AXSChat Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

What does digital accessibility look like in a mobile-first continent with 1.4 billion people speaking hundreds of languages across 50+ countries? Irene Mbari-Kirika, Executive Director and Founder of inABLE, takes us on an illuminating journey through Africa's rapidly evolving accessibility landscape.

The conversation begins with inABLE foundational work teaching digital skills to blind students in Kenya. This initial focus quickly expanded when Irene recognized that teaching assistive technology wasn't enough—the digital products themselves needed to become accessible. Six years ago, this realization sparked the creation of Inclusive Africa, now a thriving conference bringing together disability advocates, tech companies, and most importantly, young people with disabilities who understand technology and can drive innovation.

Kenya emerges as a surprising accessibility leader throughout our discussion. Recently, Kenya's president signed legislation mandating compliance with the country's accessibility standards (based on EN 301 549), making it the first African nation to take such a decisive step. Building on this momentum, inABLE is collaborating with standards bodies across Africa to develop a continent-wide accessibility standard—recognizing that fragmented country-by-country approaches would delay progress by decades.

What makes Africa's accessibility journey particularly fascinating are its unique challenges and opportunities. With the youngest population globally and high youth unemployment, the accessibility sector represents an untapped employment frontier. Currently lacking accessibility specialists, designers, and developers, Africa has the chance to build accessibility practices from the ground up rather than retrofitting existing systems. We explore how AI is already transforming accessibility in Africa, with innovations like avatar-based sign language solutions addressing the complex challenge of multiple sign language variations across different communities.

Join us for this eye-opening conversation about digital inclusion in Africa and discover why investing in young people with disabilities might be the key to unlocking accessible technology across the contine

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Accessibility in mobile technology has evolved from seemingly impossible challenges to remarkable innovations. Join us as we welcome back Sabine Lobnig from the Mobile and Wireless Forum to discuss this fascinating journey.

Sabine shares her unique path into accessibility, beginning with linguistics and a fascination with sign language that connected her to the deaf community. This led to her work with the Mobile and Wireless Forum, where she has spent over 13 years championing digital inclusion. The conversation explores how the GARI database—launched in 2008—provides a centralized resource documenting over 200 accessibility features across mobile devices, continually refined through direct consultation with disability communities.

We dive into how mobile technology shattered barriers once considered insurmountable. Remember when experts claimed touchscreens could never be made accessible to blind users? Those "impossible" challenges have been overcome through innovation and collaboration, demonstrating the tremendous progress made in just over a decade.

The European Accessibility Act, coming into force June 28th, represents a watershed moment for digital inclusion. While major manufacturers have largely embraced accessibility, this legislation ensures these practices continue regardless of leadership changes or economic pressures. Perhaps most importantly, it addresses the persistent communication gap—ensuring users not only have accessible devices but know how to use the powerful features already built in.

Discover how the accessibility landscape continues to evolve, from the growing focus on neurodiversity to the challenge of maintaining institutional knowledge as organizations change. Visit gari.info to explore the database and discover features you might not know exist on your own device—you might be surprised what you find!

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Lia Raquel Neves,, founder of EITIC Consulting, offers a thought-provoking exploration into the ethical dimensions of artificial intelligence and its profound implications for accessibility and inclusion. Drawing from her background in philosophy and bioethics, Lia challenges the common assumption that technology is neutral, instead arguing that our creations inherently reflect our values, biases, and blind spots.

The conversation delves into crucial gaps between AI regulations and accessibility requirements. Lia points out that the European AI Act doesn't explicitly define disability as a risk factor, meaning systems that significantly impact disabled users might not be classified as high-risk. "This is not just a legal oversight," she explains, "it's an ethical failure." Without structural requirements prioritizing accessibility, technologies from virtual assistants to facial recognition systems continue to exclude people with disabilities.

When discussing data ethics, Lia confronts the uncomfortable reality of historical bias. Training AI on decades-old data inevitably reproduces historical patterns of discrimination and inequality. While diversity in datasets helps, Lia emphasizes it's insufficient alone: “We must actively detect offensive or discriminatory language and prevent models from amplifying harmful content.” She advocates for continuous human oversight, transparency, and creating mechanisms for people to challenge automated outcomes.

Perhaps most powerful is Lia's reflection on representation: "Digital accessibility is still seen as a technical requirement when it is, in fact, a matter of social justice." She notes how the invisibility of people with disabilities in media, business, and technology perpetuates exclusion, creating a cycle where decision-makers don't prioritize what they rarely encounter. True inclusion means asking who's missing from the data, who's excluded by design, and who's absent when systems are being developed.

