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The Drums | Activision Blizzard’s Head Of Business Marketing’s Top 5 Predictions For 2023

As marketers wake up to the fact gaming isn’t to be ignored, Jonathan Stringfield outlines how the space will evolve this year and where attention needs to be directed.

Whereas 2022 signaled a partial return to social normalcy given waning concerns around the pandemic, we enter 2023 with economic abnormality looming. Soaring inflation, crashes in the technology industry and the threat of a more durable recession have caused the broader consumer, marketing and technology landscape to adopt a less optimistic outlook.

And yet, as was the case during the depths of the pandemic, an otherwise negative set of circumstances allows us to look at sectors such as gaming in a new light. The immense levels of attention directed towards gaming in recent years was a much-needed wake-up call for marketers who realized that gaming could not be ignored, the subsequent evolution over the coming year will demonstrate that it is not going anywhere.

1. Return to growth

Technology research firm NPD has continuously forecasted a decline in consumer spending around gaming hardware and accessories, which has been construed as an end to a pandemic-gaming boom. While it is certainly true that consumers spent more on gaming during the height of the pandemic, reductions in spend may stem from a number of factors: broader macroeconomic pressure from a potential recession, mixed availability of the latest generation of consoles and premium computers GPUsand a number of high-profile game releases facing delays due to development issues related to the pandemic.

Regardless of the cause, this slowdown is largely being viewed as a temporary correction and the gaming audience on the whole continues to grow. A number of highly anticipated titles and more general availability of gaming devices in 2023 will mark a turning point for the industry, putting it back on a consistent growth trajectory even while consumer spending may be otherwise strained. While gaming is not recession-proof, the deep levels of fandom within gaming allow the industry to be extremely recession-resilient.

2. Gaming goes Hollywood

The quantity and quality of TV or film adaptations have been increasing in recent years, with some 25 feature-length films and almost 30 TV adaptations announced or in some form of production. We may be on the cusp of a break-out year for video game adaptations, with two of the most anticipated projects scheduled for release in 2023: The Last of Us TV series on HBO Max (based on the game series of the same name) and The Super Mario Bros Movie in theaters April 2023. While such adaptations are becoming increasingly common, what has changed in recent years is the extent to which these projects now stay true to the source material, given that past reinterpretations for TV and movie audiences have led to some infamous flops (including the last time Super Mario Bros was on the silver screen).

With traditional media providers increasingly leveraging gaming IP or shoring up capabilities to make games themselves, such as Netflix establishing new gaming studios, the potential for transmedia (where a story is told across multiple forms of media) across gaming and traditional video becomes that much greater. Marketers who are intimately familiar with advertising on TV or movies may find themselves becoming acquainted with gaming whether they like it or not.

3. VR unready

Every year we’re made to feel like we’re on the precipice of VR becoming mainstream, and every year it simply… doesn’t.

The 2021 Holiday season featured great deals on VR headsets, stocking expectations for a breakout year in 2022, and yet the 2022 holiday season only has the same hardware to offer… but this time with some games packaged in. In many respects, packaging games with headsets is a much better way to drive consumer adoption than a temporary sale.

More powerful hardware and attractive price points will help, but all the metaverse hype in the world will not propel VR to critical mass with consumers. The potential for VR and the metaverse face the same roadblock: Without compelling content, even the best technology in the world will fail to attract meaningful attention.

Moreover, in both the case of VR and metaverse, gaming represents the best and most viable experiences within these respective technologies. The most meaningful advancements in emerging technologies such as VR or metaverse won’t come from those specific technology sectors, so much as the games industry.

4. Decrypt esports

The crypto world had a very, very bad 2022: The year began with historic scams in the NFT/web3 space and will be ending with a broader crash in cryptocurrencies due to a number of crypto exchanges failing. While more direct efforts such as blockchain-powered games will continue to soldier on in search of a hit, propped up by a massive influx of VC dollars amid broader industry turmoil, the more tangible effects of the long crypto winter in gaming will be more subtle .

A number of esports stakeholders have relied on sponsorship money from the cryptocurrencies industry, who were interested in esports for the same reason as any other marketer: The audience is largely young, technologically savvy men who are difficult to reach through more traditional media. Lacking the same revenue levers as traditional sports, esports has become particularly reliable on sponsorship dollars and the pullback of a major industry will continue to challenge monetization.

