Roy McConkey is Emeritus Professor of Developmental Disabilities at Ulster University, Northern Ireland. He has previously held posts in England, Scotland and the Republic of Ireland and has been a visiting Professor at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. He has acted as a consultant to different United Nations agencies and International NGOs on various disability-related topics, including inclusive education. This work has taken him to some 25 countries in Eastern Europe, Africa, Asia, and South America. He is the author, co-author and editor of 16 books and over 200 articles in international peer reviewed journals.

Judith McKenzie is a Professor of Disability Studies at the University of Cape Town (UCT). She worked in the areas of community-based rehabilitation and inclusive education in rural areas of South Africa, developing community projects. Based on her personal experience of being the parent of a child with intellectual disability, she was involved in advocacy work before moving into an academic context. In this capacity, she has supervised research in many other African countries and has taken a leading role in ongoing professional development for teachers in disability inclusion. She leads the Including Disability in Education in Africa (IDEA) research hub at UCT and has published widely in peer-reviewed journals and book chapters.