Office of Global Inclusion

Parents Speak About Autism, ‘Colored My Mind’ Film

by Chanel Cathey, Viacom

Holly Robinson Peete and Sakeena Irish, Leader of The ParentHood, Viacom’s Working Parents Affinity Group.

Viacom’s Office of Global Inclusion, The Parenthood, SOMOS, and The BEAT partnered to host an inspiring film screening and panel that successfully moved the silence around autism and encouraged the difficult dialogue about what it’s like to parent a special needs child. The audience was treated to a screening of the short film, Colored My Mind, which stars Blair Underwood and Nicole Ari Parker as parents coping with their son’s autism diagnosis. The screening was followed by a panel with the film’s director and BET Sunday Best producer Nia Hill and the film’s cast LaDonna Hughley, Donna Hunter, Tammy McCrary and Shannon Nash. The panel was moderated by actress, author and autism advocate Holly Robinson Peete.

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Viacom Gives Back, Gets Down for Hurricane Relief

by Valerie Wire, Viacom

‘Tis the season of giving, and Viacom’s Office of Global Inclusion kicked the season off right this year with its third annual Give Back & Get Down celebration, an organized company-wide collection drive culminating in a huge party. Leading up to the event, which was a collaborative effort of Viacom’s six Employee Affinity Groups, collection boxes to benefit Hurricane Sandy relief efforts were set up across all Viacom locations in NYC.

A week and a half later — the day of the party — there was plenty of reason to celebrate: the groups surpassed their goal of 22,000 pounds of items by then, and made plans to send out another truckload of items. Read More

Office of Global Inclusion Heads to the UK

by Kate Laverge, Viacom International Media Networks

Viacom UK marked its ongoing support for diversity and inclusion last week as a delegation from Viacom’s Office of Global Inclusion traveled to London to introduce Employee Affinity Groups (EAGs) to our 900 employees based in the UK.  Employee Affinity Groups are groups of employees who come together voluntarily to establish more visibility for their identity group and/or constituency. Read More

Office of Global Inclusion Hosts Multiracial ‘Streetcar’ Cast

by Whitney Anderson, Nickelodeon

The Office of Global Inclusion hosted a discussion with the cast of "A Streetcar Named Desire."

To cap off its multitude of Diversity Month events, Viacom’s Office of Global Inclusion hosted a discussion with the multicultural cast of the latest production of Tennessee Williams’ classic Pulitzer-winning play, A Streetcar Named Desire. The session gave us an inside look at their experience with the revival of the literary and theatrical masterpiece.

“It made sense to bring in the cast of Streetcar because they epitomize diversity at its core and are champions for inclusion,” said Juan Herrera, VP of the Office of Global Inclusion. “With BET as a producer for Streetcar we were also glad to support a business initiative.” Read More

Black History Month, The BEAT and Swizz Beatz

by Daina Amorosano, Viacom

Swizz Beatz hosted and performed for the crowd gathered at The BEAT of Viacom's Black History Month tentpole event. (Photo: Whitney Anderson)

The BEAT of Viacom has been nonstop this Black History Month.

Earlier this February, Viacom’s affinity group for African-American employees held a presentation that took us behind the scenes with the creative producers involved in Viacom Media Networks on-air promos for Black History Month. It organized a discussion with Po Johnson of VH1’s LaLa’s Full Court Life and hosted a slew of other ongoing events as well.

But the centerpiece of its musically focused Black History Month event lineup was  “Listen to the BEAT: An Audio Visual Experience,” a special event at Viacom’s headquarters featuring Swizz Beatz and a crew of up-and-coming artists.

The BEAT’s leadership group first thought about focusing on music as a theme for the month when it began planning last June. It ultimately decided to highlight the musical accomplishments of Blacks throughout the African Diaspora and how these artists have influenced many genres. Read More