“In order to help people, we need to understand them.”
In this episode of The Add IDEAS Podcast, Bandile Mndebele sits down with South African disability rights advocate Bongani Mapumulo to explore accessibility, identity, and lived experience.
From navigating public spaces to conversations about masculinity, relationships, education, and innovation, this discussion brings lived experience to the forefront of how societies design systems—and who those systems include or exclude.
Bongani shares both personal insights and professional work advancing assistive technology, inclusive design, and disability innovation in low- and middle-income contexts. The conversation highlights why understanding people and their lived realities is the first step toward meaningful inclusion.
Whether you work in policy, education, design, technology, or simply want to better understand disability and inclusion, this episode challenges us to rethink how access, dignity, and opportunity shape everyday life.
About the Guest
Bongani Mapumulo is a disability rights advocate and researcher focused on inclusive innovation and assistive technology in the Global South.
With academic foundations in Political Science, Sociology, and Social Anthropology from Stellenbosch University, Bongani also holds advanced diplomas in Disability & Rehabilitation and Intercultural Communication.
He pursued a Master of Philosophy in Inclusive Innovation at the University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business, where his research explores how assistive technologies and inclusive design can improve opportunities for students living with disabilities in low-income communities.
Referenced Work
This conversation references the book Physical Disability and Sexuality: Stories from South Africa (2021).
Edited by Xanthe Hunt, Stine Hellum Braathen, Mussa Chiwaula, Mark T. Carew, Poul Rohleder, and Leslie Swartz, and published by Springer Nature under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Bongani’s contributions appear in:
• Chapter 6 — Physical Disability and Masculinity: Hegemony and Exclusion
• Chapter 7 — Bongani’s Story
Notable Thanks
• Carl & Emily Fuchs Foundation
• Bertha Centre for Social Innovation & Entrepreneurship
• UCT Centre for Innovation in Learning and Teaching — One Button Studios
Connect with Bongani Mapumulo
LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/bongani-mapumulo-828746206/
Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/bongani.mapumulo.1
Work with Bandile Mndebele
Host Bandile Mndebele is available for speaking engagements, collaborations, workshops, interviews, and partnerships.
Contact:
info@bandilem.com
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#Accessibility
#DisabilityInclusion
#InclusiveDesign
#DisabilityAwareness
#AddIdeasPodcast
(00:00) - Why this conversation matters
(00:21) - Background
(01:57) - Moving the needle: Where to begin?
(02:46) - Why are some spaces more accessible than others?
(05:50) - Designing better access
(07:17) - A day in the life
(09:22) - The biggest challenges with access
(09:51) - The importance of education
(13:53) - A journey to reasonable accommodation
(16:40) - Who should be leading the education?
(20:43) - Globalising and normalising solutions
(22:19) - In order to help people, we need to understand them
(23:36) - Perspectives and lived experiences matter
(25:34) - The intersections with masculinity and sexuality
(30:14) - A dating life experience
(32:56) - Frequent questions to be mindful of
(34:42) - Being the only one
(38:28) - Personal Story
(45:33) - Broadening positive representation and normalising inclusion
(48:31) - The importance of role models and mentors
(51:24) - Most compelling message: the element of surprise
(54:18) - Closing
South Africa