal care is so important.” - Jaron Soh

Key Impact Highlights:

  • Relaunched Queer Retreats in Barcelona with 6 key themes.

  • Continued hikes and introduced urban mini-retreats as entry points.

  • Strengthened the wellbeing pillar of our talent development strategy.


“The retreat really shifted my perspective. I found a safe space in the community and that has meant a lot for me” - Teresa Lee


5. WCS | Awards became a Global Celebration of Inclusive Leadership.



This year, we took the Awards international, recognising LGBTQ+ leaders who are actively building inclusive cultures and communities around the world. What began as a regional initiative has now grown into a truly global celebration, honouring queer individuals and organisations whose work is shaping more equitable futures.


“What inspires me most as Awards Director is witnessing the determination of Queer Leaders and organisations who persist in building inclusive spaces, even when the world pushes back. Their leadership is a testament to what collective courage can achieve. It drives me to deepen my advocacy, elevate our mission and honour the extraordinary impact they make every day.” - Sevi Koppe, WCS Awards Director


Key Impact Highlights:

  • Honoured 101 LGBTQ+ individuals and 5 LGBTQ+ organisations across 6 award categories, 21 countries and 5 continents, reflecting the global scale of queer leadership today.

  • Inaugural Honorary Award, presented to Lady Phyll, founder of UK Black Pride.

  • Partnered with 6 organisations, expanding our international network and community reach.

  • Engaged 40 volunteers through the WCS Give Back Programme, supporting global operations and community-building efforts, all year-round.

  • Hosted both online and in-person ceremonies, ensuring accessibility and participation across time zones and geographies.

  • Established the Awards as a core pathway for leadership development, visibility, and community contribution, launching the 12-month Queer Leader Journey as a structured programme for continued growth and engagement.


“The WCS Awards provided a much needed space to amplify and uplift the work of people who too often go uncelebrated. It was amazing to connect with so many visionary leaders from across the globe.” - Jua O'Kane


6. We Launched WCS | España to Strengthen Local and EU Connections.



2025 marked the official launch of our non-profit association in Spain, expanding our grassroots impact and deepening our work in Barcelona, and across Europe.


Key Impact Highlights:

  • Secured 10 partnerships with Spanish organisations, NGOs and community groups, expanding our collaborative capacity and local presence.

  • Welcomed 4 interns focused on training, development and international exchange, contributing to network expansion, improved community experience and the development of new educational programmes.

  • Strengthened regional connections by creating and engaging with a database of over 700 organisations across Europe, fostering opportunities for cross-border collaboration.

  • Delivered 19 local events and initiatives centred on inclusion, wellbeing and community-building for LGBTQ+ people and allies.

  • Opened access to new funding streams, enabling the development of community-led projects and increasing our long-term sustainability within Spain and the EU.


“With WCS España, we are strengthening our presence in Europe and creating new pathways for leadership development, inclusion and cross-border collaboration. This launch opens access to EU partnerships, funding opportunities and long-term alliances that will amplify our mission across the region.” - Sevi Koppe, Director, WCS España


7. UNLOCK Became our Global Platform and Network for Visionary Leadership.



UNLOCK evolved into a dedicated home for leadership, mentorship and professional development acting as the bridge between community learning and advanced talent pathways.


Key Impact Highlights:

  • Hosted Season 1 of the leadership podcast with 10 episodes.

  • Launched 4 new leadership masterclasses and programmes designed around the 5 Keys Framework to support accessible, practical and embodied skill development.

  • Developed new digital resources preparing queer leaders for 2026 and beyond, including templates, exercises, skill-building modules and leadership guides.


“If we don’t have women, queer people, Black people, all kinds of different people at a diverse table, we’re still going to be tailoring products, services, processes and systems that only tend to the needs of a few and not everyone.” - Letícia Ange Pozza


8. WCS | Campus and WCS | Courses Grew as a Global Community Learning Hub.


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Our digital space continued to bring people together across borders, fostering connection and accessible learning.


Key Impact Highlights:

  • Reached 2,504 members on Campus.

  • 1,142 people took our free LGBTQ+ Inclusion 101 Course.

  • Integrated our new learning pathways into the platform structure.


“The explanations in each lesson are the most thorough I have encountered yet. The supplemental videos from external queer voices are outstanding resources to keep coming back to. Thank you for making this course available!” - Feedback from LGBTQ+ Inclusion Course Participant 


9. Our Resource Library Supported Continuous Personal Learning and Growth.



The library remained a trusted archive for knowledge, resources, and insights. Our content continued to centre under-represented voices, lived experiences and personal storytelling, tools we believe are foundational for building inclusive communities.


Key Impact Highlights:

  • Added 100+ new resources and toolkits.

  • Expanded sections on wellbeing, intersectionality and leadership.

  • Integrated curated pathways aligned with 2026 talent development priorities.


“I’m grateful to We Create Space for interviewing me when all others fell silent, I felt visible, heard and valued at a time when being a trans ally mattered most. WCS shifted the narrative and reminded me in a climate where silence becomes erasure, being heard affirms existence, protects truth, and lights the way for others.” - Saba Ali

“We Create Space did just that: they created space for us to be heard, during a time when media organisations were focusing on the wrong things. Given the political and judicial events that have negatively impacted the trans+ community this year, allowing us a platform and a voice showed the wider community that hope exists, and that it’s all around us if we make time to listen to one another.” - Eva Echo 


10. We Continued Reinvesting in our Community Through Paid Partnerships.



As a social enterprise, this remains one of our core impact areas. From inclusion enablement services, leadership development, toolkit creation, team learning experiences like panel discussions, to executive coaching, we’ve supported businesses of all sizes and industries who are values aligned with We Create Space. 


Key Impact Highlights:

  • Created 200+ paid opportunities for members of our global collective 

  • Increased our lifetime reinvestment to £1.5m+.

  • Worked with over 45 corporate and community partners to deliver impactful, inclusive activation.

"We Create Space has been an invaluable resource to Omnicom Group and has provided thoughtful and powerful insight to programming across our global network.” - David Azulay


Looking Ahead to 2026: Building a Global Talent Development Ecosystem.



“Our mandate for this next chapter is clear: elevating inclusion from something teams talk about into something the business can rely on to upskill, grow, and retain talent. Our work will focus on the systems, leadership skills, and everyday behaviours that help people grow in their careers, because when people development is prioritised, organisational performance skyrockets.” - Jon-Paul Vicari, WCS Managing Director 

In 2026, our work will focus on expanding our Talent Development Framework. This year laid the foundation: clearer pathways, infrastructure, community, insights, and partnerships. Next year, we will deepen the learning journeys for leaders across all levels with measurable outcomes and impact for individuals, communities, and organisations. Creating Space is more than just our philosophy, it’s an ecosystem intentionally designed where everyone has the opportunity to grow, heal, lead and thrive. Thank you for being on this journey with us for the last 5 years and we’re excited to take these next steps together. 



While you're here...


Did you know we consult with Businesses, ERGs and Change-Leaders providing bespoke corporate solutions? Through consultancy we design shared learning experiences, produce DEI insights and craft bespoke content that support individuals with strengthening their roles as change-agents within their communities and organisations. Find out more here.


We also organise FREE community events throughout the year! We offer a variety of ways to get involved - both online and in person. This is a great way to network and learn more about others' experiences, through in-depth discussion on an array of topics. You can find out what events we have coming up here. New ones are added all the time, so make sure you sign up to our newsletter so you can stay up to date!

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