Blog Posts
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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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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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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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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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