About the Show
PODCAST
You Belong is the UAE’s first podcast dedicated entirely to the conversation of inclusion not as a niche topic for specialists, but as a question that touches every part of life in this country. Each episode brings together educators, parents, museum professionals, therapists, government leaders, corporate DEI practitioners, inclusion advocates, and people with lived experience to explore what it really takes to build a world where every person belongs. The conversations are honest, purposeful, and grounded in real stories. Topics range from what schools are doing to include children of determination, to how cultural venues are redesigning experiences for all visitors, to what the workplace looks like when inclusion is genuinely lived rather than just stated.
You Belong was created by the founders of the In The Genes Foundation and authors of the Leo & Luna children’s storybook series. But this is not just a children’s show. It is a show for the adults who shape the world children grow up in: the teachers, the policymakers, the architects of public spaces, the parents, the professionals, and the community members who decide — every day — whether belonging is something they build or something they leave to chance.
The You Belong brand was designed from the beginning to travel. The “O” in the logo carries the UAE flag mark that is proudly rooted in this country and built to expand. When the show launches in a new country, the flag in the O changes. The mission stays the same. You Belong starts here because the UAE has something real and meaningful to say about what it looks likewhen a nation decides that every person within its borders belongs. This show is that conversation, and an invitation for the rest of the world to join it.
Topics We Explore
Every episode is a conversation worth having.
Inclusion in UAE schools and what it means for children of determination
How museums, cultural venues, and public spaces are designing for everyone
The science of empathy — what research tells us about how children learn belonging
Corporate inclusion — what UAE workplaces are doing and what they still need to do
Parenting a child of determination in the UAE — real stories, real challenges
Government policy and the UAE’s national framework for people of determination
Lived experience — adults who grew up feeling different and what changed for them
Global perspectives — what other countries are doing and what the UAE can teach them
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A First of Its Kind
While individual podcast episodes about inclusion and disability have appeared on UAE-basedshows, and Arabic-language podcasts on digital accessibility exist for the Arab world, YouBelong is the first dedicated, standalone English-language podcast in the UAE focused oninclusion in its broadest sense — covering schools, cultural spaces, workplaces, community,and public life. It is also the first UAE podcast to connect children’s educational storytellingdirectly with the adult policy and professional conversation around inclusion.
The timing matters. The UAE has built one of the most progressive frameworks for people ofdetermination in the world. It hosted the most accessible World Expo in history. It has nationalpolicies, dedicated institutions, and a growing community of inclusion professionals workingacross every sector. What it has not had — until now — is a dedicated platform where all ofthose conversations happen together. You Belong is that platform.