Blog Posts
All Blog Posts
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Restoring Dignity: Crafting Inclusive Humanitarian Support in the Asia-Pacific
Dr Dilisha Patel, Nisanart Yeamkhong, Roos MiddlekoopJune 30, 2025GlobalThe Asia-Pacific faces increasingly frequent and severe humanitarian crises. During these emergencies, women and girls, especially those with disabilities, are among the most vulnerable. Disasters force them to (over)crowded shelters that are often not easily accessible, nor safe. Many women and girls experience gender-based violence (GBV) and often cannot access lifesaving health and protection services. Persons with disabilities also face discrimination and mobility issues that impact other areas (e.g. managing menstrual health in small or inaccessible washrooms), compromising their dignity and physical and mental wellbeing.
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Inclusive services: a cornerstone for inclusive cities
Shivani Gupta, Annamae Muldowney, Bala NagendranJune 23, 2025GlobalAs cities evolve, so too must the services that sustain them. From healthcare and education to transport and sanitation, urban services form the lifeblood of everyday life. While making the physical environment accessible in the city is critical, so is ensuring that all basic services are responsive to the needs of persons with disabilities to enable them to function independently (CRPD 2006). For instance, while a court may be completely accessible, unless specific steps are taken to make the proceedings accessible to persons with disabilities, it would not be inclusive. This may include having a sign language interpreter available if a deaf person seeks legislative services or the legal document in accessible formats. However, in reality, services remain fragmented, inaccessible, or out of reach for most persons with disabilities. This challenge is explored in the third webinar IncluCity series: Making Services Inclusive.
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Reflections from COSP18
Sophie GlickmanJune 19, 2025Last week, the Global Disability Innovation Hub (GDI Hub) joined governments, civil society organisations, organisations of persons with disabilities (OPD), researchers, and private sector partners at the United Nations Headquarters in New York for the 18th Session of the Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (COSP18).
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Landmark Gathering to Accelerate Assistive Technology Innovation Across Africa
Harrison KamauJune 13, 2025KenyaAt the sidelines of Inclusove Africa conference, a new era for Africa’s assistive technology (AT) ecosystem began began at the “Accelerating Impact: Shaping the Next Wave of Assistive Technology Innovation in Africa
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Empowering OPDs to Lead Change
Harrison KamauJune 3, 2025As part of the Global Disability Innovation Hub’s UK aid-funded AT2030 programme, a regional initiative has been rolled out to deepen understanding of OPD needs and priorities in Kenya and Pakistan. In Kenya, this work is led by Kilimanjaro Blind Trust Africa (KBTA), and in Pakistan, by the Special Talent Exchange Program (STEP). These efforts fall under the “Include” cluster of AT2030, focusing on leadership and engagement to drive systemic change.
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Webinar 2: Creating Inclusive Infrastructure
Bala NagendranMay 30, 2025GlobalWe look back at the second session—Creating Inclusive Infrastructure of the four-part series reinforced this message from the lens of making everyday spaces truly inclusive. Annamae Muldowney from GDI Hub’s Inclusive Design team situated the discussion, drawing insights from both the Global Comparison Report and Global Action Report.
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IncluCity: Webinar 1: Global Insights to Local Action
Annamae MuldowneyApril 23, 2025The first session in our new IncluCity webinar series – Global Insights to Local Action – set the tone for what will be an ongoing dialogue between research, local expertise, and lived experience. Designed to unpack the findings of our Global Action Report, this series brings together key voices from around the world to explore how cities can transform themselves into more accessible and inclusive spaces for all.
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GDI Hub's Contribution at CPD58: Advancing Gender-Inclusive Assistive Technology
Global Disability Innovation HubApril 16, 2025At the United Nations Headquarters in New York, during the Commission on Population and Development's Fifty-Eighth Session (CPD58), the GDI Hub participated in a side event focused on health, well-being, and inclusion through equitable access to assistive technology (AT), hosted by WHO and alongside the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the International Society of Prosthetics and Orthotics, UNICEF and the National Senior Citizens Centre. This blog explores what was discussed at the event, why it matters, and how the GDI Hub is helping drive change in this space.
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From Global Insight to Local Action
Shivani GuptaApril 14, 2025This blog presents the global insights gathered from four years of research undertaken by the Global Disability Innovation Hub, funded by UK International Development under the AT2030 programme. The overarching research question was, ‘What is the current state of inclusive and accessible environments and infrastructure in lower-and-middle-income countries (LMICs), and what is the role of inclusive design in creating an enabling environment for persons with disabilities?’
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Can The Commercial Be Political?
Jennie Wong, Dr. Jessica Noske Turner (LU London)March 31, 2025In the world of sports, the blending of social change with commercial interests has always been a complex dance. In our current project, Para Sport Against Stigma (PSAS), we navigated this grey zone between social change and commercial interests, striving to use the platform of Para sports to drive disability inclusion in Sub-Saharan Africa while grappling with the realities of commercial pressures. The question that lingers throughout the project is, can the commercial ever truly be political?
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Beyond the Track
Harrison KamauMarch 31, 2025FranceWith Paris 2024 still fresh in our memories and the road to Los Angeles 2028 ahead, we asked leaders from the Global Disability Innovation Hub and key figures across the disability movement on what the Paralympics means to them. Their answers show how the Games influence everything from city planning to space exploration.
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Pioneering Prosthetic Innovation in Nepal: Testing silicone locking liner prosthesis
Global Disability Innovation HubMarch 26, 2025NepalOur new pilot study at Green Pastures Hospital, Nepal, explores advanced prosthetics for people with limb loss and leprosy. Led by GDI Hub with INF and Operation Namaste, it tests a locally made silicone locking liner to improve care in low-resource settings. Experts and patients joined for research, workshops, and discussions to assess its impact.
