A key component of the IDA-GDI Hub AT Fellowship is to offer fellows exposure to global and regional discussions and opportunities to engage with a variety of stakeholders. The AT Fellows’ Reflection Corner is a space for fellows to share their thoughts and insights as they work on varied projects through the course of their fellowship. In this second issue of AT Digest, Elizabeth Campos from Peru reflects on the AT Workshop conducted in Peru.
Elizabeth Campos, Assistive Technology User Fellow, Peru
“I co-facilitated the workshop "Assistive Technology: Challenges and opportunities for people with disabilities in the context of Peru, in Lima, on 19-20 December 2023. This was hosted by IDA in collaboration with RIADIS and Continental University. The workshop provided me an excellent opportunity to enhance my capacity as a trainer after my exposure as part of the Bridge CRPD-SDGs Training of Trainers, as well as to interact with diverse stakeholders such as university students, faculty members, and university lab personnel who are innovating assistive products. The workshop created a space where leaders of OPDs, representing different disability constituencies could reflect on the pivotal role that AT plays in fulfilling the rights of persons with disabilities.
We unpacked the Availability, Accessibility, Adaptability, Acceptability and Quality (AAAAQ) Framework that allowed participants to reflect on the conditions of services for people with disabilities. The workshop fostered dialogue between OPDs and students, researchers, and faculty members of the Continental University to advance innovations of assistive technology including biomedical aids considering the requirements of the Peruvian population.
In Peru, we still need to work on strengthening the capacities of persons with disabilities. We can move our community from demand to supply, contributing solutions to the difficulties that people with disabilities face to access assistive technology. I look forward to applying my knowledge and skills earned from this exposure to support local AT actors including the Continental University to innovate assistive products for Peruvian people with disabilities, following a human centric approach.”