Ready to dive deeper into creating ethical, inclusive technology? Connect with Lia on LinkedIn and join the conversation about building technology that truly serves everyone.

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Betty is a Transformational Leadership and Career Coach, and a speaker with the Maxwell Leadership Certified Team. She is also an author of a book Against All Odds where she shares her journey of overcoming odds when she was abandoned at the tender age of fourteen years and thrived until she got her desire to attain a University Education at one of Africa’s Premier Institution Makerere University in Kampala Uganda. She has since become a multi-award-winning human resource practitioner with over 18 years of experience and has worked in international corporations such as Oil and Gas as well as Management Advisory.

Her life slogan is there is greatness in everyone. She uses her skills, talents, and experiences to inspire hope and challenge people to discover their life’s purpose and maximize their potential.

Currently, she is serving as a Master Facilitator with EQUIP’s Beyond Success program which is a non-profit organisation of the Maxwell Enterprises. She also serves in the Maxwell Leadership Certified team members President’s Advisory Committee where she inducts new members and helps them as they navigate the maze of becoming a Coach, Speaker, and Trainer with the MLCT.

As a Transformational Leadership and Career Coach, Betty uses her personal story of overcoming the odds of brain injury, paralysis, speech loss and impairment after she suffered a horrific motor accident in 2006. By the grace and mercy of God and her resilience, she was able to revive her career, and follow her Calling in life.

Having experienced the desire to have a quality education and see the benefit of destiny helpers and sponsors, Betty started the Betty Ogiel Foundation. Proceeds from the work of the Foundation go to helping the girl child to attain an education and thrive. To date, the Foundation has been able to help six orphans and was able to see the first girl child graduate in May 2022 becoming the first graduate in her village.

In order to fulfil her life slogan and bring out the greatness in people, Betty started the life-transforming Against All Odds Talks which are held every month. To date she has held over 40 editions, where she invites highly experienced speakers to speak on different topics that inspire hope and builds resilience among the participants.

In spite of suffering COVID-19 twice, Betty again overcame the odds against her and successfully competed and for the first time brought to the African Continent the Maxwell Leadership Certified Team Members DNA Culture Award for 2021and the Nurture Transformation award.

Betty also continues to excel in her profession as a Human Resource Expert. In 2016 and 2017, she won the Human Resource Excellence Award in employee engagement from the Human Resource Managers Association of Uganda. In September 2017, she received the Global Prosperi

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axschat https://bsky.app/profile/axschat.bsky.social

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Oksana Chuchunkova is an advocate for employment for people with disabilities, accessibility and blindness awareness. She has served asthe had of the PR department of the business center for blind and visually impaired persons and an employment program coordinator at DPO Perspektiva in Moscow. She’s the accessibility expert at one of the largest Banks in the country. Together with a team, she helps to adapt online and offline banking services for visually impaired clients as well as for clients with different disabilities.

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axschat https://bsky.app/profile/axschat.bsky.social

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Dr. Michael Lorz (43) is the founding managing director of EnableMe Foundation. The foundation empowers more than one million people with disabilities annually across the world by providing enabling information, self-help peer communities & digital services.

Michael is also the managing director of the Stiftung MyHandicap that focuses on digital inclusion services in Switzerland. He is passionate about societal impact in the domain of non-visible disabilities. Previously, he has inter alia been the founding managing director of the foundation at the University of St.Gallen (HSG Foundation).

He is a graduate of the Ashoka Visionary Programme and completed five academic degrees at renown universities.

Michael started his career in a leadership development program of an international FMCG company working in multiple locations worldwide. Today he also teaches regularly value-based fundraising at the University of St.Gallen and has a keen interest in alternative assets. He is also advisory board member of the Center for Disability Integration at the University of St.Gallen.

Michael lives with his family in the wonderful city of St.Gallen (CH).

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axschat https://bsky.app/profile/axschat.bsky.social

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Charlie Triplett is an experienced accessibility coach and author of TheBookOnAccessibility. Based in the United States, Charlie has dedicated their career to helping individuals and organizations create more accessible digital experiences for people with disabilities.

With over a decade of experience in the tech industry, Charlie has become a leading voice in the accessibility community. Their expertise covers a wide range of areas, including web and mobile accessibility, assistive technology, and inclusive design.

Charlie's passion for accessibility began after experiencing firsthand the difficulties that people with disabilities face when accessing digital content. As a result, they decided to shift their focus to helping others create more inclusive and accessible digital experiences.