This short-term pain may develop into long-term strength in 2023, as the esports the industry is challenged with pushing innovation towards more revenue models, lacking funding from potentially unstable partnerships.

5. A new era

If 2022 began as a year where attention towards the gaming industry reached new heights, 2023 begins as a year where the biggest trends in gaming represent inflection points: new trajectories for industry growth, a potential diversification of revenue models in competitive gaming, and increasing visibility for gaming across a wide variety of media.

While the trends identified above are those which are most likely to have a more immediate impact on the industry in 2023, they are far from exhaustive. Longer-term shifts in gaming will continue throughout the year: the inevitability of cloud-based gaming where gaming content can be accessed on any device, multi-platform and mobile-exclusive releases of formerly PC or console-based IP, and the increased utility of gaming engines for world-building beyond making games.

Although marketers are largely in the early stages of engaging with gaming in a serious way, drawn by the potential to connect brands with a broad and deeply engaged audience, the savviest marketers will realize that understanding gaming provides a unique perspective on technological and business innovation.

Jonathan Stringfield is the vice-president of global business research and marketing at Activision Blizzard.

How to Saute without Oil (Dry Saute – NOT in water)

How to Saute without Oil (Dry Saute – NOT in water)

The consumption of oil is associated with a number of diseases, including diabetes, heart disease, cancer, gallbladder disease, and arthritis. But how do you saute without oil?

No water! No broth!

I’ve seen many suggestions/recipes for sauteing in a little water or vegetable broth instead of oil, but (in my opinion) that method just doesn’t do it. The onions taste steamed, not sauteed.

Here’s a method that enables you to brown onions deliciously – without dropping oil. We call this dry saute.

How-to-Saute-without-Oil

How to Saute without Oil

1.Choose the right size pan.

You don’t want to crowd the onions, so be sure you use a big enough pan.

But you don’t want too big of a pan or the onions won’t cook properly.

Here are the pan sizes that I use:
For 2/3 cup of onions, I use a 6-inch pan.
For 1 1/3 cups of onions, I use a slightly larger pan. A 7- to 8-inch pan works well.
And for 2 cups of onions, I use a pan that’s about 9 to 10 inches in diameter.

2. Heat the pan

How to saute without oil

Heat pan over medium high heat for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes or until very warm (hot enough to sizzle).

IMPORTANT! – The key to being able to sauté onions without oil is to brown the onions before cooking – when they first go into the pan – not during or after the cooking process, so be sure your pan is very warm.

3. Add onions.

Saute without Oil

Add chopped onions and stir.

Use a pancake turner-type spatula to stir the onions. The flat edge works better than a spoon to keep onions from sticking to the pan.

Healthy Saute

The bottom of the onions should begin to brown within about 1 minute.

Reduce heat slightly, continue cooking, stirring often, and allow onions to brown for approximately an additional 4 minutes.

How to Saute without Oil (Dry Saute – NOT in water)

When onions have browned, reduce heat to low and continue cooking until they reach desired doneness.

4. Add 1 tablespoon of water.

When the onions are done, you can add about 1 tablespoon of water to the pan and allow it to sit for about 1 minute to get all the yummy brown goodness off the bottom of the pan.

How to Saute Onions without oil

Key to Success

This method takes a little bit of practice before you can get it right every time. The key to success is to have enough hot pan in the pan to brown the onions before they begin to cook. The more the onions cook before they brown the more they will stick to the pan.

How to Saute Onions without oil

How to Saute without Oil (Dry Saute – NOT in water)

Lusciously browned onions without oil!

Prep Time 2 min

Cook Time 14 min

All recipes on jenniferskitchen.com are the property of jennifer’s kitchen and cannot be republished without written permission.

  • Choose the right size pan. (See note in post.)

  • Heat the pan until hot. (The key to being able to sauté onions without oil is to be sure your pan is hot before adding onions.)

  • Add chopped onions and stir using the flat edge of a stiff spatula. The bottom of the onions should begin to brown within about 1 minute.

  • Reduce heat slightly, continue cooking, stirring often, and allow onions to brown for approximately an additional 4 minutes.

  • When onions have browned, reduce heat to low and continue cooking until they reach desired doneness.

