Finally, I have conducted my first virtual meet up. Accessible Michigan . It was very thrilling. This meetup is a Part of #LGCannivmeetups (Unofficial LocalGuidesConnect Worldwide 4th Anniversary Celebration).
My interest in accessibility started in the lock down time of Covid-19. After attending a couple of meetups from @KashifMisidia and @JaneBurunina , I started paying very close attention to this subject.
I reached out to Kashif to inform him of my interest to get involved in a little part in his meetup. He told me “Why don’t you host your own meetup?” My reaction to him at that moment was “no, no way”. As professional as he is, he believes in me. We discussed a lot of things to do in this wonderful meetup, and now I am writing a recap for one of my most memorable moment ever.
THANKS, Kashif Misidia.
My first virtual meetup was scheduled for July 18th, 2020 at noon. It started with the introduction of all attendees. Very excited to see, have 49 Local Guides from different countries: Indonesia, India, Nigeria, London, USA, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Malaysia.
The next step was my presentation. Here are some of the highlights of my discussion:
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Universal symbol of accessibility
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Percentage of an individual with accessibility in Michigan
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Definition of ADA (Americans with Disability Acts)
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Implementations of rules and regulations of ADA for public or private building structures, hotels, public transport, recreational parks etc.
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Street signs for deaf, blind, and autism individual in the neighborhood
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Importance of Google Maps Contributions for Accessibility.
It was a pleasant surprised when I saw “Megan Coburn” @Kwiksatik joined the meet up with Denise Barlock. Because of Megan, we were going to learn many more new things which are helpful for all of us for our future contributions. She answered many questions asked by Local Guides. One of her suggestions is to add the disability photos directly into the website of the business and add review. By doing this the photos will always be on the top of the lists. She also said to always use the emoji of wheelchairs in the review. Thanks again Megan, hope to have you in our next virtual accessibility meetup.
Kashif Misidia, shared his story of how he became a thoughtful Local guide. He shared his experience about Accessibility walks and how he tries to convince business owners that they should have facilities for the people with different abilities. His tip is I always say one thing to the owner, “A person who uses a wheelchair never comes alone, but with a group of family and friends, so if you provide a facility for just one person who uses a wheelchair, maybe you can get five or six customers with him/her.”
@AnshukMitra , Anshuk Mitra, who recently got the title of Accessibility Champion on Connect, got emotional when he was telling what inspires him to become a passionate Accessibility Contributor which started in his college years with his professor that was using special types of shoes along with a stick.
@Globe_trotter_Ish told us about great initiatives by the UK Government for differently-abled people, one of them is the braille writing for the blind.
@MSulaiman , Muhammad Sulaiman, also shared his story when he started his interest in disabled accessibility as well. He is contributing in Accessibility features on Google Map because he feels being a citizen it is his prime duty to help his society. Unfortunately in the past, he never got the chance to participate in any sort of accessibility contribution. But thanks to Google Map from where he learned about the features and the importance of accessibility. Now he can proudly say that he is playing his part in the society. It might be his tiny miny but it gives him a sense of pride.
@Gurukrishnapriya added a detailed explanation about individuals with autism and how it varies from person to person. She also explained how to help them such as a special education program for children with learning disabilities at school. Guru Khrishna has a Master Degree in Psychology
In General Discussion, Local Guides shared the disability accessible in their countries. Anshuk told us about Orthopaedic Hospital without any disable accessibility which is the most important thing for its patients. Some countries need to implement changes in their infrastructure.
Many Local Guides were impressed with the street signs that stated or reflected for the blind, deaf, and autism in Michigan neighborhoods.
Together we will be able to change this beautiful world one step at a time for now and generations to come. Together as a team, we achieve more (as @Anil6969 said).
Please remember to always add two more lines and at least two photos for Accessibility. It will be great for the people with different abilities (this is a slogan I heard from Kashif Misidia).
My sincere thank you to @Ddimitra for taking good care of the chat room. She is doing such a wonderful job. THANKS Devi.
Last but not least, to all attendees from the bottom of my heart I would like to say thank you. This successful meeting would not happen without you all.