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Nissan is sponsoring #HackAccessDublin this weekend (25-27 November); gathering innovators from the engineering, design and technology fields to help make Dublin's public transport accessible to people with mobility problems. The 'hackathon' is happening in Google HQ, its vision is to leverage the startup community's innovative approach to solving problems to make Dublin inclusive to people of all abilities.
This event is being organised by Janice Valentine, founder of Great Life Distillery and a corporate consultant in innovation engagement, in association with the Challenge Access Ireland project. The organisers hope that it will become an annual event, tackling different accessibility challenges each year.
Commenting on the inspiration for Hack Access Dublin, Janice Valentine said: "I had this idea while attending my first Startup Weekend in Dublin over 2 years ago. I thought it was something my brother Steven, who had Muscular Dystrophy, would have loved to be involved with. He was interested in computers and we used to talk about one day setting up a business together. I could see how empowering entrepreneurship was to a person with mobility challenges; often viewed as less capable as people with no physical challenge. Sadly, Steven passed away 6 years ago but Hack Access Dublin has been inspired by his positive spirit and the ambition he showed in his short life. I want to help people like him experience a better quality of life through entrepreneurship".
On the Sunday at 4pm teams will present their solutions to a panel of judges including Social Entrepreneurs Ireland CEO, Darren Ryan, Smart Dublin Manager, Jamie Cudden, Manager of Corporate Partnerships at Dogpatch Labs, Liz McCarthy, Senior ICT Advisor, Centre for Excellence in Universal Design at National Disability Authority, Shane Hogan and Professor of Inclusive Design for Education & Chair of Creative Technologies at UCD, Lizbeth Goodman. There will be keynote talks by Kathryn O'Donoghue, Director, Trust & Safety EMEA Monetized Products at Google and James McCarthy, CEO at Nissan Ireland.
Click here to register either as a participant or to see the final pitches and keynote talks.