BarrierBreak Technologies - Creating an Inclusive World!
70 million people with disabilities in India and the number is increasing! Technology on the other hand is advancing. Technology can be the enabler in the lives of persons with disabilities. It can impact their lives in education, employment, etc.
Today, these people are forgotten behind closed doors, and technology can bring them into mainstream society and create an inclusive world!
Sobre ti
Sección 1: Sobre ti
Sección 2: Sobre tu organización
Is your initiative connected to an established organization?
Sí
Nombre de la organización
Net Systems Informatics (I) Pvt Ltd
Sitio web de la organización
Teléfono de la organización
+91-22-26860485/6
Dirección de la organización
102, Highway Commercial Complex, I B Patel Road, Goregaon (E), Mumbai 400 063
País de la organización
India, MM
Tu organización es
Empresa
How long has this organization been operating?
Más de 5 años
tu idea
Nombre de tu proyecto
BarrierBreak Technologies - Creating an Inclusive World!
Describe your Social Enterprise
70 million people with disabilities in India and the number is increasing! Technology on the other hand is advancing. Technology can be the enabler in the lives of persons with disabilities. It can impact their lives in education, employment, etc.
Today, these people are forgotten behind closed doors, and technology can bring them into mainstream society and create an inclusive world!
Country your work focuses on
India, XX
Innovación
What makes your innovation unique?
Our idea is about working for the disabled people by using the disabled people. Its like "Nothing for us, without us".
What makes our innovation unique is that:
1. We are working for 'ALL' disabilites and not catering to any one disability
2. Our programs are about inclusiveness not about providing them a seperated approach.
3. Our team in all of these areas largely that is nearly 70-75% consists of persons with disabilites
4. Most importantly, in India, disability is about charity and here we are charging a fee for our services and are a for profit company.
We are working on a pronged approach in different areas such as:
1. Making the The Web Accessible to All! - The World Wide Web is a dynamically changing pool of information that has become something that everyone accesses. But a large number of the websites are inaccessible to the disabled users. We are working towards Accessible Website and Software Development as well as Accessibility Testing of Websites and Software to ensure that disabled users can use the same.
2. Making Solutons such as Books, ATMs, Technology in general accessible to All!
Our team helps organizations to meet their accessibility stands by delivering their products and services in an accessible manner. For example, we provide Universities, Libraries and Publisher the services to create digital talking books for the print impaired.
3. Providing Assistive Technology
We are working on providing Assistive Technology to the end-user through Educational Institutes since the cost of Assistive technology can be prohibitive.
We are currently working in the area of Inclusive Libraries, since Libraries are a joint pool of resource accessible to large numbers.
4. Awareness Generation through TechShare India - We organize India's only Accessibility and Assistive Technology Conference and Exhibition.
Do you have a patent for this idea?
Impacto
Esta presentación se trata de
Tell us about the social impact of your innovation. Please include both numbers and stories as evidence of this impact
1. Making the The Web Accessible to All! -
When we started working in building awareness in this area, the government, NGOs, corporates had not even heard of Web Accessibility. After our advocacy and awareness building initiatives, the Goverment of India released the "Guidelines for Indian Government Websites".
The impact of this is felt by every disabled citizen of India, since all of us access government resources.
We have also been instrumental in the drafting and supporting the National Policy on Electronic Accessibility for India to ensure inclusion.
2. Making Solutons such as Books, ATMs, Technology in general accessible to All!
We work with Universities and Libraries in India and abroad and in the last 2 years have converted approximately 1 million pages into accessible formats such as digital talking books, and accessible pdfs.
3. Providing Assistive Technology
We are working with different organizations to increase the avaliability of assistive technology in India. For example, a screen reader and magnifier software for the visually impaired that would cost approx. Rs. 90,000/= now costs approx. Rs. 10,000/= for people with disabilities.
We provide assistive technology for all disabilities such a mobility, visual, hearing and learning impairment.
4. Awareness Generation through TechShare India - India's only Accessibility and Assistive Technology Conference and Exhibition -
TechShare India has built an ecosystem in India where goverment, NGOs, people with disabilities, corporates and educationist can come together and make an impact.
Also, it is helping to build a marketplace for products and services in India in the space of accessible innovation and universal design.
Problem: Describe the primary problem(s) that your innovation is addressing
The primary problem that we address is the access to technology for people with disabilities is limited.
In Education and day-today life, assistive technology is not avaliable to the persons with disabilities. This hampers them in their education and growth.
Today technology is being used in most aspects of our lives like banking, travel, shopping, entertainment, etc. Today a person with disability cannot participate equally in any of these areas.
Government today is using the web and technology to reach the citizens, even the technology used here is inaccessible to persons with disabilities.
So how do we say that we are providing equal rights or equal access to all!
In the electronic age, why are we excluding people with disabilities.
Actions: Describe the steps that you are taking to make your innovation a success. Include a description of the business model. What might prevent that success?
Our business model has been to provide services to organizations to make their products and services accessible to persons with disabilities.
Our business model is about providing services in the area of Accessibility Testing, Accessible Web Development and Solutions with regards to accessible format.
In addition, we are working on mainstreaming the assistive technology by creating a channel for reselling the products as well as taking the products to the retail market.
The problem that we have already faced in our success has been that India yet does not have a legal policy in place to provide access to persons with disabilities. We have already had to work on public policy since without that we wont have a business.
Also disability in India, is more charity based, breaking this myth and building awareness around it and charging a fee is a challenge that we are facing and working with every day.
