The experience of disabled people during the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions shows technology as a powerful amplifier of vulnerability.
The shift to a socially distanced society has created greater isolation of disabled people with the blind and partially sighted being especially effected.
Based on our reserch we have posed some questions, the answers to which we hope will help all of us return to a more inclusive digital world.
What can we learn from the adjustments we all made to maintain a quality of life during lockdowns to improve quality of life for those for whom lockdowns feel ‘normal’ ? Outside
How do we meet people without basic means or skills at their level to help them broad digital infrastructures? Not for them
How do we enable essential services like banks to have plans in place to ensure accessibility isn’t compromised when changes are made to services? Card reader
How do we help people with cognitive disabilities and memory loss protect themselves better against fraud and scams as financial transactions are increasingly occurring remotely and/or online? Notebook
How do we support the event industry to integrate lessons on digital infrastructure more permanently when live productions are possible again whilst also improving the accessibility of venues? Jazz
How do we identify and prevent the atrophy of essential offline infrastructure while ensuring that free and accessible offline spaces remain so as key aspects of our infrastructure migrate online? Broadband