On 3 April 2022, President Isaac Herzog, together with Access Israel, hosted the first Global Accessibility and Inclusion Leader’s Conference to take place in Israel at the Presidential Residence.
The conference was attended by accessibility and inclusion leaders from many countries worldwide, including USA, UAW, India, Kenya, Britain and more.
The leaders convened in roundtable discussions to define accessibility and inclusion objectives for 2030.
The conference was also attended by Access Israel’s Founder and President, Yuval Wagner and by the Association Director General, Michal Rimon.

Access Israel was founded in the Presidential Residence in 1999 in a ceremony attended by Israel’s seventh president, Ezer Weizman, aiming to promote accessibility in Israel and enable maximum equality, rights, dignity and independence for people with disabilities and their families.

The President greeted the participants and said: “We are very excited to have you here today. We are nearing Passover, a holiday that celebrates the shift from slavery to freedom.
We recall that Moses, who led us to liberty, had a stutter – he too had a disability.
Jacob limped, as he fought the angel. The Bible tells us that our leaders had disabilities and that we must understand that people with disabilities are equal to all others.”

The President added: “I am inspired and filled with awe by the fact that the President’s Residence assigned you the commission for promoting change in the world.
I once again grant you this mandate on our behalf for you to continue conquering the world and we, on our part, will support you in any way we can.”

First Lady Michal Herzog added: “Children in Israel consider you as role models. As such, it is only natural for them to admire you and aspire to be like you.
The key is for them to feel that it is their DNA, that it is natural. It is very important to us. I thank you all for coping with the challenge, for coming to Israel. I hope that this global conference is just the first of many and I am confident that you will show the entire world how to make things better.”

Access Israel’s Founder and President said: “Access Israel has initiated this conference of accessibility leaders from around the world in order to discuss joint ventures for promoting the issue of accessibility and inclusion around the world. We are thankful to the President, who has been promoting the issue of accessibility since his days as a Member of Knesset and who continues to support such important ventures as President.

 
Photographer: Guy Tayeb