Everyone has a part to play

The disability Network Switzerland recently organized a conversation between Islam Alijaj, inclusion politician and managing director of the Ability Center (see side bar) and Alain Klein, long-time UBS employee. Moderated by Curdin Duschletta, they spoke about inclusion and discussed how things stand in today's society, what‘s already working well, and where they see room for improvement.

"You can see and hear my disability, cerebral palsy, " says Islam Alijaj right at the beginning of the conversation. But, despite the challenges he faced growing up, Islam was able to forge a successful personal and professional life. At 35 years old, he’s married and has two children. He’s been involved in disability policy for eleven years and founded the association "Tatkraft" three years ago to support other people. As a child and young person, people often spoke to him in a strange way because they assumed he had an intellectual disability due to his speech impairment. "Now, with my extremely high self-confidence and with the huge ego I have, it doesn't happen anymore," he says with a mischievous smile on his face.

Islam believes that everyone can and should make their contribution to society. The problem is that people with disabilities are often underestimated and patronized. The lobbyist also speaks openly about the disability system – which promotes neither innovation nor true inclusion, in his opinion. This is exactly what he wants to change with "Tatkraft". "A lot of things are designed to only provide for people with disabilities rather than supporting them in providing for themselves and that is wrong. If you want to change this and turn it into something positive, you have to give us opportunities, as was the case with Alain or me," says Islam emphatically. There is a need for more people with disabilities who head organizations in the disability sector, who are involved in politics and so also become role models for the economy.

Is our firm making progress in this respect?

"Yes," says Alain Klein, who has been in a wheelchair since childhood due to an illness. He’s been working at UBS for over 16 years and became co-lead of the disability network in Switzerland last year. "But we can do even more. It's important that we make this topic more public, bring it to the surface, so that people can engage with it," he says. In addition, it’s important to realize that inclusion mustn’t only be lived in private life, but also in professional life. To really achieve something, everyone has to pull together.