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Accelerate Action: International Women’s Day 2025
Josie WestMarch 8, 2025This International Women’s Day (IWD) 2025, the theme Accelerate Action calls for urgent change. IWD point out that full gender parity is not predicted until 2158. This highlights the danger of many women and girls being left behind if current trends go unchallenged. People with disabilities experience heightened vulnerability due to the compounded effects of intersectional marginalisation. Despite making up 16% of the global population, with 80% being of working age, only one-third of people with disabilities are employed.
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Can Automated Speech Recognition improve the lives of people with communication disabilities in Ghana?
Catherine Holloway, Giulia BarbareschiJan. 22, 2025GhanaIn Ghana, people who have difficulties with speech articulation face significant barriers in interacting with others, often leading to social isolation and reduced participation in everyday activities. As part of the AT2030 project, funded by FCDO, Global Disability Innovation Hub (GDI Hub) set out to evaluate the first freely available Android-based application for automated speech recognition , Google Project Relate, in Ghana.
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Paris 2024 to Baku COP29: Sports, Disability Inclusion, and Climate Action
Global Disability Innovation HubNov. 18, 2024From the discussions around this year’s becoming the ‘greenest ever games’ to the extreme heat dome hitting Western Europe, Paris 2024 made headlines for many things ‘climate.’ This blog extends this climate narrative and highlights the power of sports to consolidate voices and accelerate inclusive climate action, as we anticipate higher ambitions and bolder commitments from the 29th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 29).
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Reflections from World Urban Forum 12 Cairo, Egypt
Shivani GuptaNov. 12, 2024EgyptFrom my perspective, the most spectacular part of the event was the first ever #Accessibility2030 pavilion—a space in the Urban Expo owned by the disability stakeholders to showcase the gaps, best practices and importance of disability inclusion in cities.
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Inclusive Cities
Global Disability Innovation HubNov. 7, 2024GlobalCase Studies and ReportsThe Inclusive Infrastructure sub-programme, led by GDI Hub, recognises that the built environment, the world where we live, dictates our ability to use the AT we need. Access to the built environment is a fundamental human right, protected by the UN CRPD. However, the world we have designed and built presents a multitude of barriers and challenges for many, including persons with disabilities.
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Innovative Assistive Technology as lower cost way to bridge gaps while Inclusive infrastructure is developed: Just for the games or part of a long-term plan? - by Annamae Muldowney - GDI Hub's Inclusive Design Assistant
Annamae MuldowneySept. 20, 2024FranceDuring the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, accessibility at sporting venues improved, but navigating the city remained challenging for people with disabilities due to an outdated metro system, with only 29 out of 300 stations wheelchair-accessible. Temporary measures, such as minibuses and a journey-planning app, helped visitors but highlighted the need for long-term infrastructure upgrades, which could take decades and significant investment. Overall, the Games highlighted both the challenges and opportunities in improving urban accessibility for people with disabilities.
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What you water grows: how Brazil thrived at the Paralympics - by Noah Bernstein - COO at GDI Hub
Noah BernsteinSept. 18, 2024FranceAt the Paris 2024 Paralympics, Brazil excelled. But how did they become one of the best performing countries in the world at para sport? Brazil’s success shows change is possible. It also highlights that change won’t happen by itself. Brazil’s story of success contrasts sharply with rich countries like Japan and Australia that typically fare well at the Olympics but lag at the Paralympics due to reported underinvestment and much smaller proportional delegations. We can only hope other governments and decision-makers take note on how to create lasting, sustainable change that brings much more than medals.
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Customising Dignity Kits and Menstrual Health Management Kits with women and girls with disabilities in Bangladesh with UNFPA
Dilisha PatelSept. 13, 2024BangladeshAs part of the AT2030 gender workstream, we have collaborated with UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund Asia-Pacific Regional Office (APRO), on a match-funded project which aims to capture the lived experiences of women and girls with disabilities and identify their specific needs during crises and humanitarian situations. In March 2024, we held consultation workshops with the UNFPA-Bangladesh Country Office to consult with partners and stakeholders to discuss how the content of existing Dignity Kits (DKs) and Menstrual Health Management Kits (MHM Kits), often distributed during humanitarian crises, meet the needs of women and girls with disabilities
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Paralympics an instrument for inclusion - by Shivani Gupta - Senior Inclusive Design Manager at GDI Hub
Shivani GuptaSept. 12, 2024FranceAttending the Paralympics, however, showed me how the Games are so much more than just medals and country tallies. They are a vehicle fostering inclusion not only in the country that hosts them but also in all those countries that participate. They are linked to inclusive environments and tourism, encouraging countries to make inclusive investments. They are also very political, pushing governments to pass new legislation and drawing their attention to persons with disabilities in their country. I have never been interested in sports, but this experience changed that. On a lighter note, don't be surprised if you see me competing at the 2028 Paralympics at Los Angeles!
