Keynote Speakers
Nidhi Singal, Professor of Disability and Inclusive Education, University of Cambridge
Professor Nidhi Singal is a leading scholar in the field of Disability and Inclusive Education, at the Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge. She is also the Vice President of Hughes Hall College. Her pioneering research addresses issues of educational inequity for marginalized groups, with a particular focus on the experiences of children and young people with disabilities in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. Professor Singal's scholarship has shaped debates on the implementation of inclusive education in Southern contexts. Her work also examines the power dynamics in North-South research partnerships, the ethics of dissemination, and the development of culturally sensitive research methodologies.
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Keynote title: From universal prescriptions to local possibilities: A critical reframing of inclusive education
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Monday 27th July 2026 9:30am - 10:15am
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Juan Bornman, Professor of Augmentative and Alternative Communication at Stellenbosch University
Professor Juan Bornman is a speech-language therapist and audiologist whose scholarship is grounded in a rights-based conceptualisation of communication as both a fundamental human need and a human right. Her research focuses on inclusive education and communication disability in the global South, with particular emphasis on learners with complex communication needs. Informed by the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health, her academic publications have contributed to shaping scholarly discourse on inclusion, while her practical textbook on classroom participation has influenced teachers’ pedagogical thinking. Collectively, her work frames inclusion as a collaborative endeavour involving educators, families, professionals, and learners.
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Keynote title: Who Speaks for Inclusion? Communication, Collaboration, and Educational Access in the Global South
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Tuesday 28th July 2026 9:30am - 10:15am
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João has been Director of the European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education since January 2025. He served as Minister of Education of Portugal from 2022 to 2024. He integrated the Portuguese Government in 2015, serving as Secretary of State for Education until 2019 and as Deputy Minister of Education until 2022, when he was appointed Minister of Education. João is Chair of the Advisory Group of the OECD Global Forum “Future of Education and Skills 2030”, since 2024. He dedicates his research activity to the domains of theoretical syntax, language acquisition and development, and educational linguistics.​
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Keynote title: Inclusive education: key messages to bridge the policy-implementation gap.
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Tuesday 28th July 2026 5:00pm - 5:45pm
João Costa, Director of the European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education
Leda Kamenopoulou, Associate Professor at the Department of Psychology and Human Development, UCL Institute of Education
Dr Leda Kamenopoulou is Associate Professor at the Department of Psychology and Human Development, Institute of Education (IOE, UCL), where she currently serves as departmental inclusion lead and MA Special and Inclusive Education course leader.
Leda’s research expertise is on multisensory impairment (deafblindness), sensory accessibility, and inclusive education and disability in resource-poor contexts, with particular emphasis on culturally sensitive research methodologies. Leda’s work also explores teacher preparation for inclusive education in different contexts and the current dilemmas that the global community faces as it strives to meet Sustainable Development Goal 4, the global goal for inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong learning opportunities for all.
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Keynote title: Rethinking Inclusive Education: Centring Marginalised Perspectives in Research.
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Wednesday 29th July 2026 9:15am - 10:00am
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