Hidayat is a Team Lead at Equal Dreams. He oversees curriculum development, and is a trainer for programmes on disability awareness, inclusive practices and for emerging professionals. He also works closely with the Singapore Sign Language curriculum development and instructor teams.
Hidayat offers accessibility services such as Singapore Sign Language and Speech-to-Text interpreting, supporting communication access for diverse audiences. His work spans a range of settings from higher education and conferences to award ceremonies, art exhibitions, and theatre.
An interest in language led Hidayat to discover linguistics, where he was immediately drawn to the idea that language shapes how we think and experience the world (a nod to the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis). That perspective took on new meaning when a Deaf lecturer introduced him to Deaf culture, community and Singapore Sign Language (SgSL). Years later, he would find himself working closely with the Deaf community, and has since expanded his work to other disabled communities. Learning from disabled individuals has deepened his understanding of how differing lived realities are shaped by real-world barriers, social attitudes, and access. These experiences continue to shape his approach to accessibility and motivate his everyday work in designing inclusive programmes relating to accessibility.