  • When the onions are done, you can add about 1 tablespoon of water to the pan and allow it to sit for about 1 minute to get all the yummy brown goodness off the bottom of the pan.

This method takes a little bit of practice before you can get it right every time. The key to success is to have enough hot pan in the pan to brown the onions before they begin to cook. The more the onions cook before they brown the more they will stick to the pan

>> One quick request: if you like this recipe, please leave a rating and a comment. Ratings help more people find these healthy recipes!

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No calorie counting. No portion sizes.

Managing the risk of ‘gray fleet’ – RoSPA Workplace Safety Blog

With the growing trend for online shopping, next-day delivery and the retail/hospitality experience showing no signs of slowing down, businesses frequently need to recruit extra staff to meet increased demand (particularly in the run up to Christmas). A major national newspaper has reported that approximately 250,000 temporary positions will be on offer over the festive period and not just in restaurants, bars and shops, but also in warehouses and delivery.

Yodel, the courier giant recently announced they need an extra 1,500 temporary staff nationwide, including HGV class 1 drivers, warehouse operations, van drivers and couriers to fulfill client demands. With an increased number of vans, HGVs and delivery vehicles on the road, inevitably comes a greater risk of accidents. Look back 2 years to December 2017 and there were 462 fatal or serious accidents involving goods vehicles.

What is Gray Fleet?

During these busy periods online retail companies will often use ‘gray fleet’ drivers to deliver to customers. Gray fleet is simply the term used to describe any vehicle that does not belong to the company, but is used for business travel.

According to one BBC investigation, on a typical day a delivery driver for a leading company will make 150-200 deliveries. Although most companies will advise drivers to take regular comfort breaks, the reality is that this frenetic pace of work allows very little time for breaks, often resulting in extreme tiredness.

Sadly, tiredness is a major contributing factor to road accidents but isn’t the only risk of having a greater number of ‘gray fleet’ vehicles on the road:

Gray Fleet: The risks

Because gray fleet vehicles do not belong to the company, fleet managers face a complicated set of issues when it comes to managing the safety of their fleet. For one thing, employees using their own car may be outside of the established insurance and servicing policies, meaning their vehicles are not covered for company travel. Another issue is trying to keep track of the status of gray fleet vehicles to ensure they meet legal road requirements, including:

  • Driving license validity
  • Insurance details including business use
  • MOT certification
  • Road Tax validity

In addition to this, businesses also need to consider the suitability of the vehicle for work purposes. This could include the age and condition, or whether the vehicle is equipped with ABS, ESP, air conditioning and whether or not it is suitable for the journey requirements of the company.

To help avoid accidents on the road, RoSPA recommends that all delivery drivers are trained or trained in handling risks on the road. RoSPA offers a bespoke Gray Fleet management training course which allows companies to manage their gray fleet.

The benefit of undertaking such training is a quick and simple self-certification process, which is accessible to all drivers and sends alerts automatically to individuals and managers for MOT’s, insurance, road tax etc.

For more information on our Gray Fleet Management course visit our website, email or call us on +44 (0)121 248 2233.

How To Lose The Extra Kilos In A Week


The biggest mistake we make when we make the decision to finally start this diet that can make our lives a little harder, is that we lean on things that end up bringing us the opposite results. What are we trying to say? A smart tip if you want to lose excess weight in a few days is not to frantically avoid sweets and carbohydrates, but to drop small “bad” habits. The idea is not to overdo it, which can also be a strong psychological burden for us, but to follow advice that will actually bring radical changes over time. In particular, if they are combined with regular exercise of 20-30 minutes, which increases your muscle mass, you will lose the extra kilos and the result will justify you.

Avoid excessive consumption of bread

Sure, the simple solution for those days when we don’t have the stamina to cook or maybe are not even in the mood to order something is to end up eating, mostly toast or various sandwiches, with what we have in the fridge. It would be good to try their abstinence, because too much bread has always not been our best friend, and to try to replace it with a tortilla, for example. Of course, we should pay a little more attention to our ingredients, including vegetables, but without high-fat foods or sauces, such as mayonnaise. It would be even more ideal if you could reduce carbohydrates, by allowing them in at least 2 out of 3 meals and try new simple protein-based recipes.

