By GREGORY ZELLER //
Apps that make cereal boxes talk, provide nonvisual Internet access and improve pedestrian travel for the deafblind are among the savvy tech honored in Helen Keller Services’ third-annual Access-Ability Awards.
Bestowed by the Brooklyn-based 501(c)3 charity organization – which operates learning centers in Hempstead and Islandia and the Helen Keller National Center for DeafBlind Youths and Adults in Sands Point – the awards recognize international corporations, nonprofits and individuals who work to support the deafblind and people with compromised vision.
This year’s winners include NaviLens, a cutting-edge Spanish technology company that uses smartphone cameras and QR codes to create “smarter and more inclusive” cities for the deafblind, and breakfast titan The Kellogg Company, which incorporated NaviLens codes on the packaging of some its most iconic cereal brands, helping the visually impaired locate the boxes and access nutritional information.
Sue Ruzenski: Still plenty of work to be done.
Also honored was multinational manufacturer Procter & Gamble, which added raised stripes and circles to packaging to help the visually impaired identify shampoos and conditioners, and Compass 365, a division of Italian IT systems integrator General Network that helped open Helen Keller Service’s new in-house intranet to blind and deafblind employees.
Streaming service Netflix was honored for inclusion and diversity efforts including expanded audio descriptions or programs and additional subtitles, while NV Access – an Australian enterprise empowering the vision-impaired through technology – snagged an award for its NonVisual Desktop Access, a groundbreaking, open-source and totally free screen reader now available in 175 countries and 55 languages.
Helen Keller Services CEO Sue Ruzenski said the Brooklyn-based organization was “privileged to recognize the commendable efforts of these companies,” though the mission undertaken by her organization and others supporting the vision- and hearing-impaired is far from complete.
Helen Keller: Still inspiring.
“In recent years, we have observed significant advancements in fostering accessibility and inclusivity within the communities we engage with,” Ruzenski added. “However, there remains a substantial amount of work yet to be done.”
In what has become an annual tradition, the 2023 awards are scheduled to be presented in a special virtual ceremony on June 27, the birthdate of American author, disability-rights advocate and lecturer Helen Adams Keller, who became an iconic influencer after losing her sight and hearing to illness at 19 months.
Like Keller herself, the companies honored in this year’s awards program “have made remarkable strides in enhancing the quality of life for individuals who are deafblind, blind or have low vision,” according to Helen Keller Services Chairman Larry Kinitsky.
“We are sincerely thankful for the commitment of numerous companies in advancing accessibility,” Kinitsky added in a statement. “We eagerly anticipate continued innovation in the times ahead … and look forward to more innovation in the future.”
