Disability inclusion in a changing world

Our Global Conference, kindly sponsored by HSBC, will take place online on Thursday 21 November 2024.

To reach a global audience, all sessions will be available for playback immediately after the live broadcasts, to enable you to catch up on sessions wherever you are in the world.

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The world is ever changing, but recent months have seen changes in legislation and regulation in many countries, and perhaps also in opinions about diversity and inclusion with elections and changes in government. What does this mean for disability inclusion in business globally?

Join us for our Global Conference to hear how businesses are adapting to new legislation such as the European Accessibility Act and the increasing Environment, Governance and Social (ESG) reporting requirements. These have led to an increased interest in global data monitoring as businesses try to ascertain how many disabled people they employ worldwide, and how they can best meet the needs of their many disabled customers.

Capturing information about how many disabled people a business employs can be challenging when attitudes to disability and legislation vary from country to country. We will hear from the frontline as the pharmaceutical company Novartis brings perspectives from Eastern and Western Europe and India, China and Japan.

We will also hear how businesses are preparing for the introduction of the European Accessibility Act. Although this legislation has European in the title, there is no doubt that it will cause ripples through supply chains worldwide.

Sessions:

Sponsor’s address

• Carolanne Minashi, Global Head of Inclusion, HSBC (UK).

Disability Inclusion at Novartis – navigating cultural and regulatory differences

• Stephie Elms, Head of Disability, Equity and Neuroinclusion, Novartis (Switzerland).
• Frederique Loeuillet-Ritzler, Novartis (France/Switzerland).
• Satya Satyavolu, Novartis (India).
• Anja Uršič, Novartis (Slovenia).

Global Accessibility Discovery Centres

• Christopher Patnoe, Head of EMEA Accessibility and Disability Inclusion, Google (UK)

Building inner confidence through disability networks and employee resource groups (ERGs)

• Brendan Roach, Managing Director, PurpleSpace (UK).

ESGs – Driving Disability Inclusion?

• Jürgen Menze, Disability Inclusion Specialist, International Labour Organization (Switzerland).
• Rubeena Singh, Senior Research Consultant, International Labour Organization (Canada).

The Global Disability Directory

• Victoria Harker, Project Manager, Business Disability Forum (UK).
• Jacob Spargo-Mabbs, Content Manager, Business Disability Forum (UK).

With hosts:

• Diane Lightfoot, CEO, Business Disability Forum (UK).
• Bela Gor, Director of Legal and Content, Business Disability Forum (UK).
• Sarah Eason, Head of Memberships, Business Disability Forum (UK).
• Lucy Ruck, Taskforce Manager, Business Disability Forum (UK).
• Daniel Cadey, Senior Business Disability Partner, Business Disability Forum (UK).

We look forward to sharing more confirmed speakers and the final programme with you soon.

Accessibility:

Live captions and British Sign Language interpretation will be provided. If you have any adjustment requests please state when booking or feel free to contact us to discuss your requirements.

Contact us:

If you have any questions regarding adjustments or about the conference generally, please email our events team.

Book your place

Sponsorship opportunities:

Interested in sponsorship? It’s a great way to help us deliver our events, show your commitment to disability inclusion and get your brand seen by our 580+ members. Find out more about sponsorship opportunities.