Disability Dispatch: The Remarkable Tech Summit

Remarkable Tech Summit

San Diego, CA – Tuesday October 3 – 6, 2023

Disability Dispatch

Hello! I’m Katy — CPARF’s Digital Marketing and Community Engagement Manager. And I also have cerebral palsy. If you've been following along, I've kept you up-to-date on all things disability tech at the Remarkable Tech Summit here in San Diego, CA. Over the last few days, we heard from leaders and changemakers who are startup founders, disabled entrepreneurs, investors, inventors, and more who are committed to making the world more inclusive. 

It feels impossible to sum up what I've witnessed but one thing remains clear: everyone cares. Everyone who's made an effort to join us at our second Remarkable Tech Summit cares about making a difference for disabled people and distrupting the norm. More than that, many of the participants are disabled themselves, and they collaborative tirelessly to make the world a better, more accessible place. 

Over the last three days, we've dared to explore the nuances that arise from the following three questions. Below each, I'll share quotes from some of our speakers. 

How do we prioritize access alongside innovation?

"We exist in a world that wasn’t made for us so we create our own subversions, our own tool and systems and our own coping mechanisms… that’s often the sweet spot for innovation arising." – Charli Skinner, Co-Founder of Soda

How can we change the narrative around disability inclusion from charity/compliance to opportunity/market growth?

"Disability is no longer a back-seat story. It is the forcing driving the future, it’s about a human reality that provokes us to change the way we think about everything." -Bernard Chiira, Founder of Innovation Now

How do we not put the burden on disabled people to advocate to be included in a rapidly changing world?

"Particularly in the entrepreneurship space, we think about disability as a source of innovation, creativity, resilience, which is all true… but it oftentimes paints a rosy picture because it’s also two-sided. Failing to recognize the complexity of disability puts us at risk of not supporting people in a holistic way." – Diego Mariscal, Founder and CEO of 2Gether International 

Now, on a personal level, this work and our convening of leaders in the disability technology space is so meaningful to me because it brings me hope for the future. For my own future as a woman with CP. For the future that everyone will live in. I'm grateful for the people whose passion and dedication is the driving force for mobilizing change. For challenging the world outside of this space to consider how accessibility and inclusion can be common practice. There's a level of disability justice that wasn't explicitly explored here, but I felt it. I sensed that people were comfortable with getting uncomfortable and discussing the contradictions that often follow our work. 

Thanks to everyone who made this event possible, who showed up, shared their ideas and honest thoughts. I hope to come back next year and hear more about the collective progress and new insights that we uncover as we go out and move forward together. 

The summit is hosted by CPARF. Remarkable — our global disability technology accelerator program— is made possible by CPARF and Cerebral Palsy Alliance. Learn more about how we're making accessibility accessible through Remarkable US.