The announcement was made at the launch on London Tech Week which the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, opened today (12th June 2017). The Global Disability Innovation Hub (GDI Hub) is London’s new disability innovation research centre, bringing together disabled people, technology, academics, innovators, corporates and the local community to explore disability innovation from a new perspective. The full GDI Hub Board was also announced today. There are fifteen members from three continents and two thirds of the Board are people with disabilities.
Chris said “I am absolutely delighted to Chair the GDI Hub and to be a part of a project with such potential to transform lives. I have personally benefited from assistive technology and believe truly inclusive design not only removes barriers to disabled people but also, essentially, benefits everyone by leading to ground breaking technological solutions or applications and truly excellent design. Technology is neutral but is an incredible tool in the hands of humans and the ways in which we respond to the 4th industrial revolution and the benefits we achieve will be a measure of our civilisation. I’m looking forward to the role the GDI Hub will play in this mission, we have a brilliant team and I relish the challenge before us.”
Also at today’s event, the Mayor officially opened Plexal, Europe’s newest technology innovation destination, forming Europe’s biggest business innovation ecosystem at Here East. Spanning 68,000 square feet, Plexal has been built on the principles of a mini City & will support 800 technology start-ups & global corporations from across the world.
Another former British Paralympic gold medallist, Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson joined Chris on stage to launch The Global Disability Innovation Programme, a new accelerator designed to encourage the development of technologies to improve the lives of people living with disabilities.
The programme, which is run in partnership with Plexal and UCL, will bring together disabled and able-bodies experts, users and start-ups with larger companies to accelerate the development of innovative businesses and products around disability.
Entrepreneurs and start-ups on the programme will focus on the development of innovations in areas such as accessible and affordable housing, transportation and how big data and analytics can be used to have a positive impact on the lives of disabled people around the world.
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