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Dance and the Paralympics - a collaboration between UK and South African Deaf and disabled artists to coincide with the 2024 Paralympic Games
Global Disability Innovation HubSept. 4, 2024As Paris 2024 Paralympics builds to its conclusion, the cultural footprint of the games continues. This unique global moment creates enhanced mechanisms for amplifying the values of the Paralympics – far beyond sport, and into all areas of culture and society. Presented to coincide with this year’s Paralympic Games, the Global Disability Innovation Hub’s UK aid funded AT2030 programme is proud to support a collaboration between leading UK and South African Deaf and disabled artists that looks to imagine what the future might hold for disabled people
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Paris Paralympics - A reflection of performance on and off the field, by Ben Hardman GDI Hub Head of Innovation
Ben HardmanSept. 3, 2024FranceThe London Games felt very special, I could sense a pivot in the way that Paralympic sport and disability more generally, was being presented to me. The London Paralympics had attitude, it was edgy, humorous, honest, ballsey, super-human - this drew me in to a culture that I hadn’t really engaged with before, and I loved it. As a designer and engineer I was blow away by the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, which oozes human-centred design, and made the experience for everyone at the games equally brilliant. Looking back, I can now appreciate that what I’d experienced was an event and a place where inclusion had been baked-in from the very beginning and not as an after-thought or tick box.
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Changing perspective of Deaf and disabled people in sport and art: London 2012 – Choreographer Mark Smith reflects on his experience of the powerful legacy of a Paralympic Opening Ceremony
Global Disability Innovation HubSept. 3, 2024London 2012 – Choreographer Mark Smith reflects on his experience of the legacy of a Paralympic Opening Ceremony Changing perspective of Deaf and disabled people in sport and art look at what made the opening ceremony of the Paralympics London 2012 so special , and how it changed people's perspective of Deaf and disabled people especially in sport and art.
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Global moments can and do change the way we see the world: reflections from Jenny Sealey and Bradley Hemmings: Co-artistic directors of the Paralympic Opening Ceremony, 2012
Global Disability Innovation HubSept. 2, 2024The magnificent 2012 Paralympic Games were a game-changer - a Big Bang for the Paralympic Movement. Never before had a Paralympic Games achieved such record breaking attendance, with the stadium selling out, national and international broadcast attention and a global audience of 3.8 billion. Hear reflections from Jenny Sealey and Bradley Hemmings: Co-artistic directors of the Paralympic Opening Ceremony, 2012 as they explore how global moments can and do change the way we see the world.
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Disability Innovation in Pakistan
Maryam BandukdaJune 21, 2024PakistanGDI Hub is working alongside global and local partners in Pakistan through our work with the Asian Development Bank, our UKAid-funded AT2030 programme, and our academic research and innovation acceleration. Last week, GDI Hub’s Dr Maryam Bandukda and Pollyanna Wardrop visited Islamabad and Karachi in Pakistan to speak with partners and stakeholders with expertise in and delivery of capacity building, AT innovation, inclusive employment, economic inclusion, and the social welfare of people with disabilities.
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Uniting Nations: Breaking Stigma Through Para Sports and Assistive Technology in Malawi
Harrison Kamau, Diane BellDec. 19, 2023MalawiThe Malawi Paralympic Committee (MPC) has successfully implemented the I'mPOSSIBLE education package to support inclusive education, including physical education, in almost 200 schools. Additionally, it helps identify potential for the upcoming generation of para-athletes from Malawi. During our visit, we participated in a Knowledge Exchange Forum between teachers involved in the implementation of the I’mPOSSIBLE (localised) toolkit held at the Bingu National Stadium. We also visited the new training facility of the MPC, experienced inclusive sports activities at Lilongwe LEA Primary School, and participated in a workshop with I’mPOSSIBLE teachers to capture impactful stories of success emanating from the implementation of the programme.
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Communicating inclusive design in different ways - a story from Medellín, Colombia
Global Disability Innovation HubDec. 18, 2023Between December 2022 and July 2023, GDI Hub’s Inclusive Design team worked in Medellín, Colombia as one of our AT2030 Inclusive infrastructure case study cities - where we created graphics and videos to communicate the key findings of the project to diverse audiences, in both English and Spanish. This blog showcases these graphics.
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Exploring the Frontiers of Assistive Technology: Takeaways from the ATScale`s Convening Event and Remarkable Tech Summit
International Disability Alliance, Nayem MollaOct. 25, 2023GlobalInternational Disability Alliance - Global Disability Innovation Hub (GDI Hub)’s Assistive Technology User Fellow, Nayem Molla, attended ATscale convening event on digital assistive technology and employment, and the Remarkable Tech Summit on inclusive innovation in San Diego, California from 2-5 October 2023. The events brought together diverse stakeholders from across sectors and geographies to drive progress and lead discussions to shape the future of assistive technology.
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AT2030 Inclusive Infrastructure Film: Six Cities, One Park!
Iain McKinnonOct. 19, 2023GlobalOn the 13th and 14th of September 2023, GDI Hub held its Disability Innovation Summit at our offices on the UCL East campus on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, east London. This international event provided the perfect moment for the AT2030 Inclusive Infrastructure team to bring representatives from the six cities they have been researching over the past 3 years together, in person, for the first time.
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Assistive technology in your pocket: the transformative potential of smartphones
Global Disability Innovation HubJune 2, 2023KenyaHow can smartphones and digital assistive technology positively change the lives of persons with disabilities in low- and middle-income countries? How do people with visual or communication impairments in low- and middle-income countries want to use electronic devices in their everyday lives? And what are the real-world implications of this technology to people in terms of cost, use, and effectiveness, particularly in settings with low data and bandwidths? These are just some of the research questions being explored in an exciting study taking place in Kenya, India and Brazil. Global Disability Innovation Hub (GDI Hub), ATscale and Google are collaborating on a two-year research project to gather evidence to support work to make smartphones more accessible, useful and empowering to persons with disabilities. The project is funded by UK Aid's AT2030 programme to test ‘what works’ to improve access to life-changing assistive technology for all.
