A vision for events where every voice is in the room — and the real-world case study we brought to Indiana University's Kelley School of Business, from Rabat to Bloomington.
Global Inclusive Events grew out of a real partnership — and, for our CEO, a full-circle moment. Sarah Zineb Boumouja, herself a Kelley alumna, brought her own company's inclusion challenges back to her alma mater through Kelley's BUS-X190 course, funded by a Client-Based International Project (CLIP) grant. Kelley's students then sent real, research-backed solutions back to GPE. What follows is the case study that started it, the CEO vision behind it, and what the students built.
Read the Kelley School feature →After years of hosting international events that brought together brilliant minds and fostered vibrant exchanges, we discovered that our gatherings were doing far more than facilitating networking — they were changing lives. We witnessed students stepping into their potential, inspired by the knowledge shared at our events, and companies on the brink of struggle finding fresh opportunities to rise again.
Yet, as we celebrated these successes, a glaring gap emerged. Certain voices remained unheard — women, young individuals from rural areas, and students with disabilities were consistently missing from the transformative circle. It became clear that our platform, once seen as a beacon of excellence, needed to evolve.
This realization sparked our journey from exclusivity to inclusivity. We reimagined our events as catalysts for change, determined to create spaces where every community member is empowered to thrive. By embracing a truly inclusive approach, we aim to ensure that every event not only connects people but also transforms futures.
GPE brought these four case studies to Indiana University's Kelley School of Business through a Client-Based International Project (CLIP) grant from IU Global. For eight weeks, GPE served as the real-world client for BUS-X190: Hot Topics — Building a Better World through Inclusive Design, taught by Benjamin Ale-Ebrahim, PhD.
Instructor: Benjamin Ale-Ebrahim, PhD — Department of Communication and Professional Skills
The Client-Based International Project (CLIP) grant, awarded by IU Global, connects Kelley students with real international organizations for hands-on, cross-border consulting experience. Global Premium Events — an international events and missions consultancy based in Rabat, Morocco — served as this course's partner client.
Morocco has taken real steps toward inclusive development — through the 2011 Constitution (Articles 31 and 35), Law 79.14 establishing the Authority for Parity and the Fight Against All Forms of Discrimination, Law 103.13 on combating violence against women, and alignment with the UN's 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. Yet urban-rural disparities, gender inequalities, and employment barriers for both young and senior professionals persist. Global Premium Events is exploring how the event industry itself can help close these gaps, across four focus areas.
Global Premium Events set out to build a platform defined by excellence and world-class standards. After years of successful international events, it became clear that true success lies in inclusivity — creating a platform that shares knowledge and opens opportunity for everyone.
Should Global Premium Events transition to Global Inclusive Events, embracing a fully inclusive model in response to today's DEI landscape?
How does an agency built around exclusivity rebrand itself as an inclusive model, at a moment when some companies are scaling back their DEI commitments?
Gender-focused events often struggle to create impact beyond symbolic gestures — many sponsors concentrate their support on a single day, March 8th, reinforcing a cycle of celebration over action. Women, especially in rural areas, need year-round access to information, mentorship and pathways to economic empowerment.
How can women-focused "celebratory" events become large-scale, high-impact initiatives that deliver real education, entrepreneurship and leadership opportunities?
How can organizers secure funding and sponsor commitment for year-round initiatives rather than one-off events?
Brilliant students with visual, hearing and physical disabilities have shown real enthusiasm to take part in GPE's events — yet structural and technological barriers have made full engagement nearly impossible. Inclusion means more than inviting a diverse audience; it means building environments where participation is frictionless and dignified.
How can people with disabilities be integrated into large-scale events effectively and sustainably?
How can affordable technologies be adopted and the participant experience rethought, without inflating logistical costs?
The rapid pace of technological change has left many older professionals struggling to keep up, despite the invaluable experience and wisdom they bring. Age inclusivity is an overlooked pillar of DEI: societies thrive when the potential of every generation is put to work.
How can training programs be designed to reintegrate older generations into the modern workforce and today's technological landscape?
How can training be customized to different levels of digital literacy and learning speed among older professionals?
At the end of the course, teams presented their proposals to Global Premium Events at a final showcase. Here's what each team built.
Curtis Yang, Pranay Sen & Mazzy Gallentine
A phased mentorship program pairing young volunteers with older professionals across Morocco and Africa to build AI and digital literacy — drawing on models like Cyber-Seniors and Generation Exchange, structured as a 10-week immersive program of training, mentorship and networking.
Alan Sun, Ameer Takieddin, Anand Bhogal & Andrew Vendt
Reserved aisle seating, wider pathways, clear accessible signage and volunteer training — small layout changes mapped against real attendee personas to make GPE’s event spaces easier to navigate for guests with mobility needs.
“This was my first time working with a real client.”
Andrew Vendt, BS’28, Kelley School of Business
Tess Trieu & Eleanor Beck
A simple accommodation-request card built into event registration, letting attendees privately flag access needs — seating, captions, interpretation, mobility space — before they ever arrive.
Angelina Gillette, Susanna van Eeden & Agnes Kong
A proposed showcase event with AFEM, pairing women who’ve completed AFEM’s SheImpulse entrepreneurship program with speakers, mentors and investors — designed with subtitled content and multilingual mentor matching for rural reach.
Aanya Arora, Raina Patel, Sara Halliburton & Siya Chava
Monthly digital kits — workshops, mentorship, career tools — built around three pillars, Educate, Empower and Celebrate, designed to be flexible, multilingual and mobile-accessible for African women and girls.
Also presented at the same showcase: "Making Global Premium Events Inclusive for the Hard of Hearing" and "Building an Inclusive Future" — among other student projects tackling accessibility at GPE's events.
Global Inclusive Events grows with every partner and every student who joins in.
Bring your company, university or institution into GPE's inclusive events network — as a sponsor, a case-study client, or a showcase partner.
Start a Partnership →Want to research, design or volunteer on a future Global Inclusive Events case study? We're always looking for the next cohort.
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