OICCI organized the first-ever Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) Conference aimed at raising awareness and get the ball rolling on the talk surrounding inclusion of Persons with Disabilities (PWDs). Held to celebrate the International Day of PWDs (IDPD), the Conference aimed to bring together relevant stakeholders to ensure that  our members are "United in action to rescue and achieve the SDGs for, with and by persons with disabilities” which was the theme of this year’s IDPD.

Ahmed Zahid Zaheer, Chairman of the D&I Subcommittee, welcomed the guests and shared how OICCI members need to step up in bringing global best practices. He emphasized that promoting inclusion for PWDs is essential for building a more diverse and equitable society. Sharing his thoughts on the Conference, he said, “This Conference is part of OICCI’s larger thought leadership to bring in global best practices especially in terms of inclusion. While efforts have been made on women empowerment, PWD inclusion would help alleviate the well-being of the second largest marginalized community.”

The Conference was broken down into panels, the first one covering Accessibility and Environmental Measures to improve PWD Inclusion. The panelists included Faiza Savul – Partner and Head of Global Operations, August Leadership, Itfaq Khaliq Khan – Sr. Program Manager, SightSavers Pakistan, and Fatima Jamil – Director Programs, NOWPDP, and was moderated by Lina Merwanji – HR Head, BASF.

The second panel covered Policy Implementation to increase PWD Inclusion and included Asim Zaafar – CEO, Saaya Association, Sabahat Bokhari – D&I Head, Jazz, and Madiha Siddiqui – Program Manager – Empowerment, NOWPDP. The panel was moderated by M. Taha Mushtaq – Research Officer, OICCI.

The Conference also included a speaker session, where Ali Khan Tareen shared his personal corporate journey as a visually impaired individual, and how his experiences led to his successful initiative Dining in the Dark. Currently working as a Product Manager at Dubai Islamic Bank, he shared his struggles and how that shaped his narrative on PWD inclusion and what more needs to be done to successfully integrate the PWDs in the corporate fabric.

Sharing his thoughts, M. Abdul Aleem highlighted how as foreign investors and thought leaders, there still remains a lot to be done by the private sector to include PWDs and how this thought was the driving force behind the D&I Conference. “Before we begin looking externally, one needs to look individually and examine the extent of PWDs within their own circles. External change will only reflect once intrinsic changes are made to our thought processes.”