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AT Storytelling Workshop with the International Disability Alliance and ATScale
Global Disability Innovation HubMay 31, 2023GlobalWe ran our first AT storytelling workshop as part of the Bridge CRPD-SDGs Training of Trainers Module A in Geneva, Switzerland, organised by the International Disability Alliance (IDA), the International Disability and Development Consortium (IDDC) and supported by partners including the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office of the UK (FCDO).
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Assistive Technology and Healthy Ageing: A Global Review
Jamie DanemayerMarch 28, 2023Assistive technology (AT), like hearing aids, wheelchairs, and glasses, is critical to healthy ageing as it supports functioning and independence. As most countries are rapidly and dynamically ageing (or already aged), access to AT cannot be underestimated. Yet evidence on what AT is needed, where, and by whom is sparsely available in global health literature.
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Assistive technology access gets a boost thanks to £12 million investment from the LEGO Foundation, five years after AT2030 begins
Global Disability Innovation Hub, Clinton Health Access Initiative, Vicki Austin, Frederic SeghersMarch 2, 2023The partnership between GDI Hub and CHAI has been a great example of how complementary capabilities and experiences can fuel transformational change. In this blog we explore more on the history and future of collaboration, and how we are working together to drive access and impact of AT globally.
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What is Assistive Tech, who is it for, and what does it enable?
Global Disability Innovation HubFeb. 19, 2023BlogWhen we use the term Assistive Technology (AT), we usually think about products like wheelchairs and walking sticks, hearing aids and eye-glasses, prosthetics and digital or mobile devices. However, the World Health Organisation (WHO) suggests a broad definition of assistive technology which emphasises services (diagnostics, fitting, ‘on-demand’ assistance), systems (infrastructure, processes), and products (eyeglasses, hearing aids, mobility aids).
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Opportunities and challenges for disability inclusion during the COVID-19 pandemic
Giulia Barbareschi, Mikaela PatrickFeb. 19, 2023BlogMeasures implemented by governments worldwide in response to the escalation of the COVID-19 global pandemic have had a significant impact on everyone. Lockdown and physical distancing policies have led many people to spend the majority of their time at home, only leaving the house for basic essentials and relying on digital infrastructure and delivery services for work, learning, socialising and receiving supplies more than ever before. However, many people with disabilities might be affected by some of these changes in unique and unexpected ways, both positively and negatively.
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Allied Health Profession Day
Global Disability Innovation Hub, Kate MattickOct. 14, 2022United KingdomIn this blog Kate Mattick, an Allied Health Professional (AHP) and GDI Hub team member, shares her reflections on working as a physiotherapist and the challenges when people who may need AT don't have access. Kate explains who AHPs are, their role in AT delivery and how the new Training in Assistive Products, to be launched by the WHO, is so promising in creating effective AT service models.
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Innovation Spotlight: Building a walking companion for the visually impaired.
Global Disability Innovation Hub, Harrison KamauOct. 13, 2022KenyaHope Tech Plus Limited is dedicated to developing innovative technologies and building tools and programs for empowerment that support inclusion in all sectors of society. They accomplish this by utilizing modern technology to produce tools that improve interaction with the physical environment and promote personal development. "The Fourth Eye" was the first product, a device that employs echolocation technology to image obstructions and warns the user via haptic feedback.
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Innovation Spotlight: From recovery to innovation; the journey to create a revolutionary, low cost, all-terrain wheelchair, that can be manufactured with basic tools, using locally available materials and components.
Global Disability Innovation Hub, Harrison KamauOct. 5, 2022KenyaThe Safari seat, a revolutionary, low-cost, all-terrain wheelchair, was born—an easy-to-repair, customizable solution, that can be manufactured with basic tools, using locally available materials and components.
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Innovation Spotlight: Creating universal access to safe and appropriate sanitation, through innovating accessible toilets for people with disability.
Global Disability Innovation Hub, Harrison KamauSept. 29, 2022KenyaSyna Consultancy is a social enterprise committed to delivering fair and inclusive sanitation solutions. While their mandate has transformed over the years, their major objective is to ensure universal access to safe and appropriate water and sanitation, with special emphasis paid to the needs of underprivileged communities.
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Innovation Spotlight: Completing the communication cycle – how a mentoring experience began a journey into machine learning and avatars to create a new sign language interpretation tool.
Global Disability Innovation Hub, Harrison KamauSept. 23, 2022KenyaFrom the onset, Veezaviz set out to bridge communication barriers. Savatia and his team created a new generation of technology that enables two-way communication among deaf, hard of hearing, and hearing people. They make this possible by using machine learning-based sign language interpretation and automated avatar sign language generation.
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Regulations in AT, an entrepreneurial challenge [Part of our new blog series: AT, Entrepreneurship & Finance - with GDI Hub's Assistive Tech Impact Fund]
Dr Rhys WilliamsAug. 31, 2022Regulations, standards and certifications play an important role in any tech sector and for AT are often one of the most difficult aspects of entrepreneurship, especially in LMICs. In this blog, we explore why regulations can cause headaches for AT entrepreneurs, the different types of regulatory landscapes that people come across, and what founders can do in the face of regulations.
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Changing the investment landscape for AT [Part of our new blog series: AT, Entrepreneurship & Finance - with GDI Hub's Assistive Tech Impact Fund]
Global Disability Innovation Hub, Dr Rhys WilliamsAug. 22, 2022The AT hasn’t historically received investment from angel investors, venture capitalists or impact investors, but for any sector and support ecosystem to really grow, investment capital is needed. To try to understand why investment has been low, we interviewed investment professionals who work across Africa and share their perceptions of the assistive technology sector.
