The Mapping for Accessible Built Environments (MABLE) team is hosting a disability accessibility webinar at January 27th of 2 – 3 p.m. EST upon acceptance into the 2022 Cohort, Phase 1 of the Convergence Accelerator Program by the National Science Foundation (NSF).
WASHINGTON, January 19, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — The Mapping for Accessible Built Environments (MABLE) team is hosting a webinar on accessibility for the disabled on January 27th of 2 – 3 p.m. EST upon acceptance into the 2022 Cohort, Phase 1 of the Convergence Accelerator Program by the National Science Foundation (NSF). MABLE will elicit feedback from participants on their project vision aimed at improving accessibility in digital and built environments for people with disabilities to improve the quality of life and employability of people with disabilities in the long term.
NSF’s Convergence Accelerator is a unique program based on grassroots research and discovery to accelerate solutions toward social impact. Launched in 2019, the program funds teams to solve societal challenges through the convergence of research and innovation. To enhance your impact, Accelerator places teams in cohorts to create synergies in their work through facilitated collaboration, competition, and education.
In December 2022the award-winning Accelerator $35 million 48 multidisciplinary teams to build a proof of concept of their solutions. The 2022 cohort is the fourth cohort and focuses on the convergence of innovative ideas, approaches and technologies on topics such as improving opportunities for people with disabilities, sustainable materials for global challenges and food and nutrition security.
MABLE’s project within the NSF Convergence Accelerator Track H: Towards a Community-Driven Framework for the Creation and Impact Analysis of Digital Accessibility Maps with Persons with Disabilities, is one of three tracks aimed at improving opportunities for people with disabilities.
The MABLE team is made up of diverse interdisciplinary experts committed to improving the quality of life and enhancing opportunities in the workplace for people with disabilities. Core team members include the professor of Wichita State University, Vinod NamboodiriAssociate Professor in Wichita State University, nils hakansonResearch Professor in Wichita State University, ted conwayAssociate Professor in georgia tech, Patrick A. Velateacher at Kansas State University, siny josephand founder and CEO of InnovatorsBox, Monica H. Kang.
“We are excited about this project,” said Namboodiri, MABLE Principal Investigator. “Attending conferences, meetings, and events is a key component of a person’s professional growth. However, many people with disabilities are unable to access these spaces due to the inaccessible settings at the venues. No matter how hard the host tries to make it accessible, the lack of an interactive and responsive map makes it difficult for people with disabilities to engage and participate in events. We want to change this narrative and give people with disabilities ownership of how they can visit any public space and attend any event.”
As part of Track H, the MABLE team is one of the teams accepted to join Track H: Improving Opportunities for People with Disabilities and will participate in weekly training and innovation and product development workshops from January to November 2023.
“We only know what we know, and we look forward to learning from communities and industry experts so we can create solutions that are truly impactful, intentional, and innovative for everyone,” Kang said.
MABLE’s introductory webinar on January 27th a 2:00 p.m. EST is part of three community workshops the team will host in 2023 to engage with communities and leaders committed to creating accessible solutions and environments for people with disabilities.
Register for the webinar: bit.ly/mableintro. For any questions and media inquiries, please contact Monica H. Kang at [email protected]
Media contact
Monica H. KangInnovatorsBox LLC, 2022560303, [email protected]
SOURCE Mapping for Accessible Built Environments (MABLE)