Leaders in accessible technology share how we can all be more inclusive every day

Last week, the Rogers AccessAbility Network, our diversity group focused on empowering Persons with Disabilities at Rogers, hosted a speaker series with three incredible speakers and innovators to share their stories on how they bring inclusive design to people across the globe.

Samin Khan, co-founder of SmartARM and 2018 winner of Microsoft’s global innovation contest, shared his story of how his childhood drove his passion to co-create the SmartARM, a robotic prosthetic hand that can mimic the functionality of a regular arm. His presentation truly resonated with our teams – changing the way we think about what accessibility means.

Ricardo Wagner, Microsoft’s Accessibility Lead, followed with an honest presentation on how we need to change the way we think about accessibility in the work environment. Wagner shared how Microsoft’s software is focused on accessibility, and how teams can use it every day – and the difference it makes – helping everyone to work more collaboratively, efficiently, and equally.

Finally, Maayan Ziv spoke about how simply talking about accessibility can make a huge difference in making the world more inclusive. Maayan is Founder & CEO of AccessNow, an app where people share accessibility is something that is easy, yet essential for so many people.

“This was a great event where our guests shared how they are helping make the world more inclusive for persons with visible and invisible disabilities. But the every day person doesn’t need to invite a prosthetic or new software to do this… Every single one of us can be more accessible with intention and thought.” – Pam Dinsmore, Chair, Rogers AccessAbility Network

Learn more about our commitment to Inclusion & Diversity here.