Blog Posts
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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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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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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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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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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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