This browser is not actively supported anymore. For the best passle experience, we strongly recommend you upgrade your browser.
| less than a minute read

Disability as the Driver of Innovation

Society sees people with disabilities as charity or "unfortunate", the reality is that people with disabilities are at the front of finding solutions. The perspective brought by being disabled in a world that isn't designed for you provides a unique perspective, leading to innovations that everybody can benefit from.

Just a few inventions you may use, that originated from a need within the disability community:

  • Typewriter
  • Email
  • SMS
  • Remote Control
  • Closed Captions
  • Audio Books
  • Blurred backgrounds on Microsoft Teams
  • Dropped curbs
  • and many more

It's our time to be inclusive, sustainable and build back ever better.

For Girma the key takeaway from these disability-origin stories of some of our favorite technologies is that the products don’t only benefit the disability community. “Captions on videos help Deaf people, but they also help hearing people, too,” she says. “In fact, Facebook reported that adding captions to videos increases the average view time by about 12%.”

Tags

disabilityinclusion, innovation

Creating, sharing and inspiring change. For good.

The global issues we face are challenging and interconnected. They can seem insurmountable. But if you know where to look, co-operation, positive change and hope are all around us. Build Beyond Even Better is a project that recognises the progress being made, and the amazing people who are making a difference. Share your own hopes, pledges and projects with #BBEB, or become a contributor.

Please read our BBEB Charter PDF.