Full Event Recording: [WEL]COMING OUT DAY at Beiersdorf

You can watch the full recording of our event marking Coming Out Day 2022 here: Watch the video  (english)

Here’s a brief summary:

Since June 2022, WELCOMING OUT has had one clear goal: to make acceptance of sexual and gender diversity visible across society – through a unifying symbol. The initiative is supported and co-financed by the action alliance PATRONS OF WELCOMING OUT, made up of 28 companies and organizations. This alliance gathered on October 5, 2022, for an evening event at the Beiersdorf Auditorium featuring two panel discussions, celebrating achievements so far and offering a look ahead to the future of WELCOMING OUT.

After a personal welcome by Beiersdorf CEO Vincent Warnery and a video message from Katharina Fegebank, Hamburg’s Second Mayor and patron of WELCOMING OUT, moderator Kathrin Eßmann guided around 200 guests through the evening.

The first panel, featuring representatives from the creative agency CarlNann (Christoph Nann, Chief Creative Officer & Co-Owner), OTTO (Svenja Gerads, Project Manager Diversity & Inclusion), Ströer (Annina B. Bleek, SVP Solutions Studio), and WELCOMING OUT (Vanessa Lamm, Co-Managing Director), reflected on the past four months. It included insights into the campaign’s origins and highlighted the crucial role of the PATRONS OF WELCOMING OUT in amplifying its reach and supporting it financially.

The second panel looked to the future, with speakers from Beiersdorf (Valerie Kruck, Head of Social Commitments), HSV (Cornelius Göbel, Chief Culture & Marketing Officer), elbstolz (Daniel Kaesmacher), and WELCOMING OUT (Markus Hoppe, Co-Managing Director). A central theme was the continued development of the alliance, which, as moderator Kathrin Eßmann put it, is a "community of shared values". This community forms the foundation for the next chapter of WELCOMING OUT – with concrete goals, ongoing dialogue with PATRONS, and plans for joint activities such as a CSD (Christopher Street Day) float in Hamburg next year. The alliance also aims to expand the movement to other cities with the support of its members.

Among the audience were board members and executives, representatives and employees of the 27 existing PATRONS, prospective PATRONS, friends and supporters of the initiative, as well as community organizations. The evening was accompanied by live music from singer-songwriter Josie Paulus.

The event was intentionally held a few days before Coming Out Day on October 11 and served as a strong, collective signal of acceptance and support for the LGBTIQ+ community.