Celebrating 10 years of disability Innovation, the Global Disability Innovation Hub: our work, our stories, our community

Sharing our stories & projects across Assistive Technology, Inclusive Design & Innovation - including 15+ venture and partner showcases 

10 years ago the Global Disability Innovation (GDI) Hub launched. A legacy of the London 2012 Paralympic Games, the GDI Hub brought together the experts behind the London games to ask the question ‘what next for disability innovation’. Fast forward to today and the GDI Hub has reached more than 77 million people globally. A world leading Academic Research Centre within University College London (UCL) and a global practice centre, the GDI Hub delivers research, development programme and consultancy across more than 70 countries. 

The annual London Design Festival celebrates and promotes London as a design capital on the global stage. This year, to mark our 10th anniversary, the Global Disability Innovation Hub will host an exhibition, panel and community reception.

With showcases from across our global programmes and portfolio, alongside more then 15+ partner and collaborator showcases from across the disability innovation world (see below list), this public exhibition and reception will provide an opportunity to find out more about our work, hear from the team behind GDI Hub, explore products and the wider sector, and topics such as: Assistive Technology, Inclusive Design, Innovation, Cities and Climate, Participation, AI, Inclusive Finance, Networks and Stigma.  

This event will be held at Sadlers Wells East, on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. A short distance from Stratford Tube and train station, this newly opened venue is East London’s powerhouse for dance. The exhibition, talks and reception will take place on the ground floor.  

Register now to join us. This is an official event of London Design Festival.

Agenda 

• 3pm to 6pm: Exhibition,Showcase and Talks  
• 6.00 to 8.30pm: Evening Reception with informal panel and networking 

Talks 

• 3..30-4pm: Cities & Climate 

  Globally, over 50% of the 1.3 billion persons with disabilities live in urban areas. As cities confront growing climate and development challenges, how can inclusion be embedded at the heart of solutions? Join GDI Hub and sector partners for a discussion on the journey, impact, and future of disability-inclusive cities and climate action. Through reflections on past achievements, insights into the evolving global landscape, and a forward-looking conversation on co-design and participation, the session will explore opportunities to build more equitable, accessible, and resilient urban futures.

• 4.30-5pm: Innovation & AT

  This informal fireside conversation brings together founders, researchers, and technologists  to explore  real founder journeys: where ideas come from, what it takes to turn them into something useful, and the barriers encountered along the way. The discussion asks not just what technology can do, but what it can enable people to do. Expect an open, human conversation about ambition, setbacks, collaboration and the role of inclusive innovation in creating greater choice, participation and potential.

• 5.30-6pm: Community, Culture & Economies of Inclusion 

  What is the importance of community organising, disabled leadership, voice and advocacy in transforming the system toward a just world for disabled people? And when funding shapes what is valued, prioritised and empowered, how do we continue to ensure community organising, disabled leadership, voice and advocacy remain central? This session will explore the vital roles of disabled leadership, member-led networks, Organisations of Persons with Disabilities and story-telling in a movement towards a more just world for disabled people and all people, and how we can continue to prioritise these in a world of tightening budgets. 

   

• 6.30-7.30pm: Reception Panel 

  GDI Hub co-founders Professor Vicki Austin, Iain McKinnon, Professor Cathy Holloway will share insights from 10 years of disability innovation.  

Showcases and products

We're delighted to be joined by AT ventures, innovators, students, partners and collaborators: 

• Hope Tech: wearable navigational aid and app for freedom of travel for those with a visual impairment
• Dot Glasses: low-cost, adjustable frames and lens technology eyeglasses, with a simple eye test that doesn’t require a specialist
• Thryv: From the YD One active lightweight wheelchair to the PLUTO-H hand rehabilitation robot, Thryv is putting independence back in the hands of the people who need it, across India and East Africa in partnership with the Indian Institute of Technology Madras. 
• CAERUS by Diverse Made Media: The world's first wheelchair-based camera system. Mechanically and electronically stabilised, wirelessly operated, cinema-grade imagery - on wheels that move up to 20kmph
• FoundersThink: an AI thinking partner for founders building assistive technology and disability-inclusive ventures, built on GDI Hub's decade of knowledge in this space.
• Park Mobility Service: The Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park mobility service provides disabled visitors the opportunity to hire mobility scooters and wheelchairs - or use a buggy service 
• MSc student prototypes: from our Disability, Design and Innovation MSc based at UCL
• Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design: experts in inclusive design and based at the Royal Colleague of Arts (RCA) the centre use people-centred design and research to improve lives
• DeafTawk: AI-Powered accessibility embedding real-time sign language across websites, apps, kiosks and digital content
• Ugani: facilitating access to affordable and high-quality prosthetics and orthotics, providing 3D solutions and digital manufacturing
• Deaftronics: solar-powered hearing aid providing sustainable, cost-effective solution in regions with limited electricity access
• Accessible Lab Coat: The Accessible Lab Coat: adapted for wheelchair users and developed by The UCL Innovation Lab, in collaboration with Chamiah Dewey, researchers and designers from UCL and London College of Fashion, and supported by the Royal Society of Chemistry.
• Koalaa: Soft, comfortable, low-cost, easy to fit prosthetic - with adaptable straps and community based fitting. 
• Evenbreak: the largest online job board for disabled candidates in the world. Led by and for disabled people. Supporting disabled talent into work and employers to create more inclusive workplaces where disabled people can thrive. 

Sharing global mechanisms for change:

• UNICEF catalogue: enables governments around the world to procure competitively priced products, offering low-cost high-quality solutions purchased at scale
• WHO's Learning on TAP: an innovative open access learning resource to increase access to primary and community health services. 
• Disabled Leaders Network: a member led global network that champions and supports exceptional disabled talent.

Finding us 

• The entrance to Sadler’s Wells East is off Stratford Walk, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London, E20 2AR.  
• Address if you are being dropped off by car: 101 Carpenters Rd, London, E20 2AR  
• What3words: stop.rise.hello 

Want to know more about our last 10 years - check out our latest Impact Report