The 2022 Inclusive African Conference was unique in that it brought together accessibility contributors from around the world. Several African innovators were given the opportunity to present their work, including blind and low-vision coders from inABLE.

They were allowed to demonstrate their coding skills, which received enthusiastic applause from the audience, who were astounded by what the blind coders could accomplish with the assistance of accessibility. Most attendees made appointments with the coders at their table, strategically placed outside the conference hall, to watch them do live coding in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

The conference provided an opportunity for these aspiring coders to demonstrate their love of coding and desire to contribute to developing accessible digital platforms.

In front of global technology leaders, accessibility innovators, and conference sponsors Microsoft, Meta, and Google, the coders took advantage of the opportunity to highlight some of the applications and web-based platforms that they want to incorporate into their coding practices but are unable to do so because they are not fully accessible to visually impaired users. The response from these key accessibility champions was very encouraging, and we hope to have fully accessible coding tools available for everyone soon.

“Through assistive technology, persons living with disabilities can keep pace with this technologically growing world without any assistance,” writes James Kosgey.

James is a computer instructor with inABLE. He joined the program while still in primary school, and after graduating from high school, inABLE offered him a position as an intern. He is a budding developer with a strong interest in web development. Amina Samuels, another inABLE coder with low vision due to albinism, also showcased her coding skills. Amina is an inABLE intern who joined the program while still in high school and was hired as an intern with inABLE after graduating from high school.

“The conference had a significant impact on my confidence because I interacted with people with various forms of disability and could independently come up with big innovations while championing for the rights of Persons with Disability (PWDs) in various capacities,” she says.

Anthony Wambua, a completely blind computer instructor at inABLE, agrees. “The launch of the first accessibility standards in Africa heralds a new era for PWDs in Africa, as we shift toward making digital content accessible to everyone, regardless of the nature of the user’s disability.”

Anthony attended Thika School for the Blind and began interacting with computers while still in primary school. He is currently one of inABLE’s accessibility testers and is working hard to become a full-time app developer.

Written by: inABLE Computer Instructor Shadrack Otieno