The Festival of Debate has been brought to Sheffield this year, and this week they held their annual Empowering Women Conference.

The festival is the largest non-partisan politics festival in the UK, taking place every spring across South Yorkshire.

Terezia Rostas, founder of welcoming cultures UK, organised and introduced the talk on Wednesday.

She said: “We are here to celebrate the remarkable women in Sheffield, and create a more equitable society for all of us.” 

The event began with the panel of hosts introducing who they were and their backgrounds. 

Louisa Harrison-Walker, chief executive at the Sheffield Chamber of Commerce, said: “Today we’ve been talking about women leading and empowering change.

“If there was one thing I would ask people in the room to leave here today it’s about knowing the value of your authentic self.”

Safe conversations about anti-racism and the complexities of women in leadership, in Sheffield, were discussed. 

Sonia Gayle, charity trustee and former race equality commissioner for Sheffield, was asked what she thinks women leaders need more of right now in Sheffield.

She said: “We need confidence, we need people to support you. Speak up and be brave.”

This conference was held in order to discuss the thriving challenges and recognition for enabling collective change in Sheffield. 

One panellist, Maxine Greaves, played the song “Good morning gorgeous” by Mary J Blige to enhance her message of love for all people. 

She added: “We should continue to open up space for change.” 

The event then followed with a Q+A session where members of the audience could share how this talk had impacted them. 

Women from diverse backgrounds shared their feelings and spoke about the importance of the festival of debate for places like Sheffield. 

Nirmala Sharma, from the Refugee council, said: “There has to be more events like this, it has to be marketed more and more widely.”

Aline Groom said: “This promotes the mobility of women in Sheffield. There is something magic about Sheffield.”

The festival, founded in 2015 by Opus Independents, is held from the 16 April to 25 May.