Social Inclusion Statement

We believe in the power of travel to unite us, by bringing people together to share new experiences and by broadening our appreciation for other cultures, philosophies, and the natural world.

Hamilton County Tourism embraces and celebrates people of all races, ethnicities, abilities, gender identities and sexual orientation.

We believe social inclusion is vital to creating a vibrant and welcoming community for both residents and visitors.

Hamilton County Tourism pledges to continue learning, foster awareness and take action to create change, both within our organization and in the county

Hamilton County Tourism Social Inclusion Roadmap

Advocate.  Communicate.  Educate.  Relate.

The following plan identifies a high-level scope of work in social inclusion for Hamilton County Tourism, Inc. and the community we serve.  Our work will advocate, communicate, educate, and build relationships to create the change we hope to see.

Plan

Community Engagement

1. Identify a community stakeholder group for guidance and input as HCT works through social inclusion initiatives.
2. Identify a list of partners, associations, collectives, initiatives for HCT to join through membership, sponsorship or other.
   1. Destination International—Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Leadership Masterclass
   2. Noblesville Diversity Coalition—Community Conversation Initiative
   3. Westfield Chamber of Commerce DE&I Business Council
   4. Indy Black Chamber of Commerce
3. Connect with city and county leadership to see how we can work together and align around a project or opportunity.
    

Education and Awareness of Social Inclusion — our staff, our programs, our community

1. Execute a year-long education program for HCT staff and track engagement 
2. Insert education or communication opportunities into HCT Summits when appropriate 
3. Build an internship program that will offer opportunity to underserved students
4. Connect with community and industry groups to learn about their social inclusion efforts
5. Sponsor a virtual Chew on This event for cross-county discussion
6. Report out social inclusion findings at monthly staff meetings
7. Offer and promote a community-wide book and zoom club discussion by partnering with our libraries
8. Destination International’s Equity and Inclusion Master Class training for a staff member
    

Organizational Investment — in social inclusion policy and change

1. Create a public-facing statement addressing HCT’s position on social inclusion
2. Pledge to execute this plan in 2021
3. Identify how to measure HCT by key social inclusion performance indicators

Marketing, Sales and Service — communicating inclusivity

1. Develop a system in our CRM to identify businesses owned by underrepresented populations
2. Identify a glossary of words to use
3. Add social inclusion position and content to industry portion of VisitHamiltonCounty.com
4. Add more photos in our digital asset library that depict the wide range of people who live, work and travel in Hamilton County
5. Create blogs for Black History Month, Asian American Month and Hispanic Heritage Month, etc. to communicate stories representing a variety of audiences
6. Use Turner to pitch diversity stories
7. Connect with Noblesville Diversity Coalition and their grant to explore service and training best practices for our Ambassador program.