This marketing services company is trying to make virtual events equally immersive for the dyslexic and visually-challenged

• Kestone has added assistive tech/ high-tech accessibility and interactivity feature to its platform for the dyslexic and the visually impaired.
• This step will empower corporates to add disability into their diversity and inclusion plan, widen access to more talent and skills at a time when hybrid working mode, knowledge sharing through virtual events is gaining mainstream significance due to COVID19 2.0 impact.

In an attempt to support disability inclusion at virtual events, Kestone, a data-driven integrated sales and marketing services company, has added assistive tech/ high-tech accessibility and interactivity feature to its platform for the dyslexic and the visually impaired.

With this, regardless of the disabilities that some of the virtual event attendees might have (visual impairedness, dyslexia, etc.), Kestone would be able to provide them with equally immersive digital event experience based on their unique accessibility needs. This step will empower corporates to add disability into their diversity and inclusion plan, widen access to more talent and skills at a time when hybrid working mode, knowledge sharing through virtual events is gaining mainstream significance due to COVID19 2.0 impact.

Speaking about the initiative, Piyush Gupta, President, Kestone said, “The need for a disability-inclusive business culture is highly critical to help voice the talent and skills of persons with disabilities (PWDs), the underrepresented community in the corporate world, which constitutes not even 0.5 percent of employees in India’s top companies. Social isolation, insufficient job opportunities, and financial uncertainty have already taken a major toll on them during the pandemic. Kestone has always assessed and added new-age tech features on its virtual event platform. The addition of Assistive Tech will help the dyslexic and the visually impaired gain more immersive experience, navigate the event schedule with more ease, and make corporate virtual events more inclusive. The presence of such disability-friendly virtual events will surely encourage innovation, talent, and a sense of equality across industries”.

Digital tech innovation has never been more significant than it is today. With only 1 in 10 PWDs having access to the virtual technologies according to the WHO and the pandemic protocols impacting their lives and mental health all the more, India needs to accelerate technology adoption in its disability inclusion road map. Considering that flexible and disability-inclusive work policies benefit employees across the board and boost an organization’s resilience, communication and knowledge sharing through virtual events will need to have such assistive technology at its base. As companies rethink their business models and work environments to adapt to the pandemic, disability inclusion will take a vital significance.

The future will need the marketing tech world to innovate around designing content solutions that ensure accessibility, inculcate thoughtful adjustments, support inclusivity, and remove disability discrimination within information and communication technologies. With Govt.’s Accessible India Campaign (Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan) that aims to achieve universal accessibility for PWDs and the corporate world endeavoring to adopt remote working, touchless technology due to the pandemic impact, India is sure to embark on a promising start and the role and contribution of virtual tech designers will become more integral.