Satisfying breakfast

Mornings seem like torture to get up and go to the kitchen even more. That’s why we usually neglect meals that don’t fill us up, just to avoid this inconvenience. You must know that in order to achieve your goals, you must give special “care” to each of your meals, not to mention breakfast, which is the most important. A suggestion, that will provide you with few calories, but at the same time will make you feel full for the rest of the day, so you will not digress, and also is an excellent source of protein, is undoubtedly eggs. Put an egg together with 1-2 egg whites in the non-stick pan and you will see that it is not as difficult as you think.

Go sugar free

A large percentage of people drink at least 2 to 3 coffees per day, so consider also adding white sugar, which is equivalent to 20 calories. For example, if you start drinking your beverage moderately and less sweetly, you will automatically save 60-180 calories per day by cutting out the sugar. If you do not like this abstinence at all, you can also use the brown variety, but again, watch the amount. And if you add milk, ask for low-fat milk and not whole milk, as this is also responsible for the extra calories.

Eat your veggies

Losing excess weight, is associated with eating greens, which are anything cut from trees and plants. Fill the fridge with different products, even those you don’t know, and lots of salads and experiment with recipes that you can execute. In this way you will be able to acquire a healthy routine and give a real foundation to these foods. In this way you will be able to cheat here and there and have a balance between. Also, drink plenty of water; this will help you feel full.

How does Santa stay safe at Christmas? – RoSPA Workplace Safety Blog

Delivering millions of gifts around the world is a complex and difficult task, even for Santa. Considering for a moment the impossibly short time he has to deliver these presents, coupled with the fact he has eight flying reindeers to manage along the way, it’s also a journey filled with many health and safety issues.

So what does Santa need to do to make sure he’s safe and that we all have a Merry Christmas? To answer that question we’ve compiled a list of 10 festive health and safety training solutions which those from the southern hemisphere might want to incorporate before implementing the world’s fastest delivery service:

1. Lone Workers

Ok, Santa’s got his herd of reindeers, but let’s face it, flying through the sky is a pretty lonely way of working. Moreover, it comes with added dangers – sudden illness or accident, abusive Christmas Eve revellers, or even mental health issues exacerbated by social isolation. Luckily for Santa, RoSPA offers a consultancy service for lone workers to help him deal with these challenges.

2. Confined Space

Clambering up and down chimneys is a tricky business, and let’s face it, Santa isn’t known for his svelte figure. Working in a confined space can be a dangerous activity, and the whole process of getting up and down the chimney stack presents a number of challenges – I’m sure we’ve all asked ourselves “Does Santa have 3 points of contact when climbing up a chimney?”

3. Fire Risk Assessment

It’s going to be cold on Christmas Eve and many of us still have log fires, but do we think about poor old Santa descending the chimney whilst an inferno rages at the bottom? Before every descent, Father Christmas needs to carry out a full Fire Risk Assessment to ensure that he can deliver the presents safely. Otherwise it won’t just be chestnuts roasting on an open fire!

4. Machinery safety

Whilst Christmas Eve is the culmination of Santa’s yearlong mission, the rest of the year is spent making all of the wonderful presents that make our dreams come true and ensure Dad has enough socks for another 12 months.

A lot of these presents require some pretty high risk machinery to make, so it’s important that Santa has a fully trained army of elves at his disposal. He’d be wise to put them all on a machinery safety training course first though.

5. Fleet Safety

Santa is responsible for a fleet of 8 reindeers and he has a duty of care to carry out the appropriate risk assessments. Of course, each reindeer may have different requirements – maybe Dasher’s a high risk sleigh puller, Comet dislikes working from height and Prancer struggles in icy conditions? Luckily, RoSPA offers a wide range of driver risk assessment options to help ensure that Santa and his fleet stay safe this festive season.

6. Manual Handling

Children can have long present lists, so Santa’s sack can be extremely heavy and be quite a challenge to handle. The last thing we want is for Santa to suffer a work related MSD! Santa would be wise to consider manual handling training before hauling a heavy sack around all night.

7. COSHH

Christmas has always been that time of year when everyone gets a little carried away, exchanging all manner of trinkets and ‘gifts’. Unfortunately for Santa, he’s the one responsible for storing, using, handling and transporting these gifts and there’s no telling what hazardous substances that might be there. Luckily for Santa, RoSPA offers COSHH training to help avoid exposure to any harmful substances.

