Standing Firm in Power & Pride: Celebrating You 2025

It’s been a few weeks since our 4th annual ‘Celebrating You’ event took place, and we’re still not over it. We had a wonderful evening meeting and celebrating so many amazing Black women in science, with the support of our amazing friends at the Academy of Medical Sciences. In this post, we’re taking a look at some of our event highlights.

What is ‘Celebrating You’?

Celebrating you is an annual event run by the BWiS network that aims to bring together Black women in science and STEM-related fields of all ages and disciplines to socialise, network, and ultimately celebrate ourselves and our achievements. 

The theme for Black History Month 2025 was ‘Standing firm in power and pride’, and our event took this in its stride Black women in the Sciences often face a wide range of obstacles due to intersectional factors and that can make it hard to keep your head up. This year we wanted to highlight that with us, you are never alone.

What did we get up to?

We started the evening with a few icebreakers and networking games, led by our charismatic host and gamemaster, Tobi Rachel. As we laughed, talked, bounced around the room in a rousing game of ‘Never Have I Ever’, and snacked on the delicious selection of entrees and bowl food, we all got to know each other a little more. After that, we had some time to explore the various stations dotted around the event space. We took some photos at the Polaroid Station, picked up some affirmation cards at the Affirmation Station, learned some wellbeing tips to manage stressful situations, and picked up some useful MentalandMe resources at the Wellbeing Station. 

Throughout the night, everyone was invited to write down at least one thing they were proud of and add it to our Celebration Jar. As the evening came to an end, everyone had a chance to step up to receive their round of applause and their literal flowers in our Celebration Circle. Whether the things we were most proud of were personal or professional, everyone was seen, heard, and celebrated.

We had a wonderful evening meeting and mingling with so many of you who were able to join us, and we sincerely hope that you did too. Don’t just take my words for it though, here is what some of our attendees thought of the night:

BWIS events are a huge highlight of my year

The event was great as usual, I am always look forward to Celebrating You, thank you so much for your impact

The evening was perfectly organised and run. The atmosphere was really friendly and enjoyable.

Every time I attend the BWiS network I think, it can’t get any better, but somehow you guys always manage to go above and beyond every single time. I’m so proud of how much this community has grown and I owe you guys so much for introducing me to my current friends. The events have grown to be my safe place. Thank you xx

This was an amazingly valuable event. Well done to the team. A really positive network of professionals.

So great, I was about to go home after work but so glad I came. Can’t wait to come back next year.

If you missed out on this year’s event, don’t worry, ‘Celebrating You’ and other BWiS events will be back again next year. Hope to see you there! In the meantime, please remember that if you ever need a reminder of just how amazing you are, you always have us here at BWiS who are ready and willing to celebrate you.

Images by Empire Scheme Studios and the Academy of Medical Sciences.

By Esther Ansah, Blog Writer