Hosted by the SABC Foundation, the summit aims to catalyse transformative change in the disability space by sharing lessons learnt, unpacking the latest B-BBEE legislative policies and their impact on businesses, identifying unique opportunities for collaboration and promoting corporate career prospects for South Africa’s youth.
The event brought together 500 Grade 9-12 learners, 100 graduates and 150 entrepreneurs with disabilities, to engage one-on-one with some of South Africa's corporates, many of which are struggling to meet the disability requirements on the B-BBEE scorecard.
In particular, the summit is aligned with the SABC Foundation’s Disability 360 campaign, which aims to empower people with disabilities by providing ongoing information online and on the ground, in all 11 official languages.
“Being heard, respected and valued is a basic human right for all, and we hope that through initiatives such as Disability 360 and the SABC Disability Summit, we will support this right and pave the way for enhanced training and job opportunities for South Africans with disabilities,” says Iris Cupido, CEO of the SABC Foundation.
The SABC Disability Summit, presented in partnership with Creative Space Media, represents the evolution of the Hope-Mandeville Disability Careers Expo, an event first launched in 2012 by Paddy Slattery, stemming from his work with public benefit organisation and Section 21 company Mandeville Disability Swimming.
“Having taken the expos as far as we could within our capacity limitations, the Hope-Mandeville team invited Creative Space Media to take over the organisation of the event with effect from this year. We believe the new management will help the event achieve its full potential for sophistication and growth. The move is already bearing fruit – Creative Space Media brought in the SABC as the primary sponsor of the event, and has upgraded the event to full conference status,” Slattery says.