8. Banksman

It’s very important for Santa’s little Elves to know how to effectively assist him when carrying out dangerous reversing maneuvers with his sleigh. After all, driving through the night can be extremely hazardous, particularly through a cloudy sky. The last thing we want is for Santa to have a driving accident on Christmas Eve, so the Elves would be wise to undertake expert Banksman training.

9. First aid at work

Poor old Santa has so little time and so many mince pies to digest on Christmas Eve. This large consumption of sweet delights can very well become a choking hazard if he is not careful. By undertaking First Aid at Work training, Santa can ensure he makes it through the night without any confectionery mishaps!

10. Work related stress

Finally, Christmas can be a stressful time of year for even the most seasoned festive supporters. Santa is no exception, he has a lot of pressure put on him and only one night to make it all happen. To avoid any stress reactions associated with work related stress, Santa would benefit from reading up on how to prevent work related stress.

And there you have it. For more information on any of RoSPA’s workplace safety training qualifications this Christmas, you can visit our website, email or call us on +44 (0)121 248 2233.

Coding Pathways with Ozobots in PE – PHE America

Coding Pathways with Ozobots in PE – PHE America

I love finding creative ways to incorporate STEAM into Physical Education. STEAM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math. I was at my daughter’s Open House for her enrichment class in Bayport where she was showing me how her class was using Ozobots to practice coding. I was immediately intrigued by these little coding robots. I immediately noticed how the students’ faces lit up with excitement as they explained to their parents all the functions you could perform with them. Immediately I thought: what if we combine fitness activities with coding? What a great way to relate to the student’s interests and get them excited about fitness!

Y_Ties_Banner_2

If you are not familiar with Ozobots, they are little robots with sensors that allow you to program the behaviors you want the Ozobots to perform. Ozobots move by detecting the color of the line underneath it. They follow the lines using a back-and-forth motion. The Ozobots also detect a combination of colors which are programmed for more complex commands such as “turn around,” “turbo speed,” “backward walk,” etc. Check here for more info on Ozobots.

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My creative juices were flowing! These coding robots are such powerful tools to engage students in hands-on learning. I knew I had to get my hands on some Ozobots immediately. I went to school the next day and reached out to my co-workers to see if anyone had anything they would allow me to borrow. My librarian and one of the Kindergartner teachers emailed me back immediately. I instantly had twelve that just needed to be charged and they were ready to go.

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One of the units I teach in kindergarten through 2nd grade is Pathways and Levels in PE. I teach pathways directly after my locomotor unit. Locomotor skills are skills that move your body from one place to another such as skipping, galloping, jumping, hopping, slide stepping, leaping, walking, jogging, running, rolling, crab walking and bear crawling. Once the students are familiar with these locomotor skills, I can have them practice them while learning about the 3 different pathways (straight, zigzag, and curved), moving at different levels (low, medium, high), and moving at different speeds ( fast, medium, slow). The Ozobots would be a great supplemental material to enhance my students’ learning pathways, speeds, and levels due to the fact that the students can program.

Levels #1
I started by teaching the students how to first read a map while they became familiar with the 3 pathways they could move in. First, I used Michael Beringer (PE-4-kids) Pathway Challenge . I printed out a map for each child and I had them follow the different pathways on the map using a specific locomotor skill. Every minute I would call out “Switch.” At this time, students would switch their maps with a friend and I would switch their locomotor skills. This activity helped the students become familiar with zig-zag, straight, and curved pathways and helped me assess who still needed to work on particular locomotor movements.

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Levels #2
In Level #2, I introduced coding and the engineering design process. Coding is the process of creating steps/instructions that computers can interpret and perform. The engineering design process is a series of steps (7 steps) that engineers use to find a solution to a problem. I love having students use this process because it lends itself to a growth mindset and encourages students to see failure as a step toward learning.

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At this level, student A was the programmer and student B was the computer who followed the coded pathway. I gave each student a blank piece of paper and they had to create and code their own Pathway map. The prerequisites were that all 3 pathways had to be represented, use at least 3 locomotor skills, and specify how long they would be performing each locomotor skill (ie, 5 steps, 5 seconds). (See picture below). We used the engineering design process to create our maps. My students learned that first, we have to define the task (create a map using all 3 pathways, a minimum of 3 locomotor skills, and the length of each skill), generate ideas for our map design, plan it out, create it on paper, test the map design using a peer, make needed improvements, retest with a peer, and share results.

