Speakers
Eric Chua
Senior Parliamentary SecretaryMinistry of Law & Ministry of Social and Family Development
Eric Chua
Mr Eric Chua is Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Social and Family Development, as well as Law. Mr Chua was previously a lifesaver in the Singapore Civil Defence Force for 17 years before being elected to Parliament in July 2020. Before joining politics, Mr Chua spent a good part of his time volunteering in the community. Over the span of his professional and volunteering journey, he discovered his passion for working with and empowering people. Having come from a humble family background, Mr Chua advocates strongly for social mobility and is a strong believer of the power of mentoring.
Most recently, Mr Chua was the co-chair of the 27-member Enabling Masterplan 2030 Steering Committee, that sets out the vision for Singapore as an inclusive society in 2030. He was also the Head of an inter-agency delegation for Singapore’s first Constructive Dialogue with the United Nations committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, where Singapore shared the progress we have made, and our continued commitment in our journey towards an inclusive society.
Michael Fembek
Michael Fembek is the CEO of the Zero Project.
A former business journalist, he has initiated and developed the Zero Project since 2008. In July 2022, Michael Fembek joined the Board of Directors of the Essl Foundation, in charge of strategy, international cooperations and communications. He is also head of the Disability Thematic Network of Philea, the leading European Association of foundations.
As the former Editor-in-Chief of "Gewinn", an Austrian business magazine, Michael has been keen to pair his entrepreneurial ambitions with value and purpose. Consequently, in 2009 he initiated "Sinnstifter", a project by Austrian philanthropists, and launched the annual Austrian Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Guide. His work with foundations was further enriched when in 2014, he co-initiated the Austrian philanthropic association, called "Verband für Gemeinnütziges Stiften", where he serves as Vice President. In 2016, he co-initiated the Haus der Philanthropie, a novel co-working space dedicated to NGOs, as well as the Sinnbildungsstiftung, a foundation focusing on innovations in education, on which he currently serves as a Board Member.
Michael Fembek holds a graduate degree in Economics from the Vienna University of Economics and Business.
Moses Lee
Mr Moses Lee is currently the Chairman of SG Enable and Special Needs Trust Company (SNTC). Under his stewardship as Chairman of Tote Board (2013 to 2020), the SNTC (since 2019), and SG Enable (since 2022), many initiatives were launched to strengthen the social service sector, enhance the financial security of persons with disabilities, and support their aspirations. These include the Enabling Lives Initiative, by SG Enable and Tote Board, and the Goh Chok Tong Enable Fund, administered by SG Enable.
Mr Lee retired from the Singapore Civil Service in October 2012 after a distinguished career in both the development and regulatory areas of the public service. His appointments included being Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister and Permanent Secretary in the Ministries of Labour, Community Development and Health.
Mr Lee was the Commissioner of the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) from 2005 until his retirement. As the Commissioner, Mr Lee pushed for IRAS to excel in managing both tax compliance and customer service.
Shalom Lim
Shalom Lim is a physically disabled artist, advocate, and storyteller with muscular dystrophy. As co-founder of Rebirth Ensemble, he champions accessibility in fine art for all. His practice spans visual and performing arts, policy, and public speaking. He recently co-emceed the 2023 Asia Pacific Breweries Foundation Scholarship for Persons with Disabilities award ceremony.
Amanda Yip
Amanda Yip is a vision-impaired artist, performer, and accessibility consultant. She co-founded Rebirth Ensemble, Singapore’s first disability-led art consultancy, to reimagine fine art experiences. A painter and advocate for inclusive design, Amanda draws on lived experience to inspire change. She recently co-emceed The Purple Parade 2024 indoor concert at Suntec.
Carrie Chow
Carrie is an Accessibility Evangelist at Atos, where she connects people with opportunities to enhance digital accessibility. She has served on the Editorial Board of the former Atos Scientific Community and as a Senior Expert in the Atos Expert Community in the data/AI domain. Her extensive experience includes roles in strategy and leadership as a solution architect, data expert, business development manager, head of marketing & communication, and steering committee of the group portfolio. In addition to a stint as IT Helpdesk Manager for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games, she was a leader in the corporate culture refresh program, and chaired the Global Adapt Network, an Employee Resource Group (ERG) for disability inclusion.
Her voluntary engagements include UN projects for AI Lab for Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and race official at CYBATHLON, a non-profit project of ETH Zurich that hosts international competitions and events to foster innovation in assistive technologies for everyday use by and for people with disabilities. She has been a mentor to Zero Project Scaling Solutions teams since 2023.