Results: Describe the expected results of these actions over the next three years. Please address each year separately, if possible
By 2011, we would like:
1. To make 100 websites accessible to the disabled
2. 500,000 pages of books in accessible formats
3. 100 Educational institutes having assistive technology
By 2012, we would like:
1. To make 250 websites accessible to the disabled
2. 10,00,000 pages of books in accessible formats
3. 300 schools having assistive technology
By 2013, we would like:
1. To make 500 websites accessible to the disabled
2. 20,00,000 pages of books in accessible formats
3. 600 schools having assistive technology
How many people will your project serve annually?
Más de 10,000
What is the average monthly household income in your target community, in US Dollars?
$100 ‐ 1000
Does your innovation seek to have an impact on public policy?
Sí
If your innovation seeks to impact public policy, how?
In the area of disability, it is important to work on public policy. India has ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights for People with Disablities (UNCRPD).
It is now time that the laws of India are ammended to reflect the intention of the UNCPRD.
BarrierBreak has already worked to ensure that Guidelines for Indian Government Websites have been released. In addition, we have supported the National Policy on Electronic Accessibility with the Department of Information Technology.
Similarly, we will have to pick different areas that impact the lives of persons with disabilities and work on the policy for the same to ensure equal access and equal rights for people with disabilities.
Sostenibilidad
What stage is your Social Enterprise in?
Operando más de 5 años
Does your organization have a board of directors or an advisory board?
Sí
Does your organization have a non monetary partnerships with NGOs?
Sí
Does your organization have a non monetary partnerships with businesses?
No
Does your organization have a non monetary partnerships with government?
No
Please tell us more about how partnerships could be critical to the success of your Social Enterprise
BarrierBreak has partnered with numerous organizations to build awareness about accessibility. We have partnered with different types of organizations based on the project and the need.
For example, we have worked with Advocacy groups, so as to ensure that government is made aware of the needs of the disabled people and also in the area of policy building.
We have worked with Disability organizations to reach the mass and the end users and build awareness about the problems and the solutions avaliable.
We have worked with Trade associations to make industry understand the needs of people with disabilities.
We work with Assistive technology providers and help them understand the India perspective and in localization support. We also make them understand the price point issue in India and work towards how we can provide a solution for the disabled people in India.
We have worked closely with the government not only in policy making but also implementation of the policy.
We have realised that together we can make an impact! A collective voice is always better than a single one!
We would like to learn more about how your initiative is financially supported. Please explain your business plan/revenue model
The business was initally supported by seed money raised by the promoters. Net Systems Informatics has two divisions, knowledge management and accessibility. Our knowledge management division was revenue generating and was subsidizing the cost of accessibility initially.
We later got funded by Aavishkaar India Micro Venture Fund. In this period, we have also raised money in the form of loans from our bank.
Our model is to provide services to organizations to make their products and services inclusive. In addition, we are working on sales of assistive technology and would be looking at this as a revenue stream.
La historia
What was the defining moment that led you to this innovation?
I was working as a security analyst on the web and had a boss who I had worked with with close to 2 years and didnt know he was paralysed. I realised at that time that technology can be an enabler.
At the same time, Windows 95 had been launched, and I was intrigued by how a blind or low vision person would use a computer. So I started to do research in this area.
Initially I started to teach computers at home to blind people and then was challenged by a friend who said "it was not enough". I had one computer and I was teaching one person for 2 hours a week. It was a waste of a resource.
This got me thinking and I approached different NGOs for space to start a computer training centre for the Visually Impaired.
I went on to start a computer training centre that was funded by the Bill Gates Foundation. At this centre, I trained the trainers who were then training the students. I wrote a Training manual to teach the visually impaired.
This made me understand scale and how this could impact many more lives.
But this also led me to a point where I was teaching people with visual impairment, but they were not getting employment.
So I decided that I would start a company working in the area of services for inclusion and employee persons with disabilities to do the same. I looked at India, the IT hub and thought that these companies would require to ensure that their websites and softwares that they are developing for the international markets should be compliant with the international laws.
This is really where the idea of BarrierBreak started.
Tell us about the person—the social innovator—behind this idea.
Well as I call myself, I am only a BA Sociology but a techie at the back of it all. When I first understood the impact of technology in the lives of people with disabilities, I knew this is what I wanted to do. I didnt want to be a developer or a business analyst. I wanted to make a difference.
In this space, we have been faced with lots of challenges, and every day there is a new one, but what keeps me going is the smile on the disabled persons face, seeing them do a job, seeing them do something they never dreamt they could do!
Every day there are new ideas and new challenges and then there are days you want to give up but the belief in the idea is very strong.
The belief that this can't be about charity, this has to be about equal right to access, equal right to participation and yes there is a market there! 70 million disabled in India alone, 700 million in the world! How can they be ignored.
How did you first hear about Changemakers?
Social media (e.g. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn)
If through another source, please provide the information
 | 154 weeks ago Shilpi Kapoor said: Hi Rachana, For physical access, we point the government to organizations that specialize in the field of barrier free ... about this Competition Entry. - leer más > |
| 154 weeks ago Rachna Pandey Donthi said: Do you plan to partner with the government as well for some of the initiatives...access ramps in public places for example? about this Competition Entry. - leer más > |
| 154 weeks ago Shilpi Kapoor updated this Competition Entry. |
| 154 weeks ago Shilpi Kapoor submitted this idea. |