Digital Assistive Technology Challenges and Opportunities: The Potential of Mobile Devices

Side event CRPD Conference of State Parties 2023

Theme - Digital Accessibility for Persons with Disabilities

Jointly organized by UNICEF, WHO, ATscale, GDI, IDA and the Permamnet Mission of Brazil to the United Nations.

This 14 June 2023 side event was moderated by Gopal Mitra, Global Lead on Disability at UNICEF, and it included an opening statement by Gry Haugsbakken, State Secretary, Ministry of Culture and Equality of Norway; a panel of experts with Rodrigo Machado, National Coordinator for Accessibility and Assistive Technology from the Ministry of Human Rights and Citizenship of Brazil, Pascal Bijleveld, Chief Executive Officer at ATscale, Pablo Lecuona, Founder and Executive Director of Tiflonexos, Kylie Shae, Team Lead with the World Health Organization, and Asraa Elghali, a digital assistive technology user from Libya; as well as a closing statement from Victoria Austin, Co-founder and CEO of the Global Disability Innovation Hub. All presenters offered different perspectives on how powerful digital technologies, and in particular smartphones, can be in supporting the realization of the human rights of persons with disabilities.

The panel reached a consensus on the importance of public-private-partnerships and accessibility to ensure that digital AT can reach its full potential; the need for proper training for end-users and affordability of devices, and the benefits in terms of self-reliance that this can enable; the potential of digital AT devices such as mobile phones as channels of support for users of many types of AT, including those which are not digital; the necessity of raising awareness about as well as including digital AT in national AT priority lists; and how large and positive an impact access to digital AT can have in the educational and professional prospects of persons with disabilities. An opportunity for questions and answers from the audience was provided and during this period additional examples of the importance and helpfulness of digital AT, particularly smartphones, were shared.

Watch LIVE the event on the UN WebTV

https://media.un.org/en/asset/k1e/k1eb538yq5

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Source: UNICEF