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Connect Moderator

One Accessibility Initiative - A Local Guide Project

Local Guides One Accessibility Project

The Local Guide programme in the last two years has given me the opportunity to explore my community and country; Contributing to local businesses, organizations and individuals who peruse the maps. It's also enabled me to connect with people from different backgrounds, online and offline. More importantly, consolidating on the accessibility cause as part of the initiative to foster inclusiveness around the world.

 

Caption: A photo collage showing Local Guides with accessibility signs during their meetupsCaption: A photo collage showing Local Guides with accessibility signs during their meetups

 

In 2017, I started hosting regular accessibility meet-ups across Nigeria with over 50 recorded. In 2018, I started focusing on inclusive mapping with Nigeria Accessible Walk. At Connect, in 2018 after winning the accessibility award, I was inspired by Googlers and Local Guides to take the initiative global.Truly, I felt further work and support would fast track the quest to attain global inclusiveness. Therefore, we want to encourage people of all ages, backgrounds, abilities and disabilities, including autistic spectrum disorders, sensory impairment, physical and learning disabilities, to live a normal life. This can be attained by enabling access to everyone, everywhere at every time.

 

To achieve this goal, we are calling on all Local Guides all over the world to join the One Accessibility Initiative. One Accessibility is dedicated to improving the lives of People with Disabilities (PwD) worldwide by identifying barrier-free buildings, environments and infrastructure then adding them to Google Maps.

 

OBJECTIVE

One Accessibility's primary objectives will include mapping places with wheelchair access, auditory facility, Braille and visual signs; advocating for full implementation of accessible policies, talking to decision makers, partnering with stakeholders in our communities and getting our countries to attain the accessible status.

Local Guides are urged to volunteer, at least, once a month to host accessibility meet-ups, create awareness and speak to business owners where there are no accessible trails. The One Accessibility initiative is a follow-up of the Worldwide Accessibility Walk [WAW] in December 2018.

 

Step 1 - Advocacy

A lot of people are unaware of the challenges people with disability face in our communities. Local Guides can create awareness by organizing orientation for students, colleagues in the office, community leaders, traders in the market, government officials explaining the UN convention and showing them how to remove barriers to public infrastructure.

Step 2 - Data Collection (Mapping)

While we embark on creating an accessible world, we should endeavour to document our activities especially mapping locations with accessibility. Look out for signs at parking lots, entrances, restrooms, elevators, bus terminals, train stations, airports, jetties and other public places. Organizing meet-ups is a sure way to achieve this faster. One Accessibility Map

Step 3 - Activities

One Accessibility activities may include meet-ups, collaboration and others

Meetups- organize, at least one meet-up each month to add places with accessibility on Google Maps. This will help millions using the tool to make informed decision. In one year, that means 12 accessibility events.

Partnership - find a community of PwD (School, Orphanages, NGOs, Government agency) to help understand their peculiar challenges and programmes. Find the best way to assist them achieve a barrier free environment. The information gathered can be sent as a feedback to Local Guides/Google to improve the maps.

Social Media - As part of the awareness Strategy, it will be great to share your activities on social media. People on your timeline will get to know about the differently able, accessibility and may even be motivated to join the cause thereby improving inclusiveness around the world.

Don't forget the #oneaccessibility #localguides hashtags!

Step 4 - Best Practice

It is imperative that before you commence, we should endeavour to learn the appropriate terms, signs and policies around disability in your Country (more posts on this son). The UN Convention and Disability Rights document can also be useful for volunteers. It is advisable to be prepared in order to enlighten the public with facts and figures to win them over.

 

LOGO

We have also created a special logo for the project. A blue location marker and a white wheelchair placed inside the marker (created by Megan Coburn & Emeka Ulor )One Accessibility LogoOne Accessibility Logo

  • Marker- the compass needle connotes location.
  • Blue (Pantone)- standard colour for accessibility as approved by the International Standard Organization (ISO).
  • Wheelchair- standard symbol for identifying all forms of accessibility as certified by ISO.
  • Star - represents Local Guides in different continents
  • Other relevant information shall be disseminated as we progress.