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Balancing Volatility - Emerging African Ecosystems [Part of our new blog series: AT, Entrepreneurship & Finance - with GDI Hub's Assistive Tech Impact Fund]
Global Disability Innovation Hub, Dr Rhys WilliamsAug. 15, 2022Speak to any entrepreneur from Lagos to Johannesburg and you’ll hear that African emerging entrepreneurial ecosystems can be tough. In this blog, we explore some of the trademarks of these ecosystems, and what they mean for ambitious founders in AT.
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Profit for impact in the Assistive Tech space [Part of our new blog series: AT, Entrepreneurship & Finance - with Assistive Tech Impact Fund]
Dr Rhys WilliamsJuly 28, 2022AT organisations need to embrace a ‘selling’ mindset in every part of the company to become sustainable. This may involve upskilling current employees, or even involve hiring new talent from commercial backgrounds. However it is achieved, financially sustainable AT companies offset unexpected and hard to mitigate risks caused by grant and philanthropic capital instability.
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Marketing matters [New blog series: AT, Entrepreneurship & Finance - with Assistive Tech Impact Fund]
Dr Rhys WilliamsJuly 21, 2022It’s time for AT companies to take marketing seriously. Even if companies are not in a position to hire marketing professionals, the founding team can upskill in this area to get their company and AT out into the world. it’s time to take marketing seriously. As we see individual companies grow through sales, we’ll also begin to see more and more ecosystem stakeholders wake up to the opportunities that this impactful sector has to offer.
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Validate to find customers in AT ventures [New blog series: AT, Entrepreneurship & Finance - from Assistive Tech Impact Fund]
Dr Rhys WilliamsJuly 14, 2022Any company that hopes to be successful in the long-term needs to find a customer base that can reliably pay for products and services. Companies that create Assistive Technology are no different, with many companies opting for a business-to-business (B2B) model. For AT companies that are providing goods and services in LMICs, these models can be challenging, because customers could be governments, hospitals and clinicians, non-government organisations, charities, and faith-based organisations.
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Making the direct-to-consumer model work for AT [New blog series: AT, Entrepreneurship & Finance - from Assistive Tech Impact Fund]
Dr Rhys WilliamsJuly 6, 2022For people with disabilities to have access to high-quality assistive technology, we need a thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem that can bring innovative Assistive Technology (AT) to market. For every business to become financially sustainable, a scalable customer base is essential. Many AT companies have focussed on B2B, or B2G customers, however slow and involved sales processes and constrained government budgets with competing interests are pushing many companies to explore direct to consumer (DTC) business models.
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Regulations in Assistive Technology
Louisa CottonJuly 6, 2022When you speak to people in entrepreneurial ecosystems, regulations are rarely at the top of peoples lists of favourite things to think about. However, regulations, standards and certifications do however play an important role in any tech sector. They ensure that the products and services are safe, of acceptable quality, and provide ways for governments to keep companies accountable. In a sector like assistive technology, given the incredible potential to impact peoples lives in profound ways, regulations, standards and certifications are a good thing. That being said, they often are one of the most difficult aspects of entrepreneurship to crack, especially in LMICs. When it comes to regulations, there’s no avoiding that they can act as a barrier to growing startups, and when we spoke to AT entrepreneurs and investors that are active in Africa, regs came up in almost every interview we conducted.
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Embedding Inclusive Design in Urban Development: GDI Hub’s Inclusive Design team at the World Urban Forum (WUF11)
Iain McKinnon, Mikaela Patrick, Annamae MuldowneyJune 30, 2022In June 2022, Global Disability Innovation (GDI) Hub’s Inclusive Design team attended the 11th session of the World Urban Forum (WUF11) in Katowice, Poland. The event provided an important opportunity to shape conversation around disability inclusion across 8 prominent sessions, while also enabling GDI Hub’s Inclusive Design team to meet up with key partners and collaborators from our AT2030 research work and our friends and colleagues from the Cities for All network.
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Celebrating the launch of the findings of AT2030’s sub-programmes in Indonesia. From Citizens to Cities: Participatory Approaches to Building Disability-Inclusive Cities
Iain McKinnon, Annamae MuldowneyJune 21, 2022The Kota Kita Foundation (Kota Kita), Global Disability Innovation Hub (GDI Hub) and University College London (UCL) held an event to launch the findings from the ‘Inclusive Infrastructure’ and ’Build Capacity and Participation‘ sub-programmes of the FCDO-funded AT2030 programme, from the AT2030 Initiatives in Surakarta and Banjarmasin, Central Java, Indonesia.
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The purely economic case for investing in Health for All
Oriol Vallès CodinaFeb. 16, 2022Vallès-Codina, O. (2022, forthcoming). “The purely economic case for investing in health for all in lower- and upper-middle income countries: input-output and network analysis of their industrial ecossytem”. UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose, Working Paper Series (IIPP WP 2022-03)
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Gratitude, Celebration and Reflections-International Day of Persons with Disabilities 2021
Bernard ChiiraDec. 7, 2021The theme for this year’s international day for persons with disabilities is leadership and participation of persons with disabilities toward an inclusive, accessible and sustainable post-COVID-19 world! On this special day I have a lot to celebrate and many reflections to share on what this day means to me!
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What is Climate resilient inclusive design and why do we need it? GDI Hub at COP26
Iain McKinnon, Mikaela PatrickOct. 29, 2021This year, we at GDI Hub added climate and crisis resilience as a core theme in our new strategy. We strongly believe that there is no climate justice without disability justice and that the two challenges and missions are intimately connected. 80% of people with disabilities live in low-and-middle-income countries (UNHCR), with many being more vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.
