"Richard Branson helps launch new disability campaign for businesses"

BrookeU

Did you hear about this?: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/richard-branson-helps-launch-new-disability-campaign-businesses-150716786.html

What other businesses and corporate leaders would you like to see become more involved with the disability community?

brigittemc

Did you hear about the new emojis that Apple requested and that will be rolling out in Sept- Oct of this year?  “The current selection of emoji provides a wide array of representations of people, activities and objects meaningful to the general public, but very few speak to the life experiences of those with disabilities,” Apple said in its proposal. “This new set of emoji that we are proposing aims to provide a wider array of options to represent basic categories for people with disabilities.”

The new offerings include icons showing people using manual and power wheelchairs, a service dog, a hearing aid and prosthetics, among other special needs. Some of the emoji have male and female versions and variants for skin tone.

Unicode said that the newest icons are likely to become available on mobile phones in September or October.

Apple worked with the American Council of the Blind, the Cerebral Palsy Foundation and the National Association of the Deaf to develop the disability-specific emoji. The company acknowledged that the additions do not reflect the whole range of experiences of those with disabilities, but said they offer “an initial starting point for greater representation for diversity within the emoji universe.”

Read more here

brigittemc

Did you hear about the new "Disability Emojis" rolling out later this year?
The new offerings include icons showing people using manual and power wheelchairs, a service dog, a hearing aid and prosthetics, among other special needs. Some of the emoji have male and female versions and variants for skin tone.

Read more here

brigittemc

Did you hear about the new "Disability Emojis" rolling out later this year that Apple requested of UniCode?
The new offerings include icons showing people using manual and power wheelchairs, a service dog, a hearing aid and prosthetics, among other special needs. Some of the emoji have male and female versions and variants for skin tone.  Read more here

brigittemc

Did you hear about the new "Disability Emojis" rolling out later this year that Apple requested of UniCode?
The new offerings include icons showing people using manual and power wheelchairs, a service dog, a hearing aid and prosthetics, among other special needs. Some of the emoji have male and female versions and variants for skin tone.  Read more here

BrookeU

I heard about this! Such great news. It's important for everyone to feel represented, even if it's in something that seems small, like an emoji...because, in reality, emojis are a huge part of our social culture, so representation really matters.

BrookeU

Also, Barbie recently announced a new doll who uses a wheelchair and another doll with prosthetic limbs. My understanding (someone correct me if I am wrong) is that the Barbie company previously made a doll who used a wheelchair, but she was branded as being Barbie's friend Becky, whereas this new doll will actually be Barbie. If this is true, I think it sends the message that people who use wheelchairs are not secondary characters; they're real people who deserve the respect that everyone else gets. I just hope that parents of children with disabilities won't be the only ones buying these new dolls...children with no personal connection to disability should also have them! It subliminally teaches them that people of all abilities are important. https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/12/us/barbie-doll-disabilities-trnd/index.html