The Asia LGBT Milestone Awards (ALMA Awards 2015) will return for its second annual outing in mid-April.

Organizers have today announced that the event will include an international business forum to discuss issues around social diversity and inclusion concerning LGBTI minorities.

The headline topic for discussion will be: What you can do – today’s key challenges to achieving greater diversity in the workplace.

The ALMA Awards Forum will take place on 14 April at the Sofital So Bangkok. Global tech firm IBM has been announced as headline sponsor.

‘Given the breadth of IBM’s business across 170 countries, diversity is a competitive differentiator that enables IBM to reflect the global diversity of our customers,’ said Tony Tenicela, Global Leader, Workforce Diversity and LGBT Markets for IBM.

‘We are pleased to sponsor the first Business Leadership Forum dedicated to LGBT professionals in the AP [Asia-Pacific] region.’

Tenicela, who has advised C-Suite executives on the role of diversity as a strategic business driver, will be one of the event’s keynote speakers alongside Hayden Majajas, Asia Pacific D&I Director for BP.

Also speaking will be former Chinese policeman, Geng Le, who is now the founder of Blue City, one of China’s largest LGBT business enterprise.

Geng Le launched bf99.com, a gay dating site, in 2006. Today he oversees an office of 50 full-time staff. He released Blued, one of China’s fastest growing gay dating smartphone apps, in 2012: it now boasts over two million users and is valued at an estimated US$300 million.

Hiro Mizuhara, the Editorial Director of Element Biz, one of the event’s organizers, told Gay Star Business that the time was now right for such a business-focused gathering in Asia, and that part of the reason for arranging it was to bring together those wishing to initiate further change.

‘The Forum definitely helps to open up a lot more potential networking and collaboration opportunities for attendees. NGOs and LGBT activists may want to find potential sponsors to fund their campaigns and projects, whereas corporate corporations are beginning to realize that supporting and implementing social inclusion and diversity is a universally shared value.’