When Innovation is Accessible, the World gets closer to becoming inclusive
Edel, an 18-year-old from Monterrey, Mexico, always dreamt of becoming a digital innovator and programmer to make a significant impact in the world. Edel, who has a hearing and speech disability, joined the DIA Innovation Lab in Mexico where he acquired new digital skills thanks to the Lab’s interpreters and its accessible equipment. His unique perspective to identify problems that could be solved with technology, enabled him and his team to launch an app that helps people with hearing disabilities receive notifications at airports to update them on their flights. This idea lead him and his team to win international recognition as they obtained top positions in competitions for innovation.
Edel’s story is an example of the importance of making digital skills and technological innovation accessible for people with disabilities. But, how many young adults are being left behind in the digitalization era? In the ever-changing world-of-work, the pace at which the digital transformation is taking place, may lead to exclude communities that have been historically overlooked. Now more than ever, it is possible to strive for creative solutions that bridge digital and skill gaps for those in vulnerable communities, such as people with disabilities.
At The Trust for the Americas, we are committed to empower people with disabilities through the access, use and appropriation of technology and 21st century skills. This will enable them to be better prepared to compete in the Future of Work economy in Latin America and the Caribbean. In recognition of these efforts, the Zero Project, an initiative of the Austrian Essl Foundation, granted The Trust the Innovative Practice 2020 on Inclusive Education and ICT Award. This award recognizes The Trust’s accessible innovation lab “DIA (Democratizing Innovation in the Americas Inclusive Innovation Lab) in Santa Catarina, México.
Problem Targeted at the DIA Inclusive Innovation Lab
The DIA Lab in Santa Catarina, Mexico, operates in a context where more than 6% (291,000) of its population has a disability[1]. Youth with disabilities are often renegaded from educational opportunities because public schools do not provide nor have the capacities to provide accessible technology tools and equipment. Hence, leaving youth with disabilities at disadvantage compared to their peers, leading to social and educational exclusion and widening the digital gap for those with disabilities.
Bridging the Digital and Innovation Gap for those with Disabilities
In an effort to bring technology and innovation closer to people with disabilities, The Trust in alliance with the UTSC (Universidad Tecnológica Santa Catarina), created the first innovation Lab in Latin America that is accessible: the DIA Inclusive Innovation Lab. The Lab fosters inclusion and the democratization of technology in Mexico by providing youth, including those without disabilities, a space to acquire key vocational, digital and innovation skills. At the Lab, youth can materialize their ideas and create low-cost solutions and innovations through cutting-edge technology such as Arduinos, 3D printers, laser cutters, and Adapted Technologies.
Access to the lab allows those with disabilities to do a wide array of activities, from doing their homework to coding their own websites or designing Android applications with Arduino technology. Breaking with the stigma that those with disabilities cannot manipulate technological tools, the DIA Lab provides state-of-the-art Adaptive Technology such as voice recognition programs, screen readers and screen enlargement applications, to help youth use computers and mobile devices.
Since its creation in 2015, the lab has provided training to 2,000 at-risk young adults and has opened access to its resources to almost 14,000 people. An example of the kind of innovations created by participants in the lab is the Exo-chair, a low-cost technology kit that transforms a manual wheelchair into an electronic one.
Influencing Public Policy
In the public sphere, as an organization affiliated to the Organization of American States (OAS), The Trust has shared with the Department of Social Inclusion (DSI) the DIA Lab’s best practices and recommendations on accessibility. The DSI encourages member countries of the OAS, through its embassies, to incorporate such recommendations in their countries as public policy.
Likewise, the DIA Inclusive Lab has raised awareness in the private and social sphere as it has participated in high level events throughout the continent. Most recently, the Lab participated in the Future of Work Event celebrated by The Trust for the Americas in alliance with Microsoft in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Furthermore, the DIA Inclusive Lab hosted a panel event at the first Innovation Summit ever celebrated in Latin America in the Caribbean. Organized by The Trust for the Americas and celebrated in Costa Rica, the DIA Inclusive Lab successfully utilized the Summit as a platform to share the importance of democratizing innovation and technology to those with disabilities.
[1] According to INEGI (Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía)
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