IncluCity: Webinar 1: Global Insights to Local Action
The first session in our new IncluCity webinar series – Global Insights to Local Action – set the tone for what will be an ongoing dialogue between research, local expertise, and lived experience. Designed to unpack the findings of our Global Action Report, this series brings together key voices from around the world to explore how cities can transform themselves into more accessible and inclusive spaces for all.
In this opening session, speakers from four of the six cities involved in the research – Indonesia, India, Kenya, and Mongolia – came together to reflect on their journey, share lessons, and highlight the local action being driven by inclusive infrastructure initiatives. The panel was moderated by GDI Hub CEO, Iain McKinnon, who introduced the event as a way to “situate the work that we've been doing looking at inclusive cities… and open it up to a wider debate.”
Rights-Based Advocacy in Mongolia
Opening the panel, Tamirkhuu Narangerel from Universal Progress in Mongolia shared how he channels his personal experience as a wheelchair user into advocacy work in Ulaanbaatar.
"In 2015, I got spinal cord injury on my neck and since then I became a person with disability… From 2018, I’m working in Universal Progress Independent Living Center, which works for the protection of the rights of persons with disabilities… Our main tool is the UNCRPD and the Rights of Persons with Disabilities of Mongolia."
He also shared the power of policy in protecting the rights of persons with disabilities and making change.
“When persons with disabilities are asking to protect their rights according to the law, it is the most efficient way.. so it’s one of the good experiences, as nobody from the government can then question or avoid our right to protect our rights”
His team’s engagement with city authorities has already delivered tangible impact.
"Now over 900 buses are running in [Ulaanbaatar] in a day, and 50% of buses became non-step… So when people with disabilities want to go in the city by bus, it's becoming accessible, available for everyone."
From Spiritual City to Inclusive City: Varanasi’s Shift
Representing India, Utsav Choudhury from the National Institute of Urban Affairs emphasized the value of pairing global frameworks with local evidence.
"Varanasi is the spiritual capital of India… That means accessibility needs to be a fundamental aspect of the city's planning and development process."
Utsav applauded the GDIHub team for bringing this research about and to the UK Government for funding it as he said it motivated the right types of intentions among the leadership, giving tangible data on where the action areas in Varanasi were.
Through the participatory design workshops held as part of GDIHub’s AT2030 Inclusive infrastructure research, his team uncovered how excluded many residents with disabilities felt from iconic areas like the riverfront ghats.
"There were quite a few who were born in the city… and had never ever seen the ghats."
This sparked one of the city’s most meaningful interventions.
"The city of Varanasi developed a new ghat called the Namo Ghat… It allows people in wheelchairs and with different disabilities to access the river… articulated arms and mechanical instruments ensure they can take a dip safely."
"Now it's no longer a footnote or a checkbox. It's a priority agenda that the city takes pride in."
Tactile Maps and Co-Design in Indonesia
In Surakarta, Indonesia, Kirana Putri Prastika (Rara) of KotaKita reflected on how their team adapted research tools proscribed in the GDIHub research to ensure that persons with disabilities could participate meaningfully.
"We created a tactile version of the city map — we used wooden strips to represent main roads, texture materials to represent open spaces and green spaces… Legos to represent buildings and other key destinations."
"With the help of facilitators, our participants with visual disabilities could navigate — or what they say, orient themselves — in the map by touching the tactile features… They remembered the travel journey and could share it with others in a safe space."
"Creating inclusive spaces takes everyone… The government, civil society, private sectors, communities working together — that’s what makes a difference."
Ground-Up Collaboration in Kenya
Jack Campbell Clause of Kounkuey Design Initiative in Kenya brought a systems-thinking lens to the discussion. His key message: inclusion has to start at the beginning.
"Far too often, accessibility is considered at the end… Inclusive design has to start at the beginning — from conception through planning, budgeting, building, and maintenance."
"Communities… are not just stakeholders — they’re experts of their environments."
"There was a mindset in Nairobi among privately run minibuses — matatus — not to pick up people with disabilities… Through having a conversation, the drivers and their support team changed their whole approach and started collecting people."
"There’s a women’s disability group, in partnership with the county and other CSOs, developing a dry public toilet system — meeting basic needs but doing it in a way that is inclusive. So it’s about not just the what, but the how."
Reflections from GDI Hub
As the session wrapped up, Iain McKinnon emphasized the shift the team hopes to inspire through this work:
"Inclusive design isn’t an afterthought — it’s a foundational element… Partnerships between governments, communities, and experts are crucial. It’s through these collaborations that we can drive meaningful change and create cities that truly cater to all."
What’s Next?
This webinar marked only the beginning. As Iain noted:
"Far from finished, we’re really only at the midpoint of this piece of work."
The next session in the IncluCity series will take place on May 21st, diving into the built environment and exploring how cities can establish localized solutions through design, planning, policy, and monitoring.