The Access & Opportunity Learning Lab is powered by Laudes Foundation.
The Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE) Asia is thrilled to kick off recruitment for the first-ever cohort of our Access & Opportunity Learning Lab, designed to facilitate active learning, experimentation, collaboration, and problem-solving, allowing participants to gain practical skills and knowledge through real-world scenarios with a primary focus on implementing disability and gender inclusion measures in an organization. The Access & Opportunity Learning Lab will be conducted via three intimate virtual sessions and one in-person session at the ANDE Annual Conference (AC) in Mexico (self-funded). The sessions will be designed with participation in mind through a need assessment to understand the knowledge and capacity gaps in the ecosystem concerning disability and gender inclusion. Each session will build upon learnings from the previous one, with insights gleaned from post-session feedback surveys.
- Building on ANDE’s access to finance for waste and circularity enterprises project, make entrepreneurship disability-inclusive, especially for women and individuals belonging to LGBTQIA+ spectrum by mainstreaming disability and gender inclusion among ANDE members.
- Raising awareness of “reasonable accommodations” and gender inclusivity while providing tips for implementation.
- Achieving incremental change towards a more inclusive environment. Participants will share the disability and gender inclusion landscape in their own countries, the challenges faced by persons with disabilities (PWD’s), women, and gender and sexual minorities, and best practices in the area, particularly within the context of entrepreneurship, fostering peer learning and consequent adoption.
If you would like to participate in this Access & Opportunity Learning Lab Cohort, please register by Thursday, February 27, 2025. ANDE will confirm all selected participants by early March 2025. Please note that seats are limited and the Access & Opportunity Learning Lab intends to allocate one seat per organization only.
Who should apply?
The Access & Opportunity Learning Lab will offer three intimate virtual sessions for 20 Entrepreneurship Support Organizations (ESO) including accelerators, incubators, investors, funders etc., in South Asia and East & Southeast Asia, and one in-person session at the ANDE Annual Conference (AC) in Mexico to elevate disability inclusion in entrepreneurship.
We particularly invite those organizations working in waste and circularity to apply. ANDE has been working on this theme as part of our Access to Green Finance program and we are keen to make this space more disability and gender inclusive.
This is a unique opportunity to expand your inclusivity imagination and explore possibilities to advance inclusivity goals within your organization. You will leave this Learning Lab with a new understanding of your power to influence inclusivity as a tool that contributes to the change you’d like to see in the world.
To ensure participants receive utmost benefits and the Access & Opportunity Learning Lab objectives are achieved, ANDE asks each participant to seriously make the commitments as outlined below.
- Attending the launch session and completing the baseline survey.
- Attending the end-line surveys and exit interviews.
- Participating in a minimum of 2 (out of 3) virtual sessions.
- Making at least 1 post on your personal or organization’s social media platforms. The posts could feature the session, your learnings, and key takeaways.
Questions related to ANDE Access & Opportunity Learning Lab should be addressed to;
- Pasiwat Sutthirak, Senior Program Associate, ANDE East & Southeast Asia
E: Pasiwat.Sutthirak@aspeninstitute.org - Vineetha Venugopal, Program Associate, ANDE South Asia
E: Vineetha.VK@aspeninstitute.org
This session on “Disability Inclusive Social Practices” provided participants an exciting opportunity to learn from our expert and practitioner speaker, Ian Jones, from agile, an impact enterprise from Cambodia that uses human-centered design to create solutions and opportunities for people with disabilities, on the following subjects:
- Concept of disability
- Barriers faced by persons with disabilities and how strategies can be used to overcome those barriers.
- Basic steps to implement the disability inclusion strategy within the organization.
PPT Presentation | Recording
This session on “Mainstreaming Physical Accessibility” allowed participants to have the exciting opportunity to learn from our expert and practitioner speaker, Ian Jones, from agile, an impact enterprise from Cambodia that uses human-centered design to create solutions and opportunities for people with disabilities, on different topics regarding mainstreaming physical accessibility. Upon completion of the session, the participants;
- Gained a comprehensive understanding of physical accessibility that extends beyond traditional notions, encompassing a wider range of considerations for creating inclusive spaces.
- Were equipped with practical assessment tools to evaluate the inclusivity of their organization’s physical infrastructure and identify areas for improvement.
- Had actionable steps and strategies to implement adjustments that enhance physical accessibility within their own work environments.
- Learned from real-world best practices and lessons learned from organizations in the region that have successfully implemented physical accessibility initiatives.
- Were able to engage in informed discussions about the disability landscape in different countries and the specific challenges faced by entrepreneurs with disabilities.
Felt empowered to contribute to the creation of more inclusive and equitable entrepreneurial ecosystems that provide equal opportunities for all.
This session on “Beyond Barriers – Reasonable Accommodations and Assistive Technologies for an Inclusive Entrepreneurial Ecosystem” provided participants an exciting opportunity to learn from our expert and practitioner speakers from agile, Steps, and Vulcan Coalition on the following subjects:
- Understanding Reasonable Accommodations: Define and illustrate the concept of reasonable accommodations in the context of entrepreneurship and employment, with specific examples related to neurodiversity and visual impairments.
- Assistive Technologies and AI: Explore the role of assistive technologies and artificial intelligence in enabling greater participation and success for individuals with disabilities in entrepreneurship and employment.
- Fostering Inclusive Work Environments: Equip participants with strategies for creating supportive work environments that embrace neurodiversity and accommodate the needs of individuals with visual impairments.
- Cost-Effective Solutions: Highlight the low-cost and no-cost accommodations that employers and organizations can implement to foster inclusivity.
- Best Practices and Case Studies: Share regional best practices and inspiring case studies showcasing successful implementation of reasonable accommodations and assistive technologies in entrepreneurial settings.