Yoshio Nakagawa
Yoshio Nakagawa is a Program Officer at The Nippon Foundation, leading disability inclusion initiatives in Southeast Asia, including the regional scholarship program and university disability support services in Indonesia. With extensive field experience in disability inclusion projects across Asia, he presented the Foundation’s work at the UNESCAP Working Group on the Asian and Pacific Decade of Persons with Disabilities in 2025. At the Zero Project Asia Pacific Symposium, he will share key initiatives and collaboration with the partner organizations.
Chetan Kapoor
A thought leader and seasoned development sector professional, Chetan has worked with multiple stakeholders, across rural and urban landscapes in a career spanning over two decades. With a strong belief in finding collaborative solutions, Chetan has always espoused the importance of scaling deep before scaling wide.
Chetan joined Tech Mahindra Foundation in 2016 as the Chief Operating Officer. He conceptualized the Foundation’s flagship Skill Development Program (SMART), which is one of the largest urban skill development programs in India and has been furthering the vision of the foundation, “Empowerment through Education”.
Chetan has served as a jury member of the FICCI Excellence in Higher Education Awards, and has been part of their Skill Development Committee. He has also been a member of the Curriculum Reform Committee constituted by the Government of Delhi for transforming education in Delhi Government schools.
Prior to joining TMF, Chetan led his consulting company Edulever, a premier support organization for the social development sector. Earlier, he has held senior management positions in organizations like Pratham, Bharti Foundation, and American India Foundation. He is also the co-founder of Agrasar, a developmental organization working for Skills and Education.
In his present role as Chief Executive Officer of Tech Mahindra Foundation, Chetan’s driving force is the “higher purpose” of serving the underserved above anything else. Chetan is strongly committed to the Mahindra Group’s avowed belief in “Rising for an Equal World."
Haibin Zhou
Haibin ZHOU is the Founder and Executive Director of Easy Inclusion, a social enterprise promotes disability inclusion in workplaces. He is the Secretary General of ILO Global Business and Disability Network China chapter, Chief Supervisor of Inclusion China. He is standards-based business and human rights, diversity and equality professional, with extensive experiences of working in China. Extensive experiences at design, management, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of multiple partners programs; Skilled at social development, sustainability, legal, human rights and policy advocacy, especially strong in Cooperate Social Responsibility, supply chains, labor law and equality issues.
In 2012-2016, he worked in International Labor Office in China and Mongolia as National Programme Coordinator, and then coordinated UN Partnership on Rights for Persons with Disabilities in China and Promoting Rights and Opportunities for People with Disabilities in Employment through Legislation, or PROPEL Project.
Walter Tsui
Walter Tsui, M.H. is the Co-Founder and CEO of CareER. Walter, though visually impaired, has a strong commitment to support highly educated people with disabilities and special education needs in Hong Kong. In 2024, Walter has been awarded a Medal of Honour by the HKSAR Government for his great contribution to the local community as well as one of the Gen.T Leaders of Tomorrow by Tatler in 2022.
Under Walter’s leadership, CareER (a non-profit organisation co-founded by Walter in 2014) was recognized twice by the United Nations-affiliated Zero Project Award in 2021 and 2025 – for its innovative recruitment service model to support employment for individuals with disabilities in 2021; and its CareER Disability Inclusion Index to support mainstream employers to systematically advance disability inclusion at workplace in 2025. CareER was also awarded by The Hong Kong Council of Social Service as the ‘Most Impactful Small and Medium-sized Non-Government-Subvented NGO’ in 2019.
Walter has acquired his executive training with Harvard Business School and Harvard Kennedy School of Government in 2023 and 2021 respectively. In 2024, Walter was nominated by the U.S. Consulate General Hong Kong and Macau to participate in the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) to visit the USA, focusing on NGO Management.
Prior to starting his venture in CareER, Walter worked in a number of multinational corporations where Walter acquired relevant skills that empowered him to lead CareER. Walter has devoted himself to serving the Hong Kong community, being nominated to various committees hosted by the Hong Kong Government and other statutory organizations. Walter has been a guest lecturer at HKUST in the MBA program, City U at Master of Social Work program on the topic of driving diversity, equality and inclusion in the private sector.
Despite his visual impairment, Walter has participated in Hong Kong’s New Year Winter Swimming for over 20 years and he has practised Chinese martial art “Wing Chun” for over 10 years, which shows his endurance and perseverance.
Johnny Gao
Johnny Gao is Assistant Vice President, Sustainability, at The Ascott Limited (Ascott). In his role, he supports the Chief Financial and Sustainability Officer in managing and driving Ascott's sustainability initiatives across its global portfolio of over 990 properties in 230 cities spanning more than 40 countries.
Johnny was instrumental in establishing the Corporate Sustainability team and launching Ascott’s sustainability framework, Ascott CARES, in 2022. His efforts have greatly contributed to Ascott achieving GSTC-Committed status and making significant progress towards its sustainability targets. Collaborating closely with Ascott’s country and corporate leaders, Johnny is passionate about developing practical solutions and driving positive outcomes.
