Australia Awards South and West Asia

From 7 to 9 April, 51 Australia Awards alumni from South Asia and Mongolia attended the 2025 Regional Alumni Workshop.

Inspired by Australia’s International Disability Equity and Rights Strategy, released in December 2025, the theme of the workshop was “From inclusion to equity: Development for all”. Through a series of alumni presentations, panel discussions and group exercises, the alumni discussed approaches to advocacy for the rights of people with disability and people from traditionally marginalised communities.

Alumni, Australian officials and Australia Awards team members at the opening morning of the Regional Alumni Workshop.

Participants were selected from over 170 applications based on their advocacy for rights and equity. Of the 51 attendees, 13 were people with disability. Alumni played a central role in delivering the workshop, with 18 making speeches, participating as panellists, or facilitating sessions. Fourteen participants delivered alumni spotlight presentations, highlighting their work and its impact on people with disability or from minorities and marginalised groups.

Opening the event, HE Mr Paul Stephens, Australia’s Ambassador to Sri Lanka said, “the workshop theme recognises that it is not enough to seek inclusion for people from marginalised communities and people with disability. But rather we must tackle the unequal power systems and structures that hinder economic growth and human development.”

“Australia’s 2023 International Development Strategy commits Australia to supporting all people, including those with disabilities or from disadvantaged groups, to fulfil their potential.”

Mrs Malarmathi Gangatharan, Secretary of the Ministry of Rural Development, Social Security and Community Empowerment, welcomed participants on behalf of the Government of Sri Lanka, noting the contribution that Australia Awards had made to human capacity building in Sri Lanka, and in turn the impact that alumni had had on development.

Speaking at the opening on behalf of the participants, Sri Lankan alumna Halida Mohamed Mahroof, reflected on her experience as the first woman from her district’s minority Muslim community to be selected for the Sri Lanka Administrative Service—and the first to receive an Australia Awards Scholarship.

“The work we are doing here today—working towards equity for people with disabilities and for marginalised communities—could not be more important,” Halida said.

“This workshop presents a unique platform for all of us to share our experiences, our successes, and the challenges we continue to face. It is also an opportunity to build collaborations and create lasting partnerships that can drive positive change in our respective countries.”

The workshop featured three keynote presentations. Disability advocate and alumnus from Maldives, Muthu M. Muawiyath (Muthu) M. Didi, delivered a presentation on the challenges of achieving equity for people with disability titled “Beyond Rhetoric to Reality: Addressing the Implementation Divide in Disability Inclusion”. This was followed by a panel discussion on advocacy by and for people with disability, including alumni from Nepal, Mongolia and Bangladesh.

Maldivian alumnus and disability advocate Muawiyath (Muthu) M. Didi delivers his presentation.

Nisha Singh, an alumna from Nepal’s minority Madhesi community, delivered a keynote presentation on her personal experience of the transformative power of education to lift up marginalised voices. She left participants with her personal mantra: “You don’t have to be perfect to make a difference. You just have to be present, persistent, and passionate.” Following Nisha’s presentation, a panel featuring alumni from Bangladesh, Mongolia and Bhutan continued the discussion on making education accessible to all.

Rasanjali Pathirage, the President of the Disability Organisations Joint Front, the peak body for organisations for people with disability in Sri Lanka, delivered the final keynote presentation, reflecting on policy reforms achieved with advocacy from people with disability in Sri Lanka.

A third panel considered intersectionality and how development practitioners working with people with disability and from minority communities needed to consider how different aspects of a person’s identity—like gender, race, disability, class, or age—combine to shape their experiences, especially when it comes to discrimination or disadvantage. As the panel facilitator, Puvaneswary Ponniah, described, “Intersectionality is very crucial in development because people may face multiple and connected barriers, not just one, and that solutions need to consider these overlapping factors to be truly fair and inclusive.”

In the afternoon of 8 April, participants had an interactive session to collectively address four common challenges:

• employment pathways for people with disabilities
• inclusive infrastructure
• societal attitudes impacting education outcomes
• digital accessibility.

After each challenge was introduced by an alum, the participants divided into four groups to brainstorm approaches to them, and then presented their ideas.

At the conclusion of the workshop’s second day, participants visited a New Year trade fair featuring businesses established by alumni of the Women Trading Globally Australia Awards Short Course.

Alumnae from left to right: Sonam Choden (Bhutan), Tashi Dema (Bhutan), Smita Chakravarty (India) and Ayesha Junaina Faisal (Maldives).

On the morning of 9 April, participants split into two groups to visit Sri Lankan facilities providing services to people with disability first-hand; the MJF Charitable Foundation and Ayati National Center for Children with Disabilities.

The workshop marked ten years since the inaugural Regional Alumni Workshop, which was also held in Colombo. That 2015 event saw the launch of the Women in Leadership Network. At the 2025 workshop, the Equity for All Alumni Network was launched to enable participants to continue their collaboration beyond the event.

Australia’s Deputy High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Lalita Kapur, said, “The Equity for All Alumni Network will be a platform for Australia Awards alumni from South Asia and Mongolia who are passionate about fostering equity and driving change for people with disability and marginalised communities. It will enable you to share knowledge and learn together through expert-led discussions, interactive workshops, and peer-sharing sessions on key issues relating to disability and marginalised communities.”

Speaking at the conclusion of the workshop, Sri Lankan alumnus Tuan Rushdi provided his reflections on the three days and shared his perspective on working for change. “The most transformative initiatives don’t come from theory—they come from lived experience,” he said. “Real change begins when we listen to what people actually live through,” he said. “Inclusion and equity are dynamic, ever-evolving goals. As leaders, we must stay innovative—adapting, creating, and reimagining the ways we drive equity forward.”

In his closing remarks, Matt Lapworth, Director of the South & Central Asia Development Section at Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, acknowledged the contributions of the participants. “The discussions and presentations have shown not only the significant challenge of achieving equality for people with disabilities and marginalised communities, but also your shared interests and opportunities for collaboration in addressing this challenge,” he said.

“The knowledge you have picked up and the connections you have made should endure well beyond this week and, we hope, be a source of assistance, inspiration and encouragement.”

Matt Lapworth (back row, second from right) with alumni from Bangladesh after receiving their workshop completion certificates. Alumni featured from left to right: Back row: Emerson Chakma, Md Hafiz Hasan, Sujan Chandra Roy: Front row: Arefeen Ahmed, Dilruba Farzana, Nurunnahar Nupur.

Feature image: Alumni from left to right: Puvaneswary Ponniah (Sri Lanka), Sagar Chidanand Asapur (India), Hamna Shareef (Maldives) and Saira Ayub (Pakistan).