Andrea Kennedy – On Building Inclusion in Turkey

Andrea Kennedy of Destek Accessibility


 

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Andrea Kennedy is the co-founder of Destek Accessibility Solutions and has been working within the field of accessibility for over 15 years, after having an accident which left her with a disability. You can follow Destek on Twitter

Having discovered a passion for disability access technology Andrea co-developed for the Shaw Trust their Web Accessibility Service, a high end technology social enterprise over 10 years ago and also the same for Integracja in Poland.  Since then Andrea developed Destek Technology, a thriving successful International business and has advised many organisations on access technologies and accessible digital environments, disability at work policies and supported employment services.  Currently she is expanding operations in Turkey, forming a team of consultants with disabilities in Istanbul and Ankara.

Disability Equality in Turkey – A cultural revolution

Nearly 13 percent of Turkey’s population has a disability and yet there are still leaps and bounds to be made with regard to equality, accessibility, and employment opportunities for people with disabilities. From the perspective of her involvement in providing disability services in Turkey as well as around the globe, Andrea argues that Turkish businesses and the government need to see the value of providing accessible environments, meaningful training when employing members of the disabled community, a rich resource of untapped skill sets. Andrea identifies that a multinational knowledge transfer needs to happen soon.