Online Desk: To commemorate the International Day for Persons with Disabilities, Bangladesh Business and Disability Network (BBDN) and the CSR Centre, in collaboration with UN-Habitat, organized the CEO Forum titled “Build the Nation through Accessible & Inclusive Employment Opportunities” on December 4, 2023, at the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) Office, Police Plaza Concord.

The event aimed to catalyze dialogue among corporate leaders to create an enabling environment for persons with disabilities and drive positive change towards a more inclusive society.

The CEO Forum, a testament to the commitment to the principle of “leave no one behind,” focused on making companies welcoming to all through the accessibility of different types of infrastructure within society at large.

Distinguished attendees included Rupali Chowdhury, Managing Director of Berger Paints; Monsur Ahmed Chowdhury, Trustee of BBDN; Dr. Md. Mafizur Rahman, Managing Director of SME Foundation; Shamarukh Fakhruddin, Director of Urmi Group; Tahsinah Ahmed,     Executive Director of Bangladesh Youth Leadership Center (BYLC); Constantinos S. Gavriel, General Manager at Le Meridien Hotels & Resorts – Marriott International; Karin Jongman, Hotel Manager at Le Meridien Dhaka; Samia Chowdhury, Chief Executive Officer of MTB Foundation; Tushar Tripathi, CEO of Envoy Textiles; Sohel Tanvir Khan, Business Director of ACI Logistics Ltd (Shwapno); Akik Ahmed, Manager Green Delta Insurance Limited, according to a media release.

The Forum served as a platform to harness the collective wisdom, expertise and commitment of CEOs and industry leaders towards creating a more inclusive society in Bangladesh. Murteza Khan, CEO of BBDN, welcomed the audience with his remarks and emphasized the objective of the event which was to focus on the relationship between employment and the accessibility of infrastructure. Dr. Priyanka Kochhar presented the keynote on SDGs and the role of the private sector in creating accessible employment opportunities for persons with disabilities, in the context of developing sustainable cities. Shahamin Zaman, CEO of CSR Centre, in her vote of thanks, emphasized that only private and public partnership can achieve the most desirable SDGs.

In a noteworthy development, the discussants stressed the importance of government support and legislative enforcement in creating more accessible housing, WASH facilities and transportation systems to support persons with disabilities,thereby enabling increased     access to meaningful opportunities and greater social participation. In addition, development partners that are funding large infrastructure projects can leverage their influence to compel the government to ensure the projects undertaken include universal design principles that address the accessibility requirements for persons with disabilities — best exemplified by the Dhaka Metro Rail, which has been established as an accessible mode of transportation. In addition, while employers shared their good practices in different sectors related to disability inclusion in the workplace, from a sustainability and scalability perspective, it was emphasized that the infrastructural enablers are necessary to maintain and drive the required changes in the long run.

The collaborative efforts of BBDN, CSR Centre and UN-Habitat underscore a commitment to building a more inclusive and equitable future for all citizens of Bangladesh. As these initiatives gain momentum, it is expected that they will serve as a catalyst for positive change, inspiring other sectors and public departments to embrace inclusivity as a core tenet of their development agendas.