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5 short talks covering disability inclusivity in cities with speakers from Colombia, Indian, Indonsia and Mongolia. Part of the Disability Innovation Summit: Inclusive Interactions summit of 13 Sep 2023 held by the Global Disability Hub.

A short talk given in the Disability Innovation Summit: Inclusive Interactions conference organised by the GDI hub on 13 Sept 2023

A short account of the development of the knowledge around inclusive design starting with the London Olympic and Paralympic 2020 Games in East London and the growth of that knowledge with the growth of the GDI hub.

The intersectionality of inclusive design and effects of climate change are explored. The importance of inclusive design in future building in cities is emphasised.

A short talk given in the Disability Innovation Summit: Inclusive Interactions conference organised by the GDI hub on 13 Sept 2023.

The story of the progress in the development and of issues with the roll out of Earswitch is briefly outlined. The particular advantages for people with communication difficulties owing to cerebral palsy, motor neurone disease and locked in syndrome and also the advantages for the general population are highlighted.  Work is being carried out on eye tracking. Difficulties in transitioning to market are discussed.

Presented at the Disability Innovation Summit: Inclusive Interactions conference organised by the GDI hub on 13 Sept 2023.

Outcomes of the first 5 years of the AT2030 project are summarised including: 15 AT country capacity surveys; 11 new assistive technologies; 31 AT ventures brought to sustainability and 70 journal papers. Funding thus far and for the future is also discussed.

Work to supply hearing aids to those with hearing loss in the global south, particularly in South Africa is outlined. Areas highlighted include: work with suppliers; work to ignite innovation and provide products at scale; work with UNICEF and the procurement catalogue; work with HEARX to provide screening and aid fine tuning via a phone app to enable community health AT service.

Questions from the audience highlight issues surrounding acquiring AT in the emergency/humanitarian setting  

The most important part of innovation in systems change is the lived experience.

The successful campaign to eliminate car park charges for people with disabilities at NHS hospitals in the UK is outlined. (Charges from over 200 hospitals are now dismissed).

The ongoing campaign to exempt all people with disabilities who are "Blue badge" holders from charges associated with ULEZ (ultra low emission zones) or the equivalent in cities in the UK is also described. The importance of integrating climate action and disability rights is highlighted.  

Presented at the Disability Innovation Summit: Inclusive Interactions conference organised by the GDI hub on 13 Sept 2023.

The importance of access to financial services and the challenges and work towards solutions are briefly overviewed with particular reference to innovation in the Nationwide Building Society in the UK.

Priorities identified for long term decision making concerned with services for people with disabilities were people with learning disabilities/neurodivergence/dementia, deaf people and the customer experience. The Nationwide introduced British Sgn Language (BSL) virtual interpretation for deaf people using a third party interpreter to enable independent banking. Difficulties encountered concerning risk and governance are highlighted.  Lessons learned and other progress e.g. provision of letters in BSL are briefly mentioned.

A series of short talks concerned with local innovation and production of AT devices in Nepal given by representatives of members of the associated ecosystem. A short history of the projects is presented. The devastating earthquake in 2015 and COVID both demonstrated the necessity for local innovation, production, repair and maintenance of AT. Three workstreams are ongoing: codesigning for individual needs; manual wheelchairs; and repair and spare part production. The need to develop local OT services in Nepal, particularly of bespoke provision, codesigning with the user to ensure achievable goals with a developed therapeutic intervention plan, is highlighted. Innovative AT associated with the knee joint and a diabetic foot and also a temperature monitoring device are shown and problems with local product validation are highlighted.  Ram Chandra Thapa (founder of Zener Technologies) describes the use of 3D printing in emergency engineering situations. He briefly describes his current project concerning wheelchairs, outlining associated difficulties, the local production ecosystem and the assessment of which parts are the most important for maintenance needs. The need for training and also finance to take a product from innovation to production are mentionned.

Presented at the Disability Innovation Summit: Inclusive Interactions conference organised by the GDI hub on 13 Sept 2023.

Innovate Now and innovation drivers, the role of innovators, the innovation ecosystem, and access to funders are introduced.

This webinar, hosted by Global Disability Innovation (GDI) hub, brings together a diverse panel of experts to discuss what inclusive design looks like in practice for them, who benefits and how it can offer methods to build a more accessible world that benefits all of us.

Speakers presentations were:

• What inclusive design means to GDI Hub and why it matters, drawing on our experience working in both the UK and globally
• An overview of inclusive design of the built environment in the UK and Kenya, including the role of access panels to embed the views of disabled people in planning and decision-making
• An introduction to GDI Hub’s AT2030 programme including our Inclusive Infrastructure research sub-programme that is conducting six global case studies in LMIC cities around the world over the next 2-3 years.
• The challenges and opportunities for an accessible Mongolia and the importance of Disabled People’s Organisations (DPO) engagement in decision-making
• The importance of inclusive planning processes for accessible cities in Indonesia