Inclusion, Diversity and Governance
Kishor Rijal is a renowned social development leader and Managing Director of Socio Engineering Research Centre Pvt. Ltd., with over 22 years of experience architecting equitable, rights-based, and inclusive systems across Nepal and beyond. A proud recipient of the “Best Employee of the National Federation of Youth NGOs Nepal” award (2017), Mr. Rijal brings to his current role as Technical Advisor a rare combination of deep institutional legacy, strategic vision, and an unwavering commitment to placing GEDSI — Gender Equality, Disability, and Social Inclusion — at the centre of everything he does.
His career has been defined by a conviction that systemic change begins with the deliberate inclusion of those most marginalized. With over 12 years of managing large-scale programs funded by international partners — including USAID, the Kadoorie Charitable Foundation, Islamic Relief Worldwide, and WHO — Mr. Rijal is a seasoned navigator of the “Leave No One Behind” agenda, translating global frameworks such as the UNCRPD into actionable, community-rooted outcomes. He has held pivotal leadership positions within Nepal’s foremost civil society institutions, including the National Federation of Disabled Nepal (NFDN) and the Parent Federation of Persons with Intellectual Disabilities (PFPID), and has served as Honorary Technical Advisor to the Down Syndrome Association of Nepal (DSAN) and Technical Advisor (GEDSI Expert) to the Dwarf Association of Nepal (DAN) — championing disability rights, inclusive policy reform, and community empowerment at both national and international levels.
Mr. Rijal’s technical mastery in GEDSI is demonstrated through a portfolio of high-impact engagements: leading comprehensive GEDSI audits, developing municipal inclusion strategies, and crafting revenue improvement action plans for local governments across multiple provinces. His consultancy assignments for the Kathmandu Metropolitan City, Plan International, and EngenderHealth USA span disability-inclusive electoral reform, gender and child-protection budget analysis, and the economic empowerment of persons with disabilities — reflecting both his versatility and precision as a strategic thinker and capacity builder.
Internationally trained and globally connected, Mr. Rijal participated in the AVP World Gathering in Ireland and holds a “Do No Harm” Trainer of Trainers (ToT) certification from Germany — ensuring that every initiative he shapes is conflict-sensitive, trauma-informed, and ethically grounded. His trauma-informed, rights-based practice framework ensures development and advocacy work actively advances safety, trust, and agency — rather than replicating systemic harm.
At NFYN, Mr. Rijal provides strategic oversight across diversity, inclusion, and governance — ensuring that youth-led initiatives are intersectional, representative, and transformative for women, LGBTQIA+ individuals, Dalits, persons with disabilities, and all communities at the margins. His distinctive ability to bridge municipal planning, grassroots advocacy, inclusive governance, and GEDSI-centred policy design makes him an indispensable cornerstone of the Federation’s mission to strengthen democracy, peacebuilding, and equitable development at every level.