Engaging The Community- The IEE Workshop In Accenture
The May IEE workshop was hosted by Accenture, a leading global professional services company. The session focused on community engagement, exploring how individuals, businesses, government entities, organizations and POD can work togethering building a more inclusive society.
The workshop opened with a welcome by Dali Sanghera (Managing Director, V&A of Accenture) followed by updates on The Butterfly’s latest initiatives. The session delved into what community engagement meant to everyone in attendance and what it looks like in The Butterfly. Naila Al Moosawi (Country Lead, Corporate Citizenship of Accenture) then shared the various forms of community engagement Accenture is involved in, as well as how the relationship with The Butterfly, as an enabling partner will continue to expand in scope.
We concluded the workshop with a series of truly incredible and inspiring presentations and stories by more than 10 third sector organisations. These were either led by POD themselves or were dedicated to supporting POD and their needs. This truly diverse collection of individuals and companies, ranging from educational technology to therapy about just how much is out there. This truly drove home the importance of fostering awareness, active-listening and empowerment of POD. It was a session that touched hearts and moved all of us, and we hope to see all of you in the next IEE workshop.
From left to right: (Left)Group photo of The Butterfly team and representatives of Accenture posing at the Accenture Office in Dubai; (Right) Attendees and speakers of the workshop posing for a picture with the butterfly sign in ASL at the Accenture Office in Dubai
An Inclusive And Sustainable Future With The DESC ‘School Of The Future’ Competition
AtkinsRealis along with Dubai English Speaking College (DESC) hosted a ‘School of the Future’ competition, where students of 4 schools presented their vision of what a modern, futuristic and sustainable school will look like in the future.
The Butterfly was pleased to attend this insightful and interesting competition where Marilena di Coste, our founder, also served as part of the judging panel. We heard from various schools about their vision and the details of how they imagine the ideal school of the future to be. Following their presentations, we were invited to present about inclusive schools and why inclusion is important for a sustainable school of the future.
Following a lengthy deliberation, the winners were the hosts; DESC. It was an inspiring event to be a part of, and we look forward to future collaborations and events like this.
Fostering And Learning About Inclusion At The Inclusion Conference
The Butterfly had the pleasure to participate in the 2025 Inclusion Conference held on 4 May 2025, jointly organised by Applied & Behavioral, New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) and Special Olympics, with NYUAD hosting the event on its campus. The conference featured an array of enlightening conversations on the topic of inclusion in multiple facets, with a focus on ensuring a better, caring and sustainable community and wider society.
After a substantial introduction by the hosts about what is inclusion to them and how they foster it, the event kicked off with a panel discussion titled ‘Building Inclusive Communities’, which featured many of our friends and partners in the field of inclusion, with organizations ranging from the Department of Community Development (DCD) to National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS). Following this, our communications associate Chris C. Dimal was part of a focus group led by People of Determination about what the feeling of belonging meant to them, which will be used in a report later.
A highlight was catching up with all of our partners and friends within the inclusion space and sowing seeds for further collaboration down the road. We extend gratitude to Applied & Behavioral for inviting us, with this marking the beginning of a fruitful journey together.
(Right)The participants of the disability focus group posing for a picture in NYUAD.
Sanofi Launches New ERG With The Butterfly In Attendance
Sanofi, a French multinational pharmaceutical company launched an Employee Resource Group (ERG) for People of Determination (POD) named Ability+ across six of its Gulf affiliates. The Butterfly was invited to the inaugural webinar held on 27 May 2025. The objective of this webinar was to raise awareness about the Ability+ ERG, share its vision and goals, and encourage broader engagement and participation.
The team at Sanofi went over the scope of Ability+, its importance and how they plan to implement their aims and objectives through three key areas of focus. Following this, we had a 15-minute segment where we introduced ourselves and the IEE, alongside what we do and how we operate. We explained why ERGs are a vital resource and demonstrated our track record on establishing and bolstering these throughout various organisations, particularly within the IEE.
We concluded with a Q&A session where we had insightful discussions and answered questions from the Sanofi team. We look forward to collaborating with Sanofi In the future.
W3C website