Freedomtech is a project with a mission. We think that everyone with a disability, including older people, should have access to affordable, up to date and appropriate technology that suits their needs. We believe that Assistive Technology and Accessible Technology are key to supporting people to live independently, access education and work be active members of their communities.
We work to achieve this mission in two ways:
Advocacy: We lobby government to introduce an effective architecture for accessible and assistive technology supports based on research we conducted in 2016. We published our findings in a Discussion Paper that proposes a service delivery model suitable for Ireland. It has gained international recognition for introducing the concept of an AT Passport. We held a conference in Aviva Stadium in 2017 and in July 2019, we wrote an open letter to government ministers seeking better supports.
To find out more about our advocacy work, contact:
Joan O’Donnell: Joanodonnell@freedomtech.ie
Siobhan Long, Enable Ireland: slong@enableireland.ie.
You can download a copy of our Assistive Technology Discussion Paper here:
O’Donnell, J., Long., S. Richardson, P. (2016) Assistive Technology for People with Disabilities and Older people: A Discussion Paper, Enable Ireland and Disability Federation of Ireland, Dublin.
Open letter to Government Ministers July 2019 seeking AT service: here
Community Hub for Assistive Technology (CHAT): CHAT is a quarterly gathering open to everyone interested in accessible and assistive technology. We come together to learn from each other and network. CHAT is run on the principles of a community of practice, and includes over 270 service providers, healthcare professionals, innovation specialists, developers, makers, academics, researchers, and of course, assistive technology users.
To date we have met at: Chime, National Council for the Blind, St John of Gods Services, Childvision, Deaf Village, UCC, UCD, National Rehabilitation Hospital, the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission and Microsoft.
Contact: Sarah Gavra Boland: CHAT Co-ordinator: sarah@freedomtech.ie.
FreedomTech is sponsored by Sight and Sound Technologies
