Collaborations
In addition to working directly with a wide range of highly valued accessibility and inclusion-based service providers, Aequum also collaborates with recognized leadership organizations in the field, from regional to international.
Aequum’s Partnerships and Affiliations include:
Disability Inclusion Business Council
In fall of 2022, Pina D’Intino, CEO of Aequum Global Access Inc. was appointed Senior Advisor to the Disability Inclusion Business Council (DIBC) to provide expert knowledge and advice to the DIBC and the Social Employment Branch to:
- Establish a network of businesses to develop and provide advice on a pan-Canadian vision to improve the inclusivity of persons with disabilities in Canadian businesses.
- Incubate, design, and ultimately set up an independent, self-governed business disability initiative comprised of high-level business leaders committed to championing inclusive workplaces throughout Canada.
G3ict: Promoting the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in the Digital Age
Aequum has been integrally involved with G3ict since 2012.
G3ict – the Global Initiative for Inclusive Information and Communication Technologies – is an advocacy initiative launched in December 2006 by the United Nations Global Alliance for ICT and Development, in cooperation with the Secretariat for the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities at UN DESA. G3ict’s objectives and global outreach are aligned with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) on the accessibility of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) and Assistive Technologies.
One key and deeply influential engagement of G3ict is to foster harmonization and standardization, to achieve lower costs and interoperability on a global scale by promoting the work of:
- W3C
- ISO
- ETSI
- ANSI
- DAISY/EPUB3
- ITU
- Public Procurement Standards – Section 508, EN 301-549
- And other leading Standards Development Organizations.
International Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP)
IAAP supports accessibility professionals and organizations with professional training, certifications, and networking. Their goal is to build professional skills and support organizations that incorporate accessibility into their services, products, and infrastructure. (IAAP is a division of G3ict)
Pina D’Intino, has worked directly with the IAAP Strategic Team, being part of IAAP’s inception and development, since 2012. She has led on several IAAP committees to bring together a plurality of projects and programs.
While IAAP is based in the USA and initially focussed on digital accessibility, it now has chapters in more than 30 countries, representation in more than 50, and provides resources in multiple languages. IAAP has expanded from digital-only to also include certification for targeted digital competencies, the built environment, and accessible procurement.
Aequum is a proud Associate Corporate Member of IAAP.
Inclusive Design Research Centre (IDRC) – OCAD University
Because Inclusive Design is at the core of what makes accessible environments accessible.
The Inclusive Design Research Centre is a research and development centre at OCAD University in Toronto, Canada. The centre defines inclusive design as that which “considers the full range of human diversity with respect to ability, language, culture, gender, age and other forms of human difference”.
Accessibility starts at the beginning of any concept and must include the perspective of all people – consider culture, intersectionality, the disabled community and those who are often marginalized or not counted.
Our experience and engagement with projects like” We count” allows Aequum to keep that human-centric lens top of mind and allows us to better understand the diverse needs of our clients. IDRC fosters our work within the learning and research community. Together we continuously learn and further push the boundaries toward a more inclusive environment and world.
Canadian Accessibility Network (CAN)
The Canadian Accessibility Network (CAN), under the leadership of the Accessibility Institute at Carleton University, is a national collaboration to advance accessibility for persons with disabilities through Research and Innovation, Education and Training, Policy, Employment, and Community Engagement.
CAN focusses on increasing awareness on accessibility and inclusion through the delivery of focus groups, educational webinars and research on employment, digital accessibility, outreach, and policies.
The CAN organization’s partnership includes several public and private sector departments and organizations. Aequum Global Access is proud to lead the Training and Educational Community of Practitioners who are responsible to build on current and new resources on accessibility and inclusion.
AccessibilityConsulting.ca
It takes a village to raise a child. We know that together we are stronger and are pleased to partner with AccessibilityConsulting.ca. AccessibilityConsulting.ca is an organization that focusses on learning and training about accessibility.
The AccessibilityConsulting.ca team has deep experience in creating educational content for students in post-graduate environments. This helps these students be equipped with the necessary knowledge on accessibility and inclusion that responds to today’s job markets.
Standard Accessibility Reporting Inc.
Standard Accessibility Reporting Inc. is a not-for-profit organization that is building a membership of consumers and industry professionals to develop and (gain consensus) on standards relating to the reporting of:
SAR Inc. ensures the voice of consumers with disabilities is at the forefront of accessibility standards by actively engaging consumers and industry engineers together to promote accessibility and usability in the design of their products before going to market.
The City of Pickering
If we can’t make accessibility real for the widely diverse residents of a key municipality, then we have failed our stakeholders. Making accessibility work at the municipal level is key to making it happen from the global to the local levels.
Aequum has had the pleasure and honour to work closely with the City of Pickering for over 6-years in recognizing challenges, conceiving responses and deeply engaging stakeholders in the planning and implementation of accessibility and inclusion efforts.
Pickering stands out in recognizing the need to engage all stakeholders in its accessibility efforts, that include “Main Street”, retail, restaurants, public services, policy development and the stakeholders of disabilities. It may seem the more challenging approach – to hear and learn from everyone, while everyone learns from each other – but Pickering and Aequum see this as the only valid way to make things work.
In recognizing the importance of this level of collaboration, Aequum has had the privilege to work with the City of Pickering at all levels of engagement, recognizing together, what the term “effort” means, and embracing each other in our successes – together.
Examples of Aequum’s leadership with the City of Pickering, and collaborative stakeholder engagement (as also available on the City of Pickering website):