‘Join our live discussion with members from the Polish LGBT+ community. Listen in and get a first-hand experience of what the situation is like.

We hope to build bridges with our Polish co-workers and start a two-way dialogue of friendship & support.

Moderator: Ben Hunte

Journalist and presenter, Ben Hunte is the BBC's first LGBT Correspondent, reporting on stories surrounding sexuality and gender. In July, Ben took the top spot of The Guardian and DIVA Magazine’s Pride Power List 2020.

Since starting the role in April 2019, Ben has uncovered Poland’s ‘LGBT Free Zones’; how LGBT people are still under attack and failed in 2020; he exposed how black male victims of sexual abuse are ‘ignored’ by the government; Ben broke the news of HRH Prince William supporting a potential LGBT royal, and he fronted a season of coverage celebrating 50 years since the Stonewall Riots.

Ben’s digital films have been seen by millions, with topics ranging from men feeling ‘too ugly’ to be gay, to racism within the LGBT dating scene. 

As one of the BBC's youngest correspondents, Ben’s journalism has already been nominated for awards, including by the Royal Television Society, PinkNews and British LGBT Awards. In 2019 he was awarded an ‘Alumni Laureate Award’ by the University of Nottingham, where he studied a Neuroscience degree on a full scholarship.

Prior to this role, in 2018, Ben launched and presented What's New, the BBC's first TV programme and digital service for children in Africa. 

One of our speakers Martin is an ambitious multipreneur, activist and educator working with companies around Europe, Asia and the Americas on their inclusion for all strategies.

Alongside being the CEO of Diversity Pride, equality/equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) consultancy, Martin delivers Executive Education programmes focused on inclusive leadership development and HR strategy in transforming organisations at London Business School, ESCP Business School and MIT. 

Martin actively collaborate with professionals from around the world fighting for equal rights. Recently, Martin visited Poland, his motherland, to amplify voices of those who combat the so-called 'LGBT-Free Zones" and works with global companies and governments to be more active in countries where marginalised communities face discrimination. 

After leaving Poland where he could not live as an openly gay man, Martin continued the discovery and acceptance journey in the United Kingdom (UK). The UK, which he now calls home, allowed him to open up and live the life he deserves. In 2013 Martin joined Pride in London (PiL) organising committee as a Senior Sponsorship Manager which allowed him to give back to the community that supported him for many years; he worked within the sponsorship and fundraising team which in short 5 years have successfully tripled the income which allowed the event to become the 3rd largest one-day event in London bringing over 1 million people to the heart of the capital. 

Despite the struggles faced by reasons of his sexuality and origin, Martin's ambition never slowed down. In 2016, Martin completed with distinction a BA (Hons.) International Events Management degree at the University of Brighton where he also founded and staged first-ever TEDx event at the university which reach over 1.5 million views in the first 6 months. During studies, Martin also collaborated with the International Olympic Committee (IOC), TED Talks (USA), UK House of Commons, European Commission, and several pride organisations around the world (Madrid, NYC, Amsterdam, Brussels). Upon completion of a university degree, Martin founded TravBEAT a travel and events agency with base in Turks and Caicos which continue to operate today. 

In present times Martin split his time between London, New York and Turks and Caicos accelerating his ventures and deliver inclusion programmes while being an active member of Institute of Director (IoD), advisor to National Gay Lesbian Chambers of Commerce (NGLCC) in the USA, and a mentor to LGBTQ activists. In the past 18 months Martin has spoken about the importance of inclusion for all to leading brands such as IBM, HSBC, Accenture, AFME, Baker and McKenzie, Lloyds, Unilever, Procter and Gamble, Macy's, Kingfisher, BMW, Sodexo, Virgin, Bloomberg, EY, Protiviti, and Sherman and Sterling.

Ben will also take the opportunity speaking at the event. As a journalist and presenter, Ben is the BBC's first LGBT Correspondent, reporting on stories surrounding sexuality and gender. In July, Ben took the top spot of The Guardian and DIVA Magazine’s Pride Power List 2020.

Since starting the role in April 2019, Ben has uncovered Poland’s ‘LGBT Free Zones’; how LGBT people are still under attack and failed in 2020; he exposed how black male victims of sexual abuse are ‘ignored’ by the government; Ben broke the news of HRH Prince William supporting a potential LGBT royal, and he fronted a season of coverage celebrating 50 years since the Stonewall Riots.

Ben’s digital films have been seen by millions, with topics ranging from men feeling ‘too ugly’ to be gay, to racism within the LGBT dating scene. 

As one of the BBC's youngest correspondents, Ben’s journalism has already been nominated for awards, including by the Royal Television Society, PinkNews and British LGBT Awards. In 2019 he was awarded an ‘Alumni Laureate Award’ by the University of Nottingham, where he studied a Neuroscience degree on a full scholarship.

Prior to this role, in 2018, Ben launched and presented What's New, the BBC's first TV programme and digital service for children in Africa.

Mateusz Gędźba , Activist CV

I’ve been working as a coordinator of French Law School at Jagiellonian University and as a legal counsel in international corporations. Currently I am a Data Protection Officer in one of them. I speak fluent English and French. I also speak Hungarian on intermediate level. 

Since June 2018 I’ve been serving in the Board of the Federation Signs of Equality. I’m responsible for all legal and formal documentation of the organisation. I review and negotiate the contracts on behalf of the Federation. I draft the statements, minutes of the General Meetings of the Members of Federation and minutes of the meetings of the Board. 

On behalf of the Federation I carried out the comparative research on functioning of LGBT+ community centres abroad (i.e. in Paris, Dublin, London, Louvain and Budapest). 

My passions are international cooperation and foreign languages.

Paulina Herrmann

Paulina’s background is in the tourism and hospitality industry following a degree in international hospitality management and tourism. Her experience began in the Four Seasons Hotel Sydney, Australia, where she trained through all F&B departments. After that, Paulina spend 2 years at sea aboard cruise ships, assisting the Cruise Director in a Guest Management role, managing the on-board guest experience. Paulina is a specialist foodservice consultant and works across industries on shopping centre foodservice, transport hub, master planning as well as business and industry. She also co-authors the JLL Foodservice Trends, an annual publication looking at global foodservice innovation & trends. In addition to overseeing projects and research publications, Paulina plays an active role in JLL’s Building a Better Tomorrow team in her role with a focus on sustainability, both in terms of foodservice, but also by leading JLL's LGBT+ Network " Building Pride" for the past 2 years.