Picture3

Picture2

Once the students finished with the initial design, they would switch maps with a friend and test out each other’s designs. Students would then reflect on their map. Did their peers find it easy to follow? Do any changes need to be made? Students would then make the needed design changes and have a student try their course again. After, they would gather feedback and make any additional changes.

Level #3: Build the Mario Obstacle Course
In Level #3 we dove deeper into the engineering design process because the students had to design an obstacle course based on their interpretation of a Mario movement map I created. The students were told that they had to recreate the map using any of the equipment in the gym and move through it just like Mario.

Picture1

For example, at the beginning of the map where you see Mario jumping in a zig-zag 6 times from tunnel to tunnel, the students will also have to jump in a zig-zag pattern 6 times. Now, since we don’t have tunnels in the gym, the students could use any of the equipment in the class to interpret the Mario map. Some of the equipment I placed out were poly-spots, aerobic steps, cones, trampolines, balance beams, stepping stones, hula-hoops, etc. The students were told to be creative when interpreting their maps. For example, on the map, Mario starts by jumping zig-zag across the tunnel 6 times. Some of my groups used hula-hoops as tunnels, other groups used aerobic steps to zig-zag jump across and others used trampolines. After they built their interpretation of the map, they got to test it and make any changes they needed to. Then they tried out the other group’s Mario map interpretation. The students loved it!

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Level 4
In the fourth level, robotics was introduced. First, I demonstrated how to turn on and off the Ozobots and how to code the path with markers and paper. The students had to design a pathway map, on paper from scratch, for the Ozobot to interpret and follow. Again, the path had to contain the 3 different pathways, at least 3 different locomotor skills, and 3 different levels. Once the path was created, they had the Ozobot follow the coded path. Once the Ozobot was successful, on to part 2!

The students now had to engineer an obstacle course similar to the one they coded for their Ozobot. They were free to use any of the equipment in the gym. Once the obstacle course was created, they would race their Ozobot through the course, (The Ozobot raced the path on the paper and the students raced the Ozobot through the obstacle course while performing the coded locomotor skills). The students were so excited at the opportunity to race a robot! A lot of my students expressed that it was their favorite PE day ever!

I find games like this challenge our students to think critically, explore different design ideas, collect data, allow opportunities to reflect on pros and cons, and have time to redesign to have a greater lasting impact on learning. Students learn that failures and mistakes are necessary steps to learning. It also allows us a teaching opportunity to discuss coping strategies our students can use in times of frustration thereby improving their resilience. These are lessons that will stay with them forever.

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To a Mouse – RoSPA Workplace Safety Blog

This year the birth of Robert Burns and the Lunar New Year fell on the same date, 25th january. A time for Scots and Asian heritage to be celebrated, a time for reflection and forward planning.

My favorite Robert Burns poem is ‘To a Mouse’, written in 1785 it tells the story of Burns disturbing a mouse nest whilst plowing a field, a panic stricken mouse, its ruined nest and with winter just around the corner, its world in disarray .

There is a line in the poem, ‘The best laid plans o’mice an’ men gang aft agley’ that resonates within OSH world. That despite our reflection on ‘what works’ and our forward planning, things don’t always go our way… and we need support to bring the best out in ourselves and our organizations.

Every year since 1956, RoSPA has provided the opportunity for people and organizations to ‘tell their story’ and share their successes through the internationally recognized RoSPA Health & Safety Awards. This network extends to 40 countries around the world and working with the people involved in bringing submissions together is the best part of my role! At present, we now have 25 RoSPA Awards Ambassadors, with three active overseas; Stephen Storey in Chennai, Mathew Jackson in the United Arab Emirates, and Ben Legg based in Madrid. All of our Ambassadors act as mentors, and Stephen is delivering an event in Chennai later in March.

However, with almost 2000 entrants and even with the extra day available in 2020, bringing the best out in this global network needed extra pairs of hands. People with an understanding of the RoSPA Awards process and the ability to construct an effective submission reflecting local context and culture. Bringing to life the work of OSH professionals and practitioners and demonstrating the value they add not only to their organizations but to society as a whole.

