Telefónica is working with the Irish social enterprise, Kanchi, on a far-reaching campaign to get companies across the world to think differently about disability.
Using Kanchi's ability awards – already run under licence by Telefónica in Ireland and Spain – in five countries across the world, the two organisations aim to encourage businesses to think about how they can be age and disability friendly, in much the same way as they have had to think about being environmentally friendly in the last two decades.
An estimated 10% of the world's population – or some 650 million people – live with some sort of disability. One estimate suggests 20% of people in Europe will have some form of disability within 10 years.
The UN has also estimated that the number of people over the age of 65 will treble to 1.5 billion between now and 2050.
As populations age and increase, more people will live with one or more disabilities and will be looking to society to recognise their needs for employment, services and products.
That throws up huge challenges in terms of public policy. Employers across all sectors will need to rethink their inclusion strategies and consumer companies will need to come up with new solutions.
The Kanchi ability awards recognise these challenges and focus on all aspects of employment, the built environment and customer service.
The two organisations started working together in Ireland in 2005, when Telefónica O2 ran the awards for the first time. In 2010, Telefónica launched the awards in Spain under licence from Kanchi.
The two groups have set up an international advisory board, comprising people from government, disability groups, media organisations and private sector professionals to manage the franchise together and export the scheme more widely.
Their ambitious aim is to achieve 100% inclusion in five countries within five years.
Simon Beavis is part of the wordworks network
This content is brought to you by Guardian Professional. Become a GSB member to get more stories like this direct to your inbox
