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Theme:
“Innovate, Include, Impact – Assistive Technology for Resilient Communities”
Duration:
2 Hours (Virtual Webinar)
Under:
Unlock the Everyday Campaign
Date:
July 28, 2026
Organised by:
Southern Africa Federation of the Disabled (SAFOD)
Under:
To strengthen regional and continental collaboration, innovation, and advocacy for accessible, affordable, and resilient Assistive Technology systems for persons with disabilities.
Background and Rationale
Assistive Technology (AT) is a critical enabler of independence, participation, dignity, and resilience for persons with disabilities. From mobility devices and hearing technologies to digital accessibility tools and communication supports, Assistive Technology enables persons with disabilities to access education, employment, healthcare, information, humanitarian support, and community life on an equal basis with others.
Despite increasing global recognition of the importance of AT, access remains significantly limited across Africa, particularly in Southern Africa. Many persons with disabilities continue to face barriers related to affordability, limited local production, inadequate policy prioritisation, fragmented service systems, weak procurement mechanisms, low awareness, and insufficient investment in locally relevant solutions.
Emerging challenges such as climate-induced disasters, displacement, health emergencies, and economic inequalities further heighten the need for resilient and inclusive Assistive Technology ecosystems. At the same time, innovation across the region, including university-led research, community-based solutions, digital technologies, and local manufacturing, offers significant opportunities to improve access to affordable, contextually appropriate AT.
In response, the Southern Africa Federation of the Disabled (SAFOD), under the Unlock the Everyday Campaign, proposes to host a Regional Inclusive Assistive Technology Webinar under the theme:
“Innovate, Include, Impact – AT for Resilient Communities”
The webinar will serve as an inclusive continental platform with a strong Southern African perspective, bringing together Organisations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs), Assistive Technology users, governments, academia, manufacturers, innovators, development partners, humanitarian actors, and policymakers to strengthen collaboration, share promising practices, and elevate advocacy for equitable access to Assistive Technology.
Importantly, the webinar will amplify the lived experiences of Assistive Technology users while promoting locally driven innovation and practical policy solutions to improve access and sustainability of AT systems in Africa.
Objectives
The webinar seeks to:
Expected Outputs
The webinar will produce:
The webinar sought to stimulate multi-sector dialogue on bridging the gap among innovation, investment, and inclusion to scale access to assistive technology for persons with disabilities.
This webinar created a platform for sharing experiences, highlighting innovations, and calling for policy commitments.
The involvement of AT suppliers and manufacturers was equally critical, as it ensured deliberations and insights into AT availability, affordability, and user-centred design.
The webinar brought together stakeholders from different backgrounds who:
– Shared scalable innovations in assistive technology.
– Explored funding models and procurement pathways.
– Highlighted policy and regulatory gaps.
– Fostered cross-sector collaboration to accelerate access.
The targeted speakers and panellists for the webinar consisted of stakeholders from government departments (Director of Disability Unit, Ministry of State President), organisations of persons with disabilities, AT manufacturers and suppliers, development partners such as UNOPS, and academia such as Loughborough University.
Ms. Ceridwen Johnson, Communications and Advocacy Specialist, ATScale Global partnership
Mr. Shatu Nhlapo
Executive Director, Lesotho National Federation of Organizations of Disabled
From 28th to 29th September 2021, the Southern Africa Federation of the Disabled (SAFOD) and Loughborough University organised a webinar to explore and share innovative business solutions that, if well supported, could help to increase access to assistive technology in Southern Africa.
The event drew speakers from academia, research institutions, disability organisations, and small and medium-sized assistive technology entrepreneurs. With this list of high-profile speakers and entrepreneurs, we have put together all the speeches and presentations ready for viewing or downloading, from which you can learn emerging trends in assistive technology innovations and entrepreneurships.
In her keynote address, Hon. Manombe-Ncube highlighted the importance of supporting designers and manufacturers in their noble aim to uplift the living standards of people with disabilities.
“We must work strategically and intentionally if we want to make a difference, and I can see that you are already doing so.”
In his welcoming remarks, he emphasized the significance of assistive technologies in enabling productivity, independence, and inclusion of persons with disabilities in the society or community. He said it was, therefore, high time that our policymakers were also well informed about how best to domesticate or implement Article 9 of the Convention 3 which focuses on Accessibility.
His duty was to state and discuss the aim and main objectives of the webinar as follows: to raise awareness of available resources related to business innovations; to provide examples of best practices for sustainable and inclusive businesses, and to identify steps towards the facilitation of resources and training to support sustainable and inclusive business.
She delivered a presentation in which she highlighted that Assistive technology (AT) is crucial for inclusive achievement
of each of the Sustainable Development Goals. Prof Mji said that there is need to develop regional databases to improve access, leverage on partnerships and the need to develop of an AT hub in Africa to increase access.
