Dispatch from the Zero Project Conference, The United Nations, And Vienna

Dispatch from the Zero Project Conference, The United Nations, And Vienna

This past week the Zero Project, an organization dedicated to research and sharing innovative solutions supporting the rights of persons with disabilities on a global scale held its annual conference in its hometown at the United Nations Office in Vienna. The perennial Zero Project Conference has become an unparalleled global summit where people can convene, discuss, and explore various ways to innovate for greater disability inclusion. This year, more than 1,000 people from 100 countries attended the conference engaging in a diversity of sessions that centered around topics ranging from Inclusive Education, Representation in the Arts & Media, Technology, to Adaptive Fashion and much more.

While the Plenary Sessions are the cornerstone of this conference, it is the connections that are central to its success. To paraphrase one of the attendees, the Zero Project Conference is a place where the tribe can converge and explore the multifaceted ecosystem of disability in a way that brings us together and illustrates the power and potential of this ever-expanding community. I found this statement to be both enlightening and offering a real kernel of truth. These 3 days exhibited a microcosm of the changing nature of the global disability experience. While different regions and organizations faced distinctive pain points, there was a collective yearning for growth and parity that was felt throughout the halls of the UN building.

I came to Vienna as both a practitioner within the disability space, but also as a searcher. My goal was to learn about a wide breadth of subjects critical to this changing landscape from the relationship of disability with Artificial Intelligence, Inclusive Fashion, to employment and rethinking investment in disability inclusion. However, what I found was my education came not as much through the sessions directly, but rather through the intimate conversations that were happening over a drink or meal. This was a profound experience for me as someone who makes his living spending time in various states of isolation due to the profession I’ve chosen as a consultant, executive coach, psychotherapist, and writer. It was in this space that I was surrounded by others who shared a similar vision and firmly ensconced in a place where I felt seen and heard and belonged to part of a larger tribe!

Perhaps the greatest takeaway from my time in Vienna at the Zero Project Conference was the significance of community. Too often the disability community is mired in schisms, due to the different types of disability and the litany of lived experiences. Yet, in this brief moment, people from around the globe across the disability spectrum partook in the same space, finding common ground in collective values while recognizing the promise of a shared destiny.

 

 

 

 

Martin Essl

Gründer Zero Project

5mo

Therefore, if we all (some 1,250 attendees from 100+ countries and 16,000 online) take just 1 innovation you where inspired by and try to implement in copy pasting or optimizing existing concepts - can you imagine the power of the worldwide community? And the Zero Project Team is so interested to hear about your experiences. This work starts always after each Zero Project Conference - I personally are happy to be involved in 3+ implementations right now.

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Martin Essl

Gründer Zero Project

5mo

Thank you Jonathan for being with us and enriching the #Zerocon24 in Vienna. Your summary men’s a lot for us as it is our goal to bring together the global community sharing visions but with an innovative approach: we are not alone. There are amazing new ideas which are innovative, impactful and scalable. And together with all of our talents and engagement we can follow the path of a world with zero barriers, thank you for sharing your experiences with us!

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Heather S. Neff

Co-Founder + CEO, Introducing accessible + sustainable Smart graphics! Figma Plugin coming soon. Speaker and Educator. Techstars 2023.

5mo

Great work Jonathan! Did you see our latest accessible graphics tech video showcased at the Zero Project this year? You and I spoke at the Remarkable Tech Summit. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeZIp78wMUU

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Isabella Essl

Head of Inclusive Arts at Zero Project

5mo

Thank you for your #ZeroCon24 summary, Jonathan J Kaufman!

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Jason Lehmbeck

Working on something new that aims to transform the developmental and mental health of 10MM+ kids and families by 2028 ❤️ 🚀

5mo

Amazing. Thanks for sharing. Do they have plans to do this in other locations?

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