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A World Apart: A Global Clubfoot Journey Fuelled by One Woman’s Resolve
Miracle FeetOct. 1, 2021SenegalDoctors told Aisha Mballo’s parents it was “God’s will” that she was born with clubfoot, and their attempts to find treatment all ended the same way: no answers. The article tracks her experiences through treatment.
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Can Paralympic sport break down barriers to assistive technology use in Africa?
Nyasha Mharakurwa, Stacy Konadu Mensah, Patrick Yaw ObengSept. 13, 2021GlobalIn this blog, Nyasha Mharakurwa, a wheelchair tennis player and London 2012 Paralympian from Zimbabwe, Stacy Konadu Mensah, a wheelchair tennis player from Ghana, and Patrick Yaw Obeng, a para-athlete from Ghana share their reflections and experiences of barriers to assistive technology access and how Para sports can help break down these barriers for disabled people in Africa.
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Unlocking the potential of the Paralympics: Para Sport Against Stigma
Dr. Jessica Noske Turner (LU London), Prof. Mufunanji Magalsi (UofMalawi), Sheila Mogalo (IPC Consultant)Aug. 17, 2021Malawi, GlobalCommunity engagement is indispensable to realising the potential impact of the Paralympic Games in different African contexts. The Para Sport Against Stigma project is using action research with partners to try out different approaches in practice to develop a knowledge pool for the kinds of community engagement processes that could ground the Paralympics in diverse contexts across the ‘arc’ of the Games cycle: the lead up, the main event, and the legacy of this year’s Tokyo 2021 Paralympic Games.
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The Launch of the Clubfoot Product Narrative
Miracle Feet, Clinton Health Access Initiative, Frederic SeghersJuly 29, 2021GlobalThis blog highlights the need for appropriately resourced and accessible clubfoot treatment programmes around the world. Through this story meet Quraish who shares his experience of the impact early treatment had on his life. Born with clubfoot, a birth defect in which one or both feet are turned inward and downward, it wasn’t until Quraish was four years old that his parents found treatment for his condition. “It changed my life forever,” he says. “I can wear shoes, run like any person can.” Now, with an accounting degree from Makerere University, he wants to pay it forward and help others realize their full potential.
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AT Impact Fund: How we do impactful research
Dr Rhys WilliamsMay 14, 2021The Assistive Tech Impact Fund is the world’s first investment vehicle dedicated to scaling assistive technology innovation and provision in emerging markets. Find out more about the theory of change.
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Salvaging Waste to Protect Lives in Nigeria During COVID-19
Chime AsonyeFeb. 26, 2021NigeriaWhile considering ways to respond to a global pandemic, collecting trash might not seem like the most obvious path. Victor Boyle-Komolafe, co-founder of Garbage In, Value Out (GIVO) saw the opportunity to turn items that have been thrown away into vital personal protective equipment (PPE). The efforts are not only countering the health challenges of COVID-19 but also investing in local talent and the circular economy. Nigeria began its response to COVID-19 early, becoming the first country in Sub-Saharan Africa to confirm a case of the disease. Despite this dubious honour, in comparison with other countries on the continent, it has witnessed fewer cases. This began to change at the end of last year when the nation saw a new variant of the novel coronavirus and experienced a second wave of infections which led to further travel restrictions and a negative impact on the economy.
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What is COVIDaction Local Production Local Solutions?
Chime AsonyeFeb. 5, 2021COVIDaction Local Production & Local Solutions (LPLS) was designed to address these type of big questions by crowdsourcing and mapping innovative responses dealing with the demand for personal protective equipment (PPE) and other unavailable goods. Since April 2020, the initiative has launched a series of open calls to surface how organisations and grassroots innovators across Africa and South Asia have pivoted in local production and novel approaches to meet community needs. The programme provides identified social entrepreneurs financial and technical assistance to scale their impact.
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Rising from an earthquake to fight the pandemic in Nepal
Ramon Michael, Chime AsonyeJan. 15, 2021NepalIn 2015, Nepal, a landlocked country in South Asia bordering China and India, was rocked by an earthquake that destroyed property, historical monuments, claimed thousands of lives, and left scores more injured. Landslides and avalanches ensued, causing severe damage to the capital and nearby towns. The emergency was also the trigger that shifted Zener Technologies’ work, a domestic 3D design and additive manufacturing company co-founded by Ram Chandra Thapa, to solve citizens’ essential needs with technology. Ram Chandra Thapa was a fresh university graduate the year of this ecological disaster. Working as a design and production engineer for Field Ready, an organisation focused on the rapi
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An Eye for Inclusion: GDI Hub partners with NIUA for global photography competition ‘an Eye for Inclusion”
Global Disability Innovation HubJan. 11, 2021GDI Hub is delighted to be supporting the National Institute for Urban Affairs (NIUA) our AT2030 programme partners based in India, in a global photography competition that calls for photographers and photography enthusiasts to capture what disability inclusion looks like for them. 'An Eye for Inclusion’ aims to capture and enrich image-making culture around disability inclusion, promoting inclusion by showcasing real life solutions, stories and best practices from everyday life that improve the lives of disabled people around the world.
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Mobile-powered employment opportunities for all; up to £20k available for Bangladesh solutions
Global Disability Innovation HubJan. 5, 2021The UK aid funded i2i programme has launched a mobile innovation challenge for employment for all, using mobile technology to bridge to employment opportunities by the development of skills, increasing awareness of job opportunities and helping disabled people to get and retain employment opportunities. Up to £20,000 is available to support winning applicants in the development of employment solutions focused around mobile in Bangladesh.
