The Niagara 2022 Host Society announced Monday, Oct. 4 that Accenture will become the Official Diversity and Inclusion Partner for the Niagara 2022 Canada Summer Games, playing a lead role in creating activations that will engage Games’ participants and spectators alike and celebrate Canada’s diversity during next summer’s event.

In partnership with Niagara 2022, Accenture will organize activations at the Athletes Village, hosted at Brock University, and at Niagara Place, an outdoor festival site that will be situated at Canada Games Park, also at Brock. Additionally, Accenture will be the presenting sponsor of Pride Day at Niagara Place. This event, currently scheduled for Aug. 17, 2022 will bring participants, spectators and volunteers together to celebrate LGBTQI2S social and self-acceptance, achievements and pride.

These celebration sites and activations will aim to foster a more welcoming and safe environment for everyone at both sport and non-sport venue sites at the 2022 Canada Summer Games regardless of ethnicity, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, gender expression, age or disability.

“Inclusivity and safe sport are two driving principles of any Canada Games, and thanks to support from organizations like Accenture, Niagara 2022 is proud to be taking meaningful steps to further these principles,” said Doug Hamilton, Board Chair of the Niagara 2022 Host Society. “The Canada Games are a vital experience in the journey of many young Canadian athletes, and we want to provide a safe and inclusive environment for this experience.”

Brock University student Aidan Godin, who is working as the Games’ Athletes Village Chair, said the partnership is an important one for everyone taking part.

“Partnering with Accenture will allow for the 2022 Canada Games to create engaging inclusion initiatives for our participants in the Athletes Village, ensuring that all of them feel safe, welcomed and included for who they are,” said Godin, a fourth-year Biology student at Brock. “As young Canadian athletes focus their energy on competition, these initiatives will assist the Athletes Village in being a safe space to unwind, have fun and make memories in their home away from home.”

Accenture has been an employer in the Niagara region since 2001. Long recognized for its commitment to providing an inclusive, open and equitable work environment, Accenture has been named one of Canada’s Best Diversity Employers for nine-consecutive years, ranked in DiversityInc‘s Top 50 List of Companies for Diversity for 15-consecutive years, and in the Top 3 of the Refinitiv Diversity and Inclusion Top 100 index over the last four years.

As a result of this expertise, the Niagara 2022 Host Society has welcomed Accenture’s collaboration on the development of future diversity and inclusion initiatives. Next summer’s event will also be the second Canada Games where athletes will be allowed to compete in events for the gender with which they identify under an inclusion policy that was enacted by the Canada Games Council prior to the 2019 Canada Winter Games in Red Deer, Alberta.

“Accenture’s commitment to being an inclusive and diverse company extends beyond our offices and into our communities,” said Rachel Stuchberry, a managing director at Accenture in Niagara. “Sport is one of the most powerful vehicles to cultivate change in the community and the larger society because it teaches us to respect and value one another. By partnering with the Niagara 2022 Canada Summer Games, we’ll work to support an environment where everyone can be their authentic selves and where we will also celebrate our diversity in Canada.”

NOTE: This story was written by Christopher Séguin, Manager of Media and Communications for the Niagara 2022 Canada Games.