The role of the RoSPA Awards Ambassador was created to help ‘us’ become more accessible, provide mentoring opportunities and encourage organizations to tell their OSH stories. Our Ambassadors are unique individuals who give their time to help others progress, they are catalysts for change in their own organizations, who recognize the importance of connecting around current and emerging OSH issues. They know what works and what to do when things ‘gang agley’, led by Graham Parker MSc CFIOSH FIIRSM CIWFM, RoSPA Trustee and Past President IOSH.

If you are already part of the RoSPA Awards and would like to benefit from mentoring, please get in touch with [email protected].

If you are reading this and want to be part of this elite Awards community, drop the awards team at [email protected] or myself [email protected] a message and we will be happy to help.

And remember each 10,000 mile journey begins with one step…

Spotlight on RoSPA’s First International Awards Ambassador – RoSPA Workplace Safety Blog

In 2018, RoSPA developed the RoSPA Awards Ambassador scheme, aiming to create a network of individuals who champion RoSPA’s objective to drive up health and safety standards via the RoSPA’s International Health and Safety Awards. With more than 27-years of experience in OS&H management, and over half of those spent working overseas, Stephen Storey, who is based in India, was well placed to be RoSPA’s first international awards ambassador. We catch up with him to see what this means for him.

Stephen Story has spent fifteen years working overseas in OS&H management in the Middle East and Asia. He is currently corporate EHS head for Larsen & Toubro (L&T Heavy Civil) in India.

Stephen is one of those on the frontline. His personal goal is to drive up standards across the board in a country where safety culture is not as mature as say Europe or the US. In his work with L&T, he is in charge of the safety and wellbeing of thousands of employees and contractors working in high-risk environments in heavy infrastructure sectors such as tunnels, rail, roads, bridges, nuclear, hydropower, defense, ports and harbors .

The Indian health and safety scene presents its own particular challenges. More than 22 official languages ​​are spoken in the country, and it also has a transient workforce which poses a problem for those trying to instil good OS&H practice and create a safer working environment. However, Larsen & Toubro have worked hard to overcome these obstacles and use the RoSPA Health & Safety Awards to demonstrate a massive commitment to health and safety with consistent entries into these international awards for almost 20 years, with over 100 entries across Larsen & Toubro in 2019.

“The workforce is highly mobile and seasonal and this produces a large, quick turnover of labour, which comes mainly from the agricultural sector.

“Workers generally have very little experience or understanding of complex construction and engineering work methods, and the correct safety behaviors that require implementation to enable accident prevention.

“Making that change and developing those skill sets in a small window of time – before the workforce leaves the projects to take up jobs outside the construction industry in their native region – is a big challenge.”

So how is Stephen tackling these issues?

He is attempting to implement and grow a safety culture, not only through his day-to-day work on the ground but through making a firm commitment to employees and by seeking ways to further expand his influence and promote best safety practices.

stephen regularly works with the National Safety Council of India and the International Labor Organization, among others, and every January Larsen & Toubro hold a safety month which reaches thousands of stakeholders including employees, contractors, suppliers, JV partners, and clients. With themes such as ’embrace digital for a safer workplace’, which included installing safety apps, including safety inspection and near-miss apps on smartphones used in the workplace, and employees taking part in virtual reality construction safety training, it is clear that Stephen has his finger on the pulse of all the latest developments and technologies in safety.

“We also focused on third-party training from international bodies in crane management, operations and rigging, and scaffolding inspection and erection, and ran occupational health campaigns on heart attacks, strokes, diabetes and yoga fitness.”

In 2018, Stephen was chosen to be RoSPA’s very first international ambassador award.

“It is an honor to be approached to support such a prestigious global brand in safety,” Stephen says. “In accepting the role as ambassador it gives me an opportunity to give something back to the occupational safety and health industry and support RoSPA in its overall vision, mission and beliefs.”

Stephen intends to encourage more organizations in India, through his networks, to enter the RoSPA Health & Safety Awards and assimilate the entry process into their safety strategies, as Larsen & Toubro has done.

“Having the opportunities as I do to be invited to talk on various boards, at conferences in India and Asia more widely, and to government and industry forums, I can speak to them of the values ​​an organization can gain from simply entering the awards process and understanding how they can improve and eventually be recognized as RoSPA winners.”

If you are interested in becoming part of the RoSPA Awards, visit www.rospa.com/awards and find out more about our internationally recognized award scheme.