Congrats to G3ict on receiving award last night for their work on Inclusive Urban Sidewalks. Proud that AI for Accessibility was able to play a small part!

.G3ict / Smart Cities for All Global Country Representatives shared insights on supporting greater accessibility and inclusion in their respective regions at the M-Enabling Summit 2022. Watch the recording: youtu.be/Wu9U9mbOya0 James Thurston زينب (Zainab) المعراج J. Rukmal Muhammad Atif Sheikh #A11y

EU governments are enormous consumers of #technology and can better use #procurement to drive #DigitalInclusion of people with disabilities. Check out what we have been doing with partners like European Disability Forum and Microsoft Europe

Driving disability inclusion worldwide is a top priority. One way we scale our global impact is through our network of country representatives. Today we grow the network says James Thurston welcoming members for Fiji, Georgia, Lebanon,Republic of Korea & Turkey bit.ly/3Hu2aEl

After nearly 8 years as a VP, this is my last week at G3ict - later this month I will be joining a global tech company and continuing my work on #accessibility and #DigitalTransformation. I look forward to more collaborations with so many amazing leaders! linkedin.com/feed/update/ur…

I am looking forward to working closely with my new team and with many partners across North America and the world!

"Inclusive Futures: Disability and Technology" panel organized by Fung Global Fellows Program, PIIRS & victor zhuang at PIIRS Princeton University. With Meryl Alper (Northeastern U.), Rua M. Williams (Purdue University), James Thurston (Atos) in person, & ヨコヤマ セツコ (SUTD Singapore), Gerard Goggin (University of Sydney) online

Shaping an Inclusive Future: James Thurston on Bridging Technology, Policy, & Accessible Innovation. 🌐 Dive into the latest episode of #axschat with James Thurston, discussing how technology & policy can work together for accessible innovation! #Accessibility rfr.bz/t8y7gxz

Hi everyone glad to be here with you for today’s chat with James Thurston - I have known James and admired his work for a decade and in the last year had the pleasure of working with him as a colleague. #AXSChat

A1 I really think collaboration across sectors is powerful and key. I love what Axel Leblois at @g3ict has always promoted – the three legged stool. We make progress when industry, civil society, and government are talking and working together to advance #AXSChat

A2 Definitely not mutually exclusive. Lots of leading companies that think about both. Neil Milliken I think the way that you are helping to see #Accessibility as part of broader #sustainability efforts is important - including with similar governance systems. #AXSChat

A2 Employees are part of all businesses and increasingly are also wanting purpose from their work and company #AXSChat

A3 Wow that is a big Q. The systems for developing and enforcing policy in the US and EU are very different. That being said we have landed on nearly identical technical standards which has been critical. #AXSChat

A4 there are numerous maturity models available including ones that James Thurston and I have have had a hand in - all organisations are different and priorities will vary but there are clear indicators of maturity such as strategy, policies, technology deployment etc #axschat

A5 I often say, and always credit @robert_sinclair now of Atlassian, the accessible tech of today is the mainstream tech of tomorrow. A11y is innovation. Important to evangelize #accessibility to incubators and accelerators. We are largely missing there. #AXSChat

A4 We do what we measure. We need the same kind of rigorous metrics to advance ICT #accessibility efforts that we have for privacy and security. Maturity Models can help quantify #accessibility efforts and drive progress in an org. #AXSChat

A6 employee resource groups. Spotlighting senior execs who are open about their disabilities. Supporting self-ID campaigns. Reverse mentoring programs. Raising awareness in professional societies for different careers/roles. #AXSChat

Amplifying professionals’ with disabilities voices begins with proactive inclusion. Billion Strong, champions mentorship, targeted career development, and ensuring accessibility roles aren’t the only path to leadership. #AXSChat #WeAreBillionStrong