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Building the Assistive Tech ecosystem, one coffee at a time
Dr Rhys WilliamsJan. 5, 2021Insights inth the Assistive Tech Impact Fund - unlocking potenital, sharing knowledge and supporing newcomers.
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International Day of Persons with Disabilities in informal settlements in Sierra Leone and Indonesia
Dr Ignacia Ossul Vermehren, UCL, Nina Asterina, Kota Kita, Hawanatu Bangura, SLURCDec. 3, 2020Sierra Leone, IndonesiaThe 3rd of December is the International Day of Persons with Disabilities. We reflect on this year’s theme “Building Back Better: toward a disability-inclusive, accessible and sustainable post COVID-19 World” through DPU’s research “AT2030: Community led solutions” in informal settlements Sierra Leone and Indonesia.
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Digital assistive technology for inclusion: Zainab's story
Barbara GoeddeNov. 23, 2020IraqZainab Jalal Ahmed is 37 years old and works as a translator (Arabic-English) for the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research in Iraq. The documents she translates include Memorandums of Understanding and other legal document, as well as - to facilitate the sponsorship of Iraqi students to study in overseas universities in Britain, the United States or Australia - applications, transcripts of their marks and abstracts of their works. As many are documents are legal in nature, the translations need to be very precise. Zainab also interprets for delegations and other visitors.
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Powering Inclusion: Artificial Intelligence and Assistive Technology
Felipe Ramos BarajasNov. 14, 2020GlobalThe World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that by 2050 two billion people will need AT, yet 90% will not have access. This is why the AT2030 programme is engaged in testing research, innovation, policy, and building community solutions to see what works in addressing that enormous challenge.
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Exploring the experience of persons with disabilities of using mobile technology in their daily lives in Kenya and Bangladesh
Nusrat JahanNov. 6, 2020Kenya, BangladeshAlthough, mobile phones are universally used for communication, for persons with disabilities they become essential assistive technologies that bridge barriers to opportunities which are not accessible otherwise.
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Inclusive Design Research in a Pandemic: Working Remotely in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
Mikaela PatrickOct. 30, 2020The Inclusive Infrastructure sub-programme obegan in March 2020, right out the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Over three years this part of the AT2030 programme will be conducting case studies in six cities on the current state of accessibility and inclusion of the built environment in each of those places. Our aim is to build a picture of what inclusive design ‘looks like’ in each city. Find out more about our first case study in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
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Inclusive Design: What if we built a world that was accessible to all?
Louise GebbettOct. 22, 2020With World Habitat Day on the 5 October and World Cities Day on 31st this Disability Innovation Live session explores the expanding field of Inclusive Design and its potential to create a fairer world. Here you can catch-up with the webinar recording and transcript
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Assistive Technology: What is in a name?
GATEOct. 19, 2020GlobalThe World Health Organization (WHO) defines assistive technology as ‘the application of organized knowledge and skills related to assistive products, including systems and services.’ Assistive products are ‘any external product (including devices, equipment, instruments or software)…the primary purpose of which is to maintain or improve an individual’s functioning and independence, and thereby promote their well-being’.1 Put simply, assistive products are the products and assistive technology is the whole ecosystem that is needed for their safe and effective provision and use.
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Disability, inclusion and cities: can COVID-19 trigger change?
Dr Ignacia Ossul Vermehren, Julian Walker, UCL, Development Planning Unit (DPU), Hawanatu Bangura, SLURC, Yirah O’Conteh, FEDURP, Nina Asterina, Kota Kita, Kesuma Anugerah Yanti, Kaki KotaOct. 1, 2020COVID-19 has exacerbated the disadvantages experienced by people with disabilities in low-income communities of the global South. Here, the authors explain how urban community organisations are offering effective short-term support and inspiring inclusive longer-term strategies.
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What is Assistive Tech, who is it for, and what does it enable?
Rhys WilliamsSept. 28, 2020What does Assistive Technology mean and which products are the key priority products.
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The potential for Assistive Tech in Africa
Rhys Williams, Bethany KantenSept. 24, 2020A blog piece by Rhys Williams and Bethany Kanten that discusses the Assistive Tech Impact Fund.
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Building the foundations for a thriving Assistive Tech innovation ecosystem
Bernard Chiira, Rhys Williams, Rosie Afia, Tamara GiltsoffSept. 8, 2020Together the ambition is to lift the lid on this exciting emerging tech sector, support its growth and demonstrate global leadership on assistive technology. In this article you will learn more about assistive technology (AT) and these four initiatives supporting the ecosystem. Around the world we have seen entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystems established to create and support the finTech, agriculture Tech (agriTech), cleanTech, education Tech (edTech), and healthTech sectors- with many more emerging tech sectors each year. In LMICs, these technology sectors have been able to grow due to a large yet underserved market opportunity, and thriving and supportive ecosystems made up of early stage investors and angel networks, tech hubs and media platforms, academic institutions and policies to support innovation, as well as a steady increase in deployed capital.
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Assistive Technology at a glance
Rhys WilliamsSept. 4, 2020When we use the term Assistive Technology (AT), we usually think about products like wheelchairs and walking sticks, hearing aids and eye-glasses, prosthetics and digital or mobile devices. However, the World Health Organisation (WHO) suggests a broad definition of assistive technology which emphasises services (diagnostics, fitting, ‘on-demand’ assistance), systems (infrastructure, processes), and products (eyeglasses, hearing aids, mobility aids).
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Marking 4 years of the Global Disability Innovation Hub
Bernard ChiiraSept. 3, 2020Bernard Chiira reflects on the 4 years of GDI Hub and the role in promoting the AT innovation ecosystem as part of AT2030.
