Meeting the Needs of All: Tuning in to Our Needs, Yours and Mine

13 November at 19:35-20:25 GMT (UK) / 20:35-21:25 CET (Western Europe) / 16:35-17:25 BRT (Brasilia)

About this session

A few months ago DEAL teamed up with the Universal Recognition Movement - a growing global group of diverse Disabled and d/Deaf accessibility consultants - to explore improving accessibility for Global Donut Day. Together the accessibility team came up with a popular idea for how we might start to do this. They wanted to hold a face-to-face conversation about needs ‘yours and mine’. We wanted to host a talk, with a public audience that welcomed everyone to join. This is how this session was created. In this panel we will start to think about our diverse needs together. We hope you can join us.

To start to meet the needs of all first we need to tune into what our shared needs are. The current economy has been built around the needs of a made-up character - economic man. His needs do not often represent needs of the real people in our lives. His needs are likely very different from your parent’s as they age, you as you care for your loved ones or your best friend whilst they struggle for example. We must start to create services, housing, jobs and more with real people’s shared needs in mind then, if we are to start to create a Doughnut Economy.

Key topics

• Diversity and caring for real people
• How we share knowledge and ideas
• Who are the experts on what is better for real people?
• How do we look after the planet and make sure that continues?

Accessibility

• This session will be translated into BSL
• This session will be captioned in written English
• The panel will introduce and offer visual descriptions of themselves at the start of the session
• The session will be recorded so you can watch it back or join us in your own time

Who is this session for?

• Anyone interested in meeting their own and their communities’ needs toward Doughnut Economics
• Disabled and not disabled people
• People who work with marginalised community members
• All local organisers, community members or individuals interested in people and Doughnut Economics

Speakers

Adeel Mo

Freelance Accessibility Consultant | Visual Impairment & Accessibility Consultant

I am visually impaired and work as a freelance visual impairment and accessibility consultant for transport campaigns and infrastructure work. I am passionate about accessibility, especially in the areas of travel and technology.

I decided to take part in this project to make sure future events for Global Donut Day were as accessible as they could be for blind and partially sighted people.

Image Description: A graphic of the Universal Recognition logo. A diverse group of people drawn in white against a black background. Blind panelist Adeel Mo chose the Universal Recognition logo to represent him in our marketing.

Calum Grevers

Disability Consultant | Accessibility Advocate

After the lack of accessible social housing forced me to crowdfund a flat suited to my needs, in a campaign that saw me raise consciousness of the societal barriers that prevent disabled people leading independent lives, I discovered my passion for advocating on behalf of the disability community and working towards an accessible future.

Accessibility must be a fundamental part of DEAL’s vision for an economy that meets the needs of all of us and the communities we belong to while protecting our planet’s life-supporting systems.

LinkedIn: @CalumGrevers

Link- LinkedIn Calum Greevers

Image Description: Headshot photograph of panelist Calum a white man seated outdoors in his power-chair in front of a meadow of heather

Carolina Escobar-Tello

DEAL’s Schools & Education Lead I Social Impact Designer I Academic Visiting Fellow at Loughborough University, UK

Born in a historically marginalised country, I am deeply aware of the consistent failure to make everyone's voice heard in current societies. I find Education to be a 'golden-ticket playground' to create transformative experiences that open up multiple diverse ways of thinking, doing and being.

GDD is an opportunity to make the table bigger for the majority of humanity around the globe. A majority who is grappling with satisfying core basic needs on an everyday basis, and where reimagining our futures, such as DE, is not always accessible.

Image Description: Headshot of session speaker Carolina Escobar-Tello, a woman with a great smile and red top.

Jenny McGibbon

Graphic Designer | Consultant | This Thing They Call Recovery Founder

I'm a graphic designer and consultant and the founder of This Thing They Call Recovery. As an autistic and chronically sick person, I use that lived experience to challenge public perceptions of disability, focusing on cultivating community and conversation.

I wanted to take part in Global Donut Day as sustainability and accessibility are intrinsically linked, we cannot fight for one without the other.

Instagram: @ThisThingTheyCallRecovery

Link - Website This Thing They Call Recovery

Image Description: Headshot photograph of panelist Jenny a white woman with short cropped dark hair against a plain background.

Rebecca Lee (Host)

Universal Recognition Founder | Designer Researcher | Accessibility Lead GDD.

I founded the Universal Recognition movement so disabled and marginalised people could have better access to influential roles and top level decision-making in research, policy and services. I am passionate about the value of accessibility due to the barriers my family faced whilst caring for my dad at the end of his life in the UK and as an invisibly disabled person myself.

I started the accessibility project for Global Donut Day with DEAL as I know both societal and environmental problems are easier to solve when those most affected are able to get together to share ideas and create change. I want local organizers to be able to continue this work in their own communities into the future.

LinkedIn @RebeccaLee
Link - Rebecca Lee LinkedIn

Universal Recognition

Instagram: @UniversalRecognitionSatellite
Link - Instagram Universal Recognition
LinkedIn: @UniversalRecognition
Link - LinkedIn Universal Recognition Group

Image Description: Headshot photograph of panel host Rebecca a white woman with long wavy hair smiling in front of an art studio background

Rob Shorter

DEAL Team Member | Community Organiser | Musician.

A central principle of my work is how we design ways in which everyone can contribute to reimagining the Economy. That means creating spaces that everyone can access, where they can feel welcome and brave, and where they can have permission to slow down and connect - with themselves, with others, with the living world. This is an ongoing personal and collective learning journey where making spaces accessible to all is at the heart.

Global Donut Day offers DEAL a chance to dive deeper than we’ve done so before on accessibility and expand our awareness of people’s needs, both for Global Donut Day and DEAL’s ongoing work.

Image Description: Headshot photograph of session speaker Rob Shorter, a man with a great smile and a ref scarf.

Sahera Khan

Artist and Actor | Deaf and British Sign Language (BSL) user | Accessibility Adviser

I am artist and actor. I perform through my BSL and visual theatre. I work with BSL Support Workers for communication purposes within the creative industries through the Access to Work scheme in the UK. In addition, within my personal experience, I have some barriers within the health service in the UK for example BSL Interpreters are often not booked for my appointment with my doctor.

I wanted to take part in this project to represent deaf people. It has been an opportunity for me to tell my story and share my experience about accessibility for deaf people.