Christopher Banks, President and CEO of the Autism Society of America penned a powerful article recently about the difference between autism “awareness” and autism “acceptance” and why the two must go hand in hand if we are to become a truly inclusive society. While his narrative is US-focused, these are universal truths that apply as much here in SA as...

South Africa has lost a legend and a fierce warrior for equality. The current Ms Deaf SA, Judith Madi, has passed away. Madi's battle was for equal rights and women empowerment. When she won the crown, shesaid: “I’m grateful for my friends, sisters and fiancé for their moral support. Now that I’ve won the title I would like to partner...

The proposed changes are outlined in an amendment Bill for the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act (Pepuda), and were published by the Department Of Justice And Constitutional Development last week. Under the proposed new law: Neither the State nor any person may unfairly discriminate against any person based on race, religion, gender or disability.Companies will carry greater...

While business losses during the Covid-19 pandemic and national lockdown have been well documented, NGOs and charities have been similarly affected given that their fundraising efforts were largely put on hold. For the Reach for a Dream Foundation, an NGO established to make dreams come true for children aged three to 18 fighting life-threatening illnesses, the challenge was compounded by...

Zoom says it is enhancing its service in order to be more accessible to users with disabilities. The video conferencing platform that’s become ubiquitous as the COVID-19 pandemic has kept people from meeting in person said it will add automatic closed captioning to its free accounts. The functionality, which will be called “Live Transcription,” is expected to be available to...

The Covid-19 pandemic has taken a massive toll on the emotional and mental wellbeing of so many South Africans. The number of people with symptoms of depression doubled between 2017 and in 2020, from 12% to 24%. Job losses, and job insecurity, loneliness and the state of the economy are just a few of the factors that have impacted our...