The Essl Foundation today announced strategic partnerships that will bring the Zero Project Technology Forum to new world regions for the first time. Assistive Technologies for Disability Trust (AT4D),Tech Mahindra Foundation, and UnExcluded (Asia) Ltd. will each host regional editions of the forum in Africa, India, and the Asia Pacific respectively, connecting local Assistive Technology (AT) Innovators with Support Partners across their regions.
“Assistive technology is evolving rapidly. It's shaped by local needs, local ingenuity, and local ambition,” says Michael Fembek, CEO of the Zero Project. “What the Zero Project brings is a uniquely global, cross-sectoral network that can connect these innovators with the right support partners that allow their solutions to scale. Expanding the Tech Forum to Nairobi, Mumbai, and Singapore means that the innovations can better reach the people who need them — and that the world can learn from them. This is how we move the needle on disability inclusion: not from one center outward, but together, across borders and sectors.”
Curated matchmaking and active participation
The Zero Project Technology Forum (Tech Forum) was established in 2023 and is held annually in Vienna, Austria, on the day prior to the Zero Project Conference. It brings together highly innovative technology-based solutions — from commercial ventures and social enterprises to foundations and NGOs — that advance accessibility and disability inclusion, and connects them with potential Support Partners: companies, investors, and organizations interested in scaling AT innovations or providing other forms of support.
Advancing AT Innovations through collaboration
Each regional partner brings deep local expertise and existing networks to the collaboration. The regional Tech Forums are designed to support local AT Innovations and Support Partners; they are organized in close collaboration with the Zero Project Team to ensure that bridges are built between global and regional innovation ecosystems. Each edition is adapted to its regional context while remaining connected to the Vienna forum and to one another.
Read the press release