Empowering People with Disabilities through Technology

The webinar is co-organised by the Asian Development Bank, ERIA, Google, International Labour Organization, and the Tech for Good Institute.

Technology can be life changing for people with disabilities. It can provide opportunities for them to participate more fully in the workforce, to access education, and to lead more independent lives.

A report from the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) said people with disabilities are an overlooked source of innovative talent as in the Asia and the Pacific alone, there are 472 million people with disabilities of working age, who are two to six times less likely to be employed than their peers without a disability.

This webinar, “Empowering People with Disabilities through Technology,” marks this year’s International Day of Persons with Disabilities Day, which is themed “United in action to rescue and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for, with and by persons with disabilities.”

Panelists will discuss the breakthroughs in technology that foster inclusivity and participation. They will highlight the role of artificial intelligence and assistive technologies in dismantling barriers to accessibility, amplify what a person with disability can do, and examine how digital platforms can be pivotal in promoting inclusive education and employment. The dialogue will extend to strategies for embedding technology in various sectors to ensure that persons with disabilities are integral to achieving the SDGs.

Attendees will gain insights on actionable practices that can drive a universally inclusive future, leveraging technology not just as a tool for development, but as a bridge to equality and empowerment.

Speakers

  • Darren Chua, International Speaker and Empowerment Coach, Mindset Transformation Clinic
  • Ryan Rahardjo, Head of Public Affairs Southeast Asia and South Asia Frontier, Google

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Mouna Aouri

Programme Fellow

Mouna Aouri is an Institute Fellow at the Tech For Good Institute. As a social entrepreneur, impact investor, and engineer, her experience spans over two decades in the MENA region, South East Asia, and Japan. She is founder of Woomentum, a Singapore-based platform dedicated to supporting women entrepreneurs in APAC through skill development and access to growth capital through strategic collaborations with corporate entities, investors and government partners.

Dr Ming Tan

Founding Executive Director

Dr Ming Tan is founding Executive Director for the Tech for Good Institute, a non-profit founded to catalyse research and collaboration on social, economic and policy trends accelerated by the digital economy in Southeast Asia. She is concurrently a Senior Fellow at the Centre for Governance and Sustainability at the National University of Singapore and Advisor to the Founder of the COMO Group, a Singaporean portfolio of lifestyle companies operating in 15 countries worldwide.  Her research interests lie at the intersection of technology, business and society, including sustainability and innovation.

 

Ming was previously Managing Director of IPOS International, part of the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore, which supports Singapore’s future growth as a global innovation hub for intellectual property creation, commercialisation and management. Prior to joining the public sector, she was Head of Stewardship of the COMO Group and the founding Executive Director of COMO Foundation, a grantmaker focused on gender equity that has served over 47 million women and girls since 2003.

 

As a company director, she lends brand and strategic guidance to several companies within the COMO Group. Ming also serves as a Council Member of the Council for Board Diversity, on the boards of COMO Foundation and Singapore Network Information Centre (SGNIC), and on the Digital and Technology Advisory Panel for Esplanade–Theatres on the Bay, Singapore’s national performing arts centre.

 

In the non-profit, educational and government spheres, Ming is a director of COMO Foundation and Singapore Network Information Centre (SGNIC) and chairs the Asia Advisory board for Swiss hospitality business and management school EHL. She also serves on  the Council for Board Diversity and the Digital and Technology Advisory Panel for Esplanade–Theatres on the Bay, Singapore’s national performing arts centre.

 

Ming was educated in Singapore, the United States, and England. She obtained her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Stanford University and her doctorate from Oxford.