Sync Arabi

A group of women some in wheelchairs, some standing. Some wearing hijab, others not. The final day of Sync Arabi Sync Arabi, Final Networking Event, Amman 2023

“Sync Arabi, changed the way I see myself in my society and what is possible. It brought in the light and just in time.”

Hala Mahfooz - Sync Arabi

An intensive leadership and coaching programme, Sync Arabi was designed for aspiring Deaf, disabled and neurodiverse leaders in the Arabi region and delivered face to face in Jordan in English and Arabic in Spring 2023.

In February 2023, 8 Deaf and disabled artists and cultural producers from Palestine and Jordan gathered to sense-make their way around the barriers and opportunities that mark the interpersonal, cultural and political terrains they navigate daily as leaders in the Arab region. Sync Arabi was developed in partnership with Shubbak Festival and Art to Heart in Palestine and funded by British Council.

Sync Arabi participants in a q&a share their questions with an invited audience at Feb 3rd, 2023 networking event.
Sync Arabi participants share their questions with an invited audience at the final networking event in Amman, Jordan. Feb 3rd, 2023

The Sync Leadership Programme has been run in the following countries:

  • United Kingdom – in person (2008-2012)
  • Australia – in person (2014/2015)
  • South Korea – in person (2018)
  • Singapore – in person(2019)
  • Canada – virtual  (2020)
  • Australia – virtual  (2021/2022)
  • Canada – virtual (2021-2024)
  • Jordan – in person (2023)

In 2025, we will run new programmes in Singapore and Malaysia.

What is Sync Leadership?

Sync was founded in 2008 by Arts Council England as part of the Cultural Leadership Programme. Jo and myself were charged with the task of developing a leadership programme for disabled leaders working across arts, culture and heritage. This was seen as a timely and important investment as the nation prepared to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012. During this time between 2008 and 2012 Sync became the flagship programme for disabled leadership, working with a diversity of Dead and disabled people across the UK. Many who passed through the programme have developed and sustained high profile careers in the arts, despite the onslaught of benefit cuts and an austere political climate.

Following the programme’s conception in 2008, strides were made to take Sync Leadership across the globe, with programmes being run live and virtually in Australia, South Korea, Singapore Canada and  Jordan.

Background

Sync Leadership was a programme I co-founded and designed alongside Jo Verrent. The programme focuses on the interplay between leadership and disability. Sync was originally a development programme that grew out of the Arts Council England funded by the Cultural Leadership Programme, now the programme has been run multiple times across different countries.