Kim Viljoen said in her presentation that Mobile phones have the potential to be bespoke and cost-effective tools for persons with disabilities, clustering together multiple assistive technologies in a single device. She pointed out that a disability gap exists in mobile ownership and the gap appears to be more wider in ownership of smartphones.
In his address he shared an overview of SAFOD’s long term vision with regards to assistive technology. According to George’s presentation, he alluded that SAFOD’s overall vision is to act as a holistic advocacy institution for
people with disabilities in Southern Africa; provide advice and support across all aspects of everyday living and working, including assistive technology.
He made a presentation about the first rechargeable hearing aid battery developed by Deaftronics. Tendekayi said that the battery is solar powered and can be charged via the sun, house light or cellphone plug. Deaftronics also have an application called DREET a health care program that seeks to break down these barriers to by taking holistic approach to solving the challenges posed.
Lucia Otsetswe is the founder of ATRD a company which developed an application that teaches Botswana sign language called Sign Coach. Sign Coach app was developed mainly to bridge the gap between the hearing and deaf members of the society. Lucia also shared the vision of ATRD which is to promote inclusion, by providing e-content for learners with special educational needs.
She delivered a presentation about an innovative tool for screening hearing impairments using commercially available tablets, headphones, and dedicated software for gaming. Tone Oderud outlined the objectives of this project saying they want to develop affordable screening tools and innovative hearing devices appropriate for children in low-resourced settings.
He spoke about how the Editmicro, a leading supplier of technology solutions in Souther Africa and across the Africa, is impacting the lives of persons with Disabilities particularly in the education sector. It develops alternative and cutting-edge technology for learners of all abilities. Since 1991, it has used technology to aid curriculum delivery.
In her presentation, Deborah Tigere discussed the ear mould lab in Zimbabwe, the challenges faced and as well as advantages. Above all she highlighted the sustainability of this project whereby the income from the lab was used to procure more consumables and replacing broken down equipment – subsidized services, affordable fee structure.
Catherine Holloway’s presentation was titled-“building an assistive technology innovation ecosystem.” She presented about assistive technology, giving a brief introduction of what AT is and discussed Africa’s first assistive technology accelerator program called Innovate Now. She also highlighted the achievements of the program.
In her recorded presentation, Rebecca Matter gave an overview of the challenges in the assistive technology sector in Southern Africa and the some of the innovations for increasing access. Some of the challenges she briefly discussed include the is the inadequate and fragmented funding and investment, the shortage of skilled assistive technology personnel and a weak policy environment.
George Torrens delivered a presentation titled “Supporting sustainable inclusive arts and crafts in Southern Africa” along side Simon Downs from Loughborough University and Timothy whitehead from Aston University. They discussed the Business Integrated Industrial Design Innovation model (BIIDI) and documented key outcomes from a series of sponsored activities with SAFOD.
He delivered a presentation about SAFOD’s Assistive Technology Information Mapping project that was funded by Google under the Google Impact challenge titled “big ideas that will use technology to expand opportunity and independence for people with
disabilities”. He highlighted that collaborations with stakeholders and those who were present at the webinar was crucial.
Representatives of SAFOD, AfriNEAD, and the University of Washington organised a webinar to provide stakeholders with updates on various assistive technology (AT) issues, including the AT situation in Southern Africa; the AT-Info-Map project; and the forthcoming regional AT Expo.
This two-hour webinar, which included a question-and-answer session, was hosted at Stellenbosch University, the home of AfriNEAD.
The webinar was held against the background that during the implementation of the AT-Info-Map project, SAFOD and collaborators had discussed the challenges and potential solutions to increasing AT access with public, private, NGO and DPO stakeholders across the region.
These discussions highlighted the need to explore and interrogate a myriad of topics, such as AT policies, regulations, and financing, in order to develop lasting solutions to the whole question of AT access. This webinar, therefore, sought to build on these AT discussions with the aim to share knowledge and identify effective strategies for increasing AT access.
The AT-Info-Map also developed a mobile app that had undergone various stages of development based on the levels of feedback that were generated through the iterative processes within the first three years the project had been running.
As the three-year Google funding was coming to an end on February 28th, the core project partners, therefore, felt it was pertinent that they update stakeholders regarding the new developments related to the mobile app, as well as the web-based database.
Below is a list of all the presentations during the webinar:
The AT situation in Southern Africa and suggested actions and roles of different stakeholders in addressing challenges, including the role of OPDs
An overview of the AT-Info-Map project and how it is seeking to address AT challenges in Southern Africa through a mobile app, website database and awareness initiatives.
An overview of the forthcoming Southern Africa Assistive Technology Expo (SAATE) and how different stakeholders can participate.
A Comprehensive Step-by-Step Guide on How to Install, Configure, and Use the AT-Info-Map Mobile Application on Android Phones for New Users
