The Hungarian Business Leaders Forum organized the impactABLE Festival for the second time, once again bringing together corporate, civil society, and professional stakeholders to work toward creating a more inclusive, fair, and ethical labor market. Held at the Bosch Budapest Innovation Campus, the event focused on social mobility, the labor market integration of people with disabilities, the ethical use of AI, wage transparency, responsible corporate governance, and workplace diversity. One of the highlights of the event was the award ceremony for the CATALYST Award – HBLF Business Award for Social Mobility. The award recognized corporate programs and individual professionals who actively work to ensure that success in the labor market is determined not by social background, but by talent, diligence, and performance.
The true drivers of social mobility were recognized
The goal of the CATALYST Award is to highlight corporate and individual initiatives that tangibly promote social mobility, equal opportunity, and more equitable labor market participation. The members of the award jury were Tamás Botka, CEO & Publisher of the Budapest Business Journal; Katalin Erdei, Global HR Director at Richter; Márton Galambos, CEO of Forbes; Zsuzsa Gárdus, Managing Director of Jobsgarden and member of the HBLF Board of Directors; and Zsófia Makádi, Executive Director of the HBLF Romaster Foundation.
The grand prize in the corporate category was awarded to the Boston Consulting Group Ltd.’s INTEGROM program. INTEGROM supports the labor market integration of young Roma talent through a long-term, comprehensive approach that delivers measurable results. The program provides practical assistance—including training, mentoring, and corporate connections—during a critical life stage: finding employment after completing studies. The jury particularly appreciated that the initiative creates a direct link between young Roma and the corporate job market, having already contributed to hundreds of placements at large companies over the course of more than a decade.
The Special Innovation Award in the corporate category was awarded to AmRest Ltd.’s EMPLOYABLE program. This initiative, implemented in partnership with the Salva Vita Foundation, supports the preparation and integration into the labor market of neurodivergent individuals, including those living with ADHD or autism. The jury recognized the pioneering nature, social relevance, and genuine commitment to integration of the EMPLOYABLE program, particularly because it offers concrete job opportunities and a preparation process for a target group whose entry into the labor market requires special support.
The grand prize in the individual category was awarded to Andrea Joó, Service Manager at bp. For years, Andrea Joó has been actively working to promote equal opportunity, inclusivity, and cultural diversity. In her mentoring and coaching roles, she supports, among others, young Roma people, those returning from military service, career starters, career changers, professionals with leadership ambitions, as well as employees affected by burnout or loss. The jury awarded the grand prize in recognition of his exemplary personal and leadership commitment, his multifaceted volunteer work, and his direct social impact.
Focus on ethical corporate governance, wage transparency, and inclusive workplaces
Organized with the support of the Bosch Group, this year’s impactABLE Festival was held under the motto “Together, we’re shaping the workplace of tomorrow!” The event focused on the message that transforming the labor market is a shared responsibility, and that by making it more equitable, we can bring about positive change across society as a whole. The program highlighted that labor shortages, generational differences, and social diversity are not necessarily obstacles; in fact, if companies consciously and responsibly adapt their operations, they can even turn these differences into advantages.
During the festival’s plenary program, participants heard discussions on topics including ethical issues in leadership, the relationship between transparent pay practices and equal opportunity, and the corporate dilemmas surrounding the ethical use of AI. Paralympian Luca Ekler participated in the panel on the labor market participation of people with disabilities, and the professional program was further enriched by a keynote speech from Vilmos Benkő, founder of the Hungarian Toastmasters Club, economist, businessman, investor, and coach.
The Festival also provided a space for community experiences
What made the festival unique was that, in addition to corporate executives and professionals in HR, CSR, ESG, DEI, and communications, civil society organizations, stakeholders, young people just starting their careers, volunteers, and corporate communities also played an active role. The program was made engaging and experiential through the participation of MáSzínház, a slam poetry performance, civil society exhibitors, networking opportunities, and small-group interactive sessions.
The afternoon sessions addressed practical topics such as the social impact of corporate volunteer groups, the role of mentoring in social mobility, neurodiversity and inclusive workplaces, the effective integration of colleagues with disabilities, pay transparency, and corporate strategies to support working parents.
The event was hosted at the Bosch Budapest Innovation Campus, where Bosch is shaping the workplace of the future and fostering an inclusive corporate culture in practice every day: at the Bosch Group in Hungary, people from more than 50 different nationalities work together on the technologies of the future in a modern, inspiring, and sustainable work environment.
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