This year, the HR forum took place at Teatro alla Scala in Milan. 55 delegates from 21 countries joined for three days of sessions, performances and many networking moments.
After a warm welcome and compelling keynote by Sovrintendente Dominique Meyer, participants heard about La Scala’s inclusivity project which is part of a comprehensive initiative undertaken by the new leadership of the theatre, consisting also of training designated staff members to become ambassadors of a safe working environment.
Dr Prioska Stubendek (Budapest) updated the group about their app for internal communication after their initial presentation at the last autumn conference, and could report encouraging results.
The second day brought delegates to the workshop facilities of the theatre, the Laboratori Ansaldo. In the afternoon, delegates were invited to reflect upon useful ways to benchmark HR practices, the session was facilitated by Polly Dufton (London ROH). We also heard from Marco Amoruso (La Scala), joined by Paolo Bruno (Bologna), about HR particularities in Italy.
A keynote presentation by Catherine Tanneau (CEO Variations International) focused on psychological safety. Inga Navickiene (Vilnius) and Nick Bol (Amsterdam) reported how their HR departments are addressing the issue. These sessions on inclusivity are part of our capacity building series of the NEXT STAGE initiative coordinated by FEDORA.
On our last day, Professor Helena Gaunt from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama gave us a presentation on their Opera 360 programme designed for professionals seeking to change their career to work in opera, completed by Karen Stone’s pitch on the Opera Management Course.
Lastly, a shared set of values was presented by chair Steven Foulston (London ROH) which are indeed the foundation of each of our Opera Europa gatherings: Respect, Openness, and Inclusivity – a forum is a protected peer to peer space where we respect each other’s work, company, background.
Susanna Werger - Membership & Services Manager