An architect by training, Johnny has previously held roles in Strategic Planning and Innovation, bringing a forward-thinking approach to his current position.
Tanzila Khan
Tanzila Khan is an entrepreneur, activist and travel blogger from Pakistan. She advocates for disability rights through lobbying, writing and engaging media. Her entrepreneurial ventures include Woopie Town, a board game to educate players on disability and Girlythings.pk, a menstrual healthcare startup in Pakistan. She wrote her first book, ‘A story of Mexico’ when she was just 16 and then went on to publish her second book, ‘The Perfect Situation’. She has sold her books to fund community projects in the fields of disability, women empowerment, education, and the environment. Her NGO is Creative Alley that helps youth learn LifeSkills through theatre and storytelling. She also ventured into Film making and acting to project disability through a heart-warming short film called FruitChaat. She has launched Pakistan´s first fully accessible podcast by the name, ´Brain Masala´ under her banner, Iwish. Tanzila Khan won the Amal Clooney Women’s Empowerment Award by King Charles in London in May 2022 for her services. She frequently travels to places and writes and also completed her Masters in Entrepreneurship from Uppsala University, Sweden.
Mandy Latimore
Mandy Latimore – Accessible Tourism & Universal Access Specialist
Mandy Latimore is a globally recognised leader in accessible tourism, universal access, and disability inclusion. With over four decades of experience in the disability sector, Mandy brings a powerful combination of lived experience, technical expertise, and international insight to her work.
She is the Co-Founder and Lead Consultant at Universal Access Collective, a women-led initiative focused on creating accessible environments and inclusive systems across tourism, transport, education, and public infrastructure. Mandy is also the founder of Access Universal Solutions (Pty) Ltd, where she has delivered universal access audits and inclusive tourism strategies aligned with South Africa’s National Building Regulations (SANS 10400 Part S) and global best practices.
Mandy has worked closely with South Africa’s National Department of Tourism, drafting inclusive training material and trained staff. She has also conducting access assessments across national parks and protected areas. Her passion for travel stems from personal experience – she has travelled extensively, visiting every continent except Antarctica – and she previously owned and operated Novel Travel, her own travel agency and the Scuba Explorers Society that specialised in scuba diving tours.
An award-winning advocate, Mandy was named one of the Top 13 Achieving Women with Disabilities in the Leisure Sector in 2010 and received the Gauteng Provincial Government Lifetime Disability Rights Achiever Award in 2019. She writes a regular travel column for Rolling Inspiration Magazine, published by the QuadPara Association of South Africa (QASA), where she has also served on the editorial board since 2004.
Through Universal Access Collective, Mandy is building a global movement for accessibility – transforming how the world travels, includes, and connects.
Desiree Lim
Desiree is a designer and partner at STUCK Design, where she helps organisations unravel problems to get to people-centered and incisive design. Her design research work spans early childhood spaces, school white spaces and libraries, and nursing homes. One key project was when she worked to develop key principles to guide the design of inclusive spaces, which now lives on in SG Enable's Playbook for Inclusive Spaces.
Hong Wei Phua
Hong Wei saw through the design and completion of Enabling Village in 2013-2015, and always find delight in seeing users engaging the gardens and spaces since. He sees design to enable inclusivity, accessibility and sustainability and a better environment for all.
Terence Chew
Terence is a registered Architect at WOHA Architects and certified Universal Design Assessor. He worked on the Enabling Village Extension from 2022-2025. He is passionate about creating spaces that champion inclusivity, nurture community and advance sustainability.
Cecilia Chow
A seasoned Arts Producer with over two decades of experience bringing creative concepts to life, Cecilia is committed to increasing awareness and enriching the visitor experience for diverse audiences at the Singapore Art Museum through a multi-faceted approach. With a diverse background spanning music festivals, theatre productions, and community arts initiatives, she has a proven track record of managing complex projects from conception to completion. Her passion lies in exploring the powerful intersection of arts and health, and she is dedicated to creating projects that leverage the therapeutic power of art to enhance the well-being of individuals and communities.
Yock Song Law
Yock Song is the CEO and Co-founder of Ludus Lab, a travel and education startup focused on creating an inclusive tourism ecosystem for persons with disabilities. With over 16 years of experience across tourism, hospitality, and technology, he specializes in government relations, go-to-market strategy, and international business development. Previously, as Managing Partner of Tribe Tours, he led the company to 5X revenue growth and expansion into Greater China, building on his earlier roles at the Singapore Tourism Board. A recognized advocate for accessible tourism, he serves on advisory boards such as Ngee Ann Polytechnic and mentors social impact startups. In his free time, he enjoys pour-over coffee and planning his next travel adventure.
More details coming soon!