In addition to their work as an accessibility coach, Charlie is the author of TheBookOnAccessibility, a comprehensive guide to creating accessible digital content. The book covers everything from the basics of accessibility to advanced techniques for ensuring that digital content is accessible to people with a wide range of disabilities.

Charlie's work has been recognized by leading organizations in the tech industry, and they have been invited to speak at conferences and events around the world. Through their coaching, writing, and speaking engagements, Charlie has become a prominent figure in the accessibility community and a valuable resource for anyone looking to create more inclusive digital experiences.

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Neil https://bsky.app/profile/neilmilliken.bsky.social

axschat https://bsky.app/profile/axschat.bsky.social

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My name is Bright M Bwalya, a 30-year, Software Engineer, Mental Health and Epilepsy Advocate. I have a strong passion for Epilepsy & Mental Health Advocacy, with a strong desire to use technology to address common issues in many chronic conditions noticed here in Zambia.

I am the 3rd born in a family of 7 and growing up, I didn’t know about Epilepsy, I only got to hear of it after meeting one person who had it, later in grade 8. Fast-forward 2011 I was enrolled at the Copperbelt University to pursue a Degree in Information technology and as my studies went on, my love for technology grew. When I was researching on what project to work on for my 5th Year dissertation in 2016, I started experiencing seizures and I was later diagnosed with Epilepsy in March of 2016. Struggles arose brought by the condition ranging from the stigma name calling and mocking to people not knowing what to do when I suffer a seizure, a significant incident is when I suffered a seizure and I woke up to an exorcism. That opened my eyes to the fact that people di not know what this condition which was affecting many, actually was.

My struggles with Epilepsy inspired me to switch my final year project to one which could help me help those around me know what to do when I suffer a seizure. I call it “Seizure Assistant”, a mobile phone application built to be a health management and experience sharing platform which also allows patients to get help before or during a seizure. This help can be requested for either by a button push or auto seizure detection through a synchronized smart wrist band. The application then does three things; Send a preset SOS Message to a Set Emergency Contact alerting them of the seizure, with the patient’s location included for easier tracking. The patient’s phone will then play an SOS Sound to gain the attention of the people around. In response to the noisy phone, someone will pick it up and what they will find is a series of instructions on how to provide First Aid care to the patient experiencing a seizure with their Name, Condition Type and Emergency Contact Details included. This and many other features help Epileptics better manage their condition while teaching the masses about the condition thereby reducing the stigma surrounding it. The application houses a feature called “Community Feeds”, a feature that allow users to communicate and share the issues they are struggling with and get expert help right on the application, as well as response of encouragement and advise from fellow patients. The Feature works different from other platforms in that a user is free to share their complaints or queries in anonymity, if need be, however the help to them is still provided. This is useful for those not ready to open up about the conditions they are struggling with. This would help address the high rate

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axschat https://bsky.app/profile/axschat.bsky.social

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Alexa Child, co-founder of Dateability, graduated from Georgetown Law in 2015 and currently works as a public interest attorney. Through witnessing her sister’s experience with disability, Alexa has become an advocate and ally for the disability community. She is passionate about social justice, enjoys TV and film, and loves all things Halloween.  

Jacqueline Child, co-founder of Dateability, has turned her experience with disability and chronic illness into a new venture. She created Dateability with her sister after years of discouraging ableist experiences on the mainstream dating apps. When she isn’t managing her health, Jacqueline enjoys playing the guitar, reading, and volunteering at the local animal shelter. 

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axschat https://bsky.app/profile/axschat.bsky.social

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 Dr. Tomczak is an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Management and Economics, Gdańsk University of Technology in Poland, and a visiting scholar at the University of North Texas, College of Health and Public Service.

As the first Polish researcher in the field of management to conduct research on neurodiversity and work, Dr. Tomczak is a leading expert in Human Resources Management. He has authored and co-authored over 50 publications in the field, focusing on technology-based and non-technological solutions for the inclusion and well-being of employees with autism and the assessment of employee competencies.

As a Principal Investigator and co-investigator of several projects funded by the National Science Center (NCN) and the National Centre for Research and Development (NCBiR), Dr. Tomczak has developed a set of innovative solutions for employers, aimed at improving Human Resources Management processes and optimizing the work environment in terms of the needs of people with autism.

Join us on the podcast to hear Dr. Tomczak's valuable insights on neurodiversity and work, and how businesses can create a more inclusive and supportive work environment for all employees.

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axschat https://bsky.app/profile/axschat.bsky.social

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