In-Focus Episode 10: Panel Discussion on Technology

On the 26th June 2020, RI organised a panel discussion on the topic of technology and accessibility for the visually impaired community. The podcast was hosted by RI’s Director of Research Policy, Dr. Orla Galvin, who welcomed Avril Daly, Christina Fasser and Claudette Medefindt to lead the discussion.

Christina, Claudette and Avril all live with the inherited retinal disease (IRD) Retinitis Pigmentosa, although each have varying levels of vision. This made for a really interesting and insightful conversation on the need to make technology universally accessible as people living with the same condition have different requirements.

In addition to speaking about the different mobile applications and assistive technology which they use in their daily lives, Christina Claudette and Avril also highlight the pros and cons of working almost entirely online, their experiences in attending a number of virtual conferences in recent weeks and what needs to be done to facilitate people living with visual impairments using these online communication platforms. Additionally, Christina, Claudette and Avril agreed that there is  a pressing need to tailor this technology for the visually impaired community, which will allow for easier access to online information, more diverse engagement at these online conferences and the opportunity for people living with vision loss to maintain their independence.

Listen to the audio-recording of the conversation here:

In-Focus Episode 10: Panel Discussion on Technology