Technology for entertaining disabled people

Glen from Central Whangarei

2019 in Northland should be a better year for our disabled, just thinking back to the end of 2018 and the International Day of Persons with Disabilities event at the canopy bridge in Whangarei

I know yes for the first hour when the VIPs were there, there was some excitement, the wheelchair races did not last long the track quickly abandoned

The music was too loud, what about those that have voice or hearing disabilities how are they going to communicate with loud music. We want music for sure but they need to take breaks and turn it down

Boring table after table of brochures, little pockets of good things happening here and there but mostly brochures. It is the International Day of Persons with Disabilities.

I think we need a rethink here we need others to run the show and inject some excitement into it make it a celebration

More effort needs to go into thinking about how we can cater for disabled people using technology, yes I know there were new wheelchairs to see.

But I could see some disabled having a ball on a space invader machine from the 80s which used joysticks.

What about our local creators such as CTN, what can be remotely controlled by a joystick and entertain people with different disabilities can a wheelchair be controlled remotely, what about visual arts or virtual reality a disabled person could feel like they are in another world,

Really let us make it something more than a place to get brochures about disability.

I certainly want to be involved in organising this in 2019.

The brainstorming should start now, our day is only 10 months away