The Intersection of Travel and Disability
Each month we feature the 3-minute pitch from an innovation, technology or amenity presented at the 2024 InnovateAble Showcase held on July 26th.
Be My Eyes won Judges’ Selection with this pitch. Be My Eyes is a visionary platform connecting blind and visually impaired individuals in customer call centers and visitor centers with Chat GTP 4 AI visual interpreters. Check out their winning pitch, here.
Information and inspiration from around the web.
Congratulations, Jake, on this well-deserved recognition! Who knew a credit card scam would change the face of accessible travel? Your work with Travelability and the Accessibility Playbook cannot be overestimated for the impact they have on tourism in 2024.
Here’s the link to the article in Northstar Meetings Magazine.
Triumphs of our own – How the TravelAbility Community is Leading Accessibility Innovators in Transforming Travel and Tourism Worldwide
Read the story and watch the video in USA Today
Let’s talk about the folks who are trying to backtrack on mocking Gus Walz
because they didn’t know he had a disability.
Right. Okay. So …
Let’s start with the fact that he’s a seventeen year old kid who was so proud
of his dad, whom he obviously loves deeply, that he was moved to tears.
That’s beautiful, and a hell of a testament to their relationship.
But sure, some people thought his reaction was over the top and “weird.”
And therefore fair game. Until they heard he has a disability.
(So, to recap, it would have been a-okay in that crowd to bully a typical kid
for *acting atypical* but maybe he should be off limits now that they know
he has a diagnosis.)
Pull up a chair, won’t you, friends?
Being an accepting, inclusive, and not completely shitty human isn’t about
having access to everyone’s medical records. It’s about humanity. It’s about
not having to know that there’s a label for a fellow human’s unique
constellation of strengths and challenges in order to approach them with
compassion.
It’s about not needing an explanation for why someone comes across a little
– or a lot – differently from the average bear in order to indulge their quirks,
celebrate their differences, support their challenges and accommodate their
access needs, to give them extra time and love and leeway.
Labels / diagnoses / identities are important and valid and helpful in a million
different ways, but they shouldn’t ever be the ticket that we demand from
others before granting them entry into the arena of our empathy. The only
fare needed is humanity.
So lay off the kid. Not just because he has a disability, but because he’s
human, and that’s reason enough.
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