Pruebas

http://youtu.be/D-riolkmMAY

It is always sad to lose our friends and especially sad when they are Thought Leaders making huge positive changes in their lives.

We lost two great leaders, people, advocates and friends in 2013.  I had the pleasure to know both Stephen Wing and Cynthia Waddell.

Both of these amazing people made great contributions in our ongoing efforts to assure that people with disability are fully included in all aspects of society.   Their legacies cannot be properly captured in one blog.  I wanted to try and honor both of these wonderful people and be sure their legacies are never forgotten.

I also believe that it is a good time to review our own lives. Are we following our passion, leading our best lives and building a Servant Leader legacy?

Others helped pave the way for inclusion and civil rights for people with disabilities. Many leaders in the community of people with disabilities are “Paying it Forward” but we would not be moving forward without the support of the leaders that fought before us like Justin Dart, Michael Winters and so many other great leaders.

Sara Ruh is 26 years old.  Sara was born with Down syndrome.  We were stunned and did not know what the future held for this precious baby.  We did not understand the civil right fights and debates that were taken place to assure she has basic civil rights.  People got out of their wheel chairs and crawled up the steps of Federal buildings in DC.  They wanted to assure that Sara and other people with disabilities had the same rights as others.  The civil right to access to education, employment, transportation, technology, affordable housing, vote and other rights afforded to all Americans.

It is bittersweet as our country celebrates the 23rd anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in July 2013.  We have made progress after 23 years.  However, we still have so much more to do especially with employment.  It takes all of us to continue to move towards full inclusion.  It also takes leaders, advocates, families and individuals to step forward and demand that we all have equal rights.

The ADA was passed when Sara was 3 years old.  Our family is grateful for the leaders that fought for Sara’s rights.  Many fought and continue to fight for the civil rights of all Americans with disabilities.

Sara and I joined the efforts early on working with other leaders like