Celebrating the Forward for Good Disability Innovation Showcase

May 19th is Global Accessibility Awareness Day, an exciting chance to expand the conversation around disability and accessibility. In previous years, we’ve convened thought leaders and hosted events. This year, we celebrate our Forward for Good Disability Innovation cohort with a final showcase.

The Verizon Forward for Good Accelerator is part of Citizen Verizon, our business plan for economic, environmental, and social advancement helping move the world forward for all. The mission of this program is to support start-ups that are developing solutions leveraging technology such as 5G, Mobile Edge Compute (MEC), Big Data, AI & XR to drive meaningful impact. This cohort focused on disability innovation and how technology can drive greater inclusion and equity.

I was honored to support the program, first as a judge, then as a mentor. So many outstanding companies applied, demonstrating how many organizations seek solutions to long-standing accessibility challenges. And as I got to know them better in one-on-one sessions, I learned some of the professional and personal paths that brought us together. This is an impressive, brilliant group.

• Waymap: Indoor and outdoor wayfinding application for people with visual impairments.
• WearWorks: Haptic wayfinding solution through a wearable wristband for people who are blind or visually impaired.
• AppTek: Universal captioning application for the deaf/hard of hearing community that can be personalized to each user's needs in more than 20 languages.
• Imanyco: Live transcription technology for the deaf/hard of hearing community that clearly identifies individual speakers in group conversations.
• Cognixion: Technologies for those with complex communication and/or motor disabilities to enable speech and enhance the ability to interact with their home environment.
• Puffin Innovations: Mouth-operated device for those with complex disabilities that allows for hands-free connection between individuals and computers/phones/tablets.
• Evolution Devices: Digital physical therapy device that gathers data on walking patterns and helps prevent falls for people with neurological impairments.

The Forward for Good Disability Innovation Showcase will take place as a hybrid event on May 19 from 4-5pm ET. Please RSVP if you would like to attend remotely or in-person.

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