One Accessibility hopefully would help make the world more accessible to everyone, as we contribute our quota beginning from our communities.

Our gratitude goes to @Kwiksatik@U-royFelixA @Jeff Muir, @PennyChristie and @Jesi for sharing their ideas.

 

Thank you to all the #WAW hosts, Nigeria Local.Guides and not forgetting @TraciC for the inspiration!

We are also opened to ideas and suggestions on how to make this a success! Don't forget to read our weekly Accessibility Uncovered posts and join our meet-up Webinar Series.

 

Let’s enable accessibility everywhere, for everyone! One Accessibility!!!

 

Yours truly

'Emeka Ulor

Owerri, Nigeria
54 comments
Connect Moderator

Re: One Acessibility Project - A Local Guides Initiative

Awesome initiative, @EmekaUlor! I will be following the steps the best that I can.

It will be great to see so many accesibility meet ups being done, I'm sure the meet ups and the initiative as a whole will have a big impact on the program.

Thank you for putting so much effort into this, and thanks to everyone who has been helping and/or will join too!

Level 9

Re: One Acessibility Project - A Local Guides Initiative

Inspiring project @EmekaUlor we are seeing so many accessibility meet ups...Thank you for sharing with us.  

Connect Moderator

Re: One Acessibility Project - A Local Guides Initiative

Level 9

Re: One Acessibility Project - A Local Guides Initiative

This is simply awesome. Good work @EmekaUlor 

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We enter into this world with one focus, to be successful, many failed trying, but those who make it always set a goal and see every obstacle as nothing but a hurdle.

Connect Moderator

Re: One Acessibility Project - A Local Guides Initiative

Thank you for starting One accessibility Project @EmekaUlor, and thank you to @Jesi and @PennyChristie, and of course to @Kwiksatik. Nice logo, Megan.

There is a lot to do, with different target.

I am personally concentrating on "the right of a normal life", trying to identify all the accessible places for what I consider a minimum needed. Not only the access to transportation, shops, restaurant, but also museum, natural places, beaches, possibility for traveling and exploring.

With this in mind I am starting to create my personal maps, in which I will add all the contributions of the local guide that want to share some content.

Not only meet-ups, Emeka. accessibility in my mind should be a daily activity of documenting, and highlighting accessibly areas but also Not accessible places.

This is what I did in the last year, collecting information.

Caption: Accessibility at Muir Wood National Park - California - Photos by Local Guide @ermestCaption: Accessibility at Muir Wood National Park - California - Photos by Local Guide @ErmesT

This is the entrance of the park:

 

Also, I want to mention the great ELEVATOR ACTION GROUP, that was one of the subject of my chat with @Sashabg at Connect Live

I just would like to suggest to change something: giving an end date is like making a prediction for the future. This is what I am thinking for #LocalGuidesCleanThe World too, and I am going to change "one year" with "until necessary"

 

Keep going

Connect Moderator

Re: One Acessibility Project - A Local Guides Initiative

Connect Moderator

Re: One Acessibility Project - A Local Guides Initiative

Thank you for sharing your experience and suggestions too. Nice to see how you are adding those accessibility information. I hope we all do the same like you.

Thought about the one year too, we were looking at a period for taking stock but we may have to remove that. 

Happy to learn about the Elevator Group too, doing something related in Nigeria soon😉

@ErmesT I am grateful for your support !

Former Google Contributor

Re: One Acessibility Project - A Local Guides Initiative

Great initiative, @EmekaUlor. Thanks for sharing and for organizing the whole strategic process. I'm sure it's going to reach a lot of success. 

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Level 9

Re: One Acessibility Project - A Local Guides Initiative

Wow, great initiative, @EmekaUlor.

Hope we can follow this movement here in Indonesia someday.

Hmm.. Cc. @RivaniRahmadani, @MutiahA, @NunungAfuah

 

Awesome!

Or in Indonesian, I can say: "Sampeyan pancen ngeten! 👍"