The Context
ArtsEkta is an multi-award winning cultural organisation that works to develop intercultural relationships at the heart of the community and is home to the Belfast Mela - the largest celebration of cultural diversity on the island of Ireland,
Sensata Technologies is a world leader and early innovator in mission-critical sensors and controls designed to make the world cleaner, safer and more efficient. Mission-critical means products that are essential and difficult to do. You’ll find Sensata’s 47,000 unique products in many applications – anywhere from automotive braking systems to aircraft flight controls.
For 2019, Sensata was seeking a platform for recruitment and employee engagement, with a key focus on championing diversity for both. Given ArtsEkta’s own focus on diversity, the two paired up to find a way to promote their shared values, whilst helping achieve Sensata’s business need…
The Solution
Sensata became a principal sponsor of Belfast Mela for 2019, ArtSekta’s flagship annual event, driven by a desire to position themselves as a leading company in supporting diversity in Northern Ireland.
Having successfully secured funding from A&BNI, a STEM Zone was created by Sensata in the Culture Land area of the Mela, with a variety of activities aimed at fostering an appreciation and awareness of STEM subjects particularly for young people. Attracting over 4,000 people, feedback from audiences showed that they liked the diversification of educational arts activities on offer for children with the new STEM zone playing a central role in this.
The new partnership enabled Sensata to test and use the Arts to meet their business objectives around recruitment, employee engagement/team building and CSR.
Belfast Mela 2019 provided a high profile platform for Sensata to launch a new all Ireland recruitment campaign, generating creative content for the campaign itself and directly promoting the business to potential new employees at the festival. As a result of their presence at the festival, Sensata had direct engagement and enquiries from over 500 people at their main festival hub.
Employee engagement was also central to the project with over 40 Sensata employees running the various activities at the Mela festival with a further 600 in attendance at the event. A Mini Mela celebration was also held at their HQ in Antrim, attracting around 100 employees.
Feedback from Sensata’s recruitment process has shown that being associated with Northern Ireland’s biggest celebration of cultural diversity has allowed them to position themselves as a leading diverse employer and supporter of diverse communities in Northern Ireland.
For their existing staff, this support of the festival also reaffirmed the importance of diversity in driving innovation. It also helped Sensata in building a cohesive, motivated and inclusive local team, by involving their staff in creative activities.
“We have been working with Sensata for over a year now and they are perhaps one of the most forward thinking companies for diversity and inclusion. I believe that many companies in Northern Ireland could learn from their inspiring approach to diversity. I look forward to continuing our partnership for many years to come.”
Krishan Tandon, Project Manager, ArtsEkta
“Working with ArtsEkta means more than just a partnership. It is two families coming together to create an inclusive and culturally rich place to live and belong. We loved creating the STEM Zone for the children. It was great to see people engaging and wanting to learn more about science and other topics. We are hoping to keep this amazing partnership with ArtsEkta and come up with new creative and innovative ways to bring arts, science and technology together.”
Adriana Morvaiova, Team Development Co-Ordinator, Sensata