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Gender and disability in informal settlements during COVID-19: What we have learnt so far
Dr Ignacia Ossul VermehrenJune 30, 2020Sierra Leone, Indonesia, ChileOn Tuesday 11th February, we held an event on The Politics of Making Disability Visible in Community-led Urban Research as part of the Dialogues in Development series at The Bartlett Developing and Planning Unit (UCL). The aim of the event was to share reflections and learnings from the action-research project "Community-led solution: Assistive Technologies in Informal Settlements– an ongoing research project in four low-income urban communities: two in Freetown, Sierra Leone and two in Banjarmasin, Indonesia. Dr Ignacia Ossul Vermehren discussed gender and disability in informal settlements during COVID-19. and sheds a light on what we've learnt so far.
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Celebrating Inspirational Entrepreneurs Building Tech that Matters for Africa
Bernard Chiira, AMREF Health AfricaMay 13, 2020GlobalBernard presents an overview of the innovations and teams that were part of the first cohort of Innovate Now, Africa's first Assistive Tech Accelerator.
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Opportunities and challenges for disability inclusion during the COVID-19 pandemic
Dr Giulia Barbareschi, Mikaela Patrick, Global Disability Innovation HubApril 15, 2020To ensure society continues to become more accessible beyond COVID-19 we need to integrate the voices of disabled people in the design and development of policy, technology and infrastructure. Dr Giulia Barbareschi and Mikaela Patrick discuss the opportunities and challenges.
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COVID-19 response: using Assistive Technology learnings to seek emerging market ventilation solutions
Global Disability Innovation HubMarch 19, 2020Louise writes on how mimicking the learnings of the AT2030 programme and working across multi-disciplinary networks, we can bridge sectors and rapidly share expertise to catapult innovations through the product development cycle in the context of COVID-19.
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Opportunities and challenges for disability inclusion during the COVID-19 pandemic
Mikaela Patrick, Dr Giulia BarbareschiMarch 15, 2020Measures implemented by governments worldwide in response to the escalation of the COVID-19 global pandemic have had a significant impact on everyone. Lockdown and physical distancing policies have led many people to spend the majority of their time at home, only leaving the house for basic essentials and relying on digital infrastructure and delivery services for work, learning, socialising and receiving supplies more than ever before. However, many people with disabilities might be affected by some of these changes in unique and unexpected ways, both positively and negatively.
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The Politics of Making Disability Visible in Community-led Urban Research
Development Planning Unit (DPU), Dr Ignacia Ossul VermehrenMarch 3, 2020Ignacia, research fellow working with the Build Capacity and Participation subprogramme presents a summary of the event organised with AT2030 partners.
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Understanding the Assistive Technology Landscape in 7 African Countries
Clinton Health Access Initiative, Novia AfdhilaDec. 9, 2019On November 5th, 2019, representatives from seven countries convened in Johannesburg, South Africa to discuss the rollout and initial findings from the Assistive Technology Country Capacity Assessments (CCA). This included the focal persons from Ethiopia, Liberia, Malawi, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, and Uganda who are carrying out the CCA in partnership with government ministries.
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Celebrating International Disability Day in Sierra Leone
Vicki Austin, Global Disability Innovation HubDec. 4, 2019Vicki shares her reflections of her experience in Freetown to celebrate International Disability Day (as it is called in Sierra Leone) with the communities for the first time.
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How a school football game changed Arnold's life
Ines Amri, Amparo ProstheticsDec. 2, 2019Ines writes about Arnold and his experience with Amparo's Confidence socket.
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Assistive Technology Changed My Life
Motivation, David ConstantineOct. 18, 2019David, Founder and Director of Motivation discusses the impact of assistive technology in his life and his work in the AT sector.
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ISPO Congress Summary
Dr Giulia Barbareschi, Global Disability Innovation HubOct. 16, 2019Giulia presents an overview of the research presented at the ISPO conference in Japan that included the Learnings from the AT2030 Programme for Service Delivery in LMIC.
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Life Changing Assistive Technology for All in Freetown and Banjarmasin
Sierra Leone Urban Research Centre, Hawanatu BanguraOct. 6, 2019Hawanatu gives an overview of a two-week workshop held in Banjarmasin in May 2019 with a team from UCL (UK), Kota Kita and Kaki Kota (Indonesia), and SLURC (Sierra Leone) as part of the project. The workshop started with site visits to the two communities (Pelambuan and Kelayan) in Banjarmasin where the AT2030 would be implemented. Participants then introduced useful presentations on the wider AT2030 project, disability, AT and informality between the two countries (Indonesia and Sierra Leone).
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Reflections on the challenges that people with disabilities face in Kibera, Nairobi
Dr Ben Oldfrey, Global Disability Innovation HubAug. 7, 2019Ben presents the work by GDI Hub and the University of Nairobi taht conducted a study, interviewing wheelchair users living in Kibera – an informal settlement found in Nairobi, Kenya. The study was part of a wider project with the aim of learning how people with disabilities use technology in their everyday lives and understanding the barriers people with disabilities (PWDs) face in various environments.
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One small step for an amputee and a giant leap for Amparo and GDI Hub
Dr Giulia Barbareschi, Global Disability Innovation HubJuly 30, 2019Giulia shares her insights on her experience working on lower limbs prosthetics with Amparo and the Association for the Physically Disabled of Kenya (ADPK).
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Do we have the right Global Strategy to build access to Assistive Technology?
Vicki Austin, Global Disability Innovation HubMarch 27, 2019Vicki discusses the importance of global partnerships to address the gap to access assistive technology.