Reimagining Access with Innovation and Collaboration

And even in international group hotels I was finding we're not getting ramps , we're not getting beds at the right height , we're not getting bathrooms with doors wide enough to get into there with a wheelchair , etc . Etc . And whenever you call people and you said , do you have an accessible bathroom ? Do you have ? You know , is the restaurant accessible ?

That was , you know , inevitably a five-star hotel or whatever the . The answer was yes , but when you got there , you know it was no . So then I looked into , you know , I was trying to understand how this could be and I found out that the uh , all these hotels and so on , they follow the Indian standards supposedly .

And when I looked into the standards I realized that they were not following the Indian standards , which are very close to ISO . And over the years I realized that nobody was reading the standards and when I looked at it I could understand why . It was quite badly written and very badly illustrated and it's a 1,600-page document .

And then the government came out with guidelines which were badly transcribed from the National Building Code into a fairly badly put together document which also nobody knew about through lack of communication or you know many many reasons .

So I thought the best thing that I could do if I wanted to make some kind of change , was to produce little data sheets , cheat sheets you could say , on each subject .

So that was stairs , lifts , ramps , toilets , and a single page all the code , each clause from the code that mentioned that , and then give an illustration when there wasn't an illustration in the National Building Code I've created . So I've been using those for years and they're quite well known in India .

We get a lot of praise for them because it just simplifies , it makes it easier . But then you know , the situation in India is that there's a lot of people talking to each other .

you know a lot of NGOs and government and so on talking to each other about accessibility and so on , and so on , talking to each other about accessibility and so on and so on , and preaching to the converted and so on , and I realized that this is not going to work . It's going to take another 100 years for this to filter down .

And wherever I went , where I saw actual , proper , you know , accessibility in the form of universal design , and so on was where there was somebody who was affected or somebody that they cared about was affected , so you'll see a hotel group very accessible , why the owner of the hotel group , his son , is disabled , he's using a wheelchair , and this you see over

and over again .

So , in my mind , the most important thing that we need to do is create the empathy that is there automatically for carers and their families in the general public , and the way to do that is to communicate to much younger people , because what we , what he found is when we're dealing with government officials and so on , they're in their 50s , their 60s , getting

close to retirement , and they don't want to learn anything , not interested , and they don't care . And you know , much more effective would be to start from the bottom and work your way up . Start with children , start with students studying architecture and so on . So what we are doing now this year is quite transformation .

We are creating an app which is going to completely democratize accessibility , the understanding of accessibility , the learning that is required , learning of the standards and so on , in a very , very easy-to-use app that will basically take them systematically through any subject that they want to learn about , and I've been used as an example .

There's some language learning apps which are gamified , and so on . That's the kind of route that we're going to take . It's all going to be tokens and badges and so on for anything that they've let's say they've learned about surfaces on steps you know being right . You've understood that .

They've tested , verified that they've understood the subject by doing a multiple choice question .

And so , as an architect I was , and also a person with disability myself . I live with a mobility impairment , so I'm an ambulant disabled who has difficulties climbing stairs without a support or any elevated paths , whether a slope . So I do use handles quite often in my life , so I do use handrails quite often in my life .

So the journey has been quite like a roller coaster where I started my architecture and soon after starting my architecture I got diagnosed with this condition , which is a rare condition in understanding how the infrastructure plays a role , because to me everything was so new that at that time I had no idea that it's the infrastructure that is limiting me to do so

many things .

But slowly , when I was designing , I could realize , and when I got into understanding a little bit about universal design , I could see that there is so much more that can be done to give access to so many people out people there out who are locked in their homes , actually working along with a group of a few more muscular dystrophy people who had been

progressed with their condition to a stage where they're now using a wheelchair . So we all went together , were organizing a lot of events .

I could really relate when I was actually trying to fix a restaurant which has an accessible toilet or trying to find an event venue which is accessible to organize a population of around 20 to 30 people who are wheelchair users .

So that was my first lived experience of going through the troubles with infrastructure and slowly when I came cutting this story short so slowly when I came into the field , I was trying to find people who can guide me through this journey . There were architect professors .

I was doing my thesis on the subject but hardly anybody knew about the subject and nobody like even taught us anything on accessibility or universal design . So I used to hear from my professors that why do people with disabilities need to come out After completing my master's and everything when I was getting into the industry .

So around two , three years later I found Peter and during a training program and I was really , really excited to see the work that EnableMeAccess is doing and my journey went from being an employee to a director and how we finally started afresh again and it has been really , really interesting for me and I feel like it has a perfect platform where we align with

this vision of , firstly , educating people on the subject and spreading the right knowledge about the standards to as many important stakeholders , and we do this , as Peter said , as a bottom-up approach .

So you talked a little bit about the work that you're doing in terms of the app and gamification and so on , but are you also doing other things as well , because you've been established a while ? You're working on the app . Yeah , it says you offer services and everything else . So how are you , how are you funding this , this work ?

You say you're crowdsourcing and everything else , but how are you sustaining this ? Because it's important work and and you still need to live .

So we can take consultations for various services that we provide , which is around accessibility , consultancy and trainings .

So I know it has been quite a difficult journey , especially for the fundraising part , and now we've come to a phase where we're slowly gaining momentum and this app is giving us a lot of hope with doing fundraising and showcasing our work in a better structured way .

So also , collaborating with government has given us quite an edge when it comes to people trusting us to contribute for the work that we're doing and support us and join us . So , but still , I feel fundraising is not an easy job but , yes , it's going on well , slowly .

It's all being recorded and audited and so on , and that's kind of it's been very difficult for some NGOs and trusts and that's actually one of the reasons we chose to be a business is we want transparency , we want to come right from the get-go and that gives a lot of trust to what we're doing . All the money that we take for the work .

The people that are funding us can see quite clearly where that money is being spent . Well , as the ngo sector wasn't like that for a long time and it is now . You know the government is making sure , so that's a good thing .

Um , but the the also the important thing for us is um about um , uh , kind of this . Uh , but also respect , now , when you're doing something of a high caliber and we're demanding of our employees to be working at a very high level .

It demands respect and when you run a business properly , all that kind of idea that , oh , you're not for profit , it's like a charity and you're just helping out people , and all this pity and all this nonsense , all that goes out of the way . All we're talking about . This is the product .

This is how we're going to deliver it to you and in the end , the customer is paying for something that's of value to them , it's not a handout . So this is very important and we don't employ any volunteers .

But the the main thing for us is reaching out to everybody who wasn't able to get the information . The government have an app which is for people to make complaints about buildings not being accessible , but that app itself doesn't explain what accessibility is . It doesn't give any clues . It's like Google giving push notifications .

Is the restaurant wheelchair accessible ? Who are you asking ? Who are you asking ?

What we're doing is we're getting people who are trained to understand what is accessibility , to go and look at a building , make an assessment , and then they will submit that and that will be uploaded to a database that anybody has access to , including the government .

It's just basically check boxes and then , when the app is finally released at the moment , we're using Google Forms and data sheets like checkbox sheets , but in the future , with the app , we're even going to be using AI to do measurements , so that the AI will be able to tell whether the step is six inches high or whether it's small , and then that'll simplify

that aspect of taking measurements . But I would say a child who can use a measure tape would be able to use this app . So I mean , you could talk about even eight-year-olds being able to do this , because it's going to be very kind of very simple , systematic process , and so this democratizes the information .

It democratizes , let's say , somebody who is visually impaired or somebody who's a wheelchair user wants to know if such and such a building is accessible .

They can actually request that somebody go and check that building and make sure that it's accessible , sure that it's accessible , and then we can then put that out to those who are , who have the app , who are in the area using geolocation , and ask them to say this building needs to be assessed , would you like to go and do the assessment ?

They'd be paid to do that assessment and then suddenly the person who needs that information will be able to have that . Of course it wouldn't happen immediately , but within two or three days they should be able to get that information , will be able to have that .

Of course it wouldn't happen immediately , but within two or three days they should be able to get that information . So it's very , very powerful .

Even an establishment who wants to put a ramp in and so on , they want to let everybody know that they're a wheelchair accessible , they have an accessible toilet , whatever , they can even do a self-assessment using the app , and then that will be updated into the status panel .

So each establishment or every building will have a status panel , and this is something that anybody can access . They can promote it on their website with a QR code click on this .

This is our building , and then anybody who wants to see that they can see whether the mitigations and the facilities that have been provided are suitable for their use , and so this is something that's very powerful .

Fellow architects who are around me , I go and ask them about accessibility . So hardly anybody knows and even their interest to know about it sort of is not that much . So what we're using is the tool of universal design , where we're trying to relate to the audience to a level that it is something that is .

It is something that has to be uh beneficial , that has to be used by everybody at some stage in their life . So if we just talk about a household or anybody , like they definitely have their grand grandparents out there , they have somebody , uh maybe a child in the house or somebody who has met with an accident .

So we are trying to relate with an audience so that they feel it as a necessity for themselves first and understand it as a concept which uh universally goes to designing spaces which are more human centric . So that's the approach we are going towards and I think I'm sure Peter will agree that we are not at all using even any disability in our context .

We're not talking about any particular disability or even , in fact , using the word disability .

Another person with MS can't get out of the bed . So you know , just this whole kind of putting people in boxes and so on , it's just pointless . So we don't talk about disability , we don't talk about that type of discussion . What we talk about is universal design . By the way , it's useful for somebody with a wheelchair .

By the way , it's useful for somebody with a walking stick . Don't use race traction strips on a ramp because it's a trip hazard for people who are ambulant disabled . Maybe they're using a walker or something . So we talk about trying to make this .

We're really aiming at the younger people , particularly architecture students , or maybe even high school students and so on , those who are going to be going into the world and making decisions in the next five to ten years , because really they're the people that are going to push for change .

And what we found over and over again is that younger and particularly ladies . Lady architects , it seems like , are very tuned into this , very empathetic and very intelligent and pragmatic about it . But we're not you know the sector that's least flexible , the elderly , let's say you know .

Jugad means to make do with what you've got somehow . So that is a very strong cultural force in India to manage somehow , because for a long time most people were very poor and didn't have much resources , so they had to make do , and it was . That kind of resilience is something that people are proud of .

But when people have moved from their villages and they're basically massing up in these huge cities , that doesn't work anymore . So a new attitude is coming and it's very I suppose it's typical all over the world .

Younger people are much easier to persuade , much easier to take on these ideas , they're much more flexible in their thinking and they've got better imagination . So they , you know , they can think oh yeah , that makes sense . My grandmother , grandmother , she's having difficulty . She slipped in the bathroom and and cracked her hip .

Now he , that young person , was much more likely to say dad , let's put a handrail in there and then she can hold it , and then she won't . You know she won't slip again and expect to . You know , for some reason people's brains freeze after 40 or 50 , I don't know which age group . No , no , no , I don't think so I disagree with you , not all of

We just have to do a better job in our ages , some of the age at my age I'll speak for myself of a legacy building so that they can actually be successful , which is why I was glad that you know when we wanted to interview enable me that . You know we got both you , peter and Anuba , so so , but I do want to make sure .

I know that we're almost at the end of our time here , but can you let us know how to find out more about Enable Me Access ? I mean , do you have a website or you know where can people find out more about you ?

And I don't know , neil , if you wanted to have the final question when you think our sponsors too , but just wanted to ask y'all if y'all both comment on that .

As enable me access and youtube . Don't forget youtube we have a podcast weekly podcast currently that we are running on YouTube . It's called Deconstructing Accessibility and , yeah , that's quite important .

So , and I think that that self-learning culture has been enabled by the internet and social media . So you know , I think , what you're talking about with the app and then encouraging people to sort of gamify it a bit will maybe accelerate some of that self-guided learning . So that sounds exciting . We are at the end of our allotted time today .

Unfortunately , time flies . I do need to thank MyClearText and amazon for keeping us on air , keeping his captions um awesome , and we look forward to continuing the conversation on social media . Thank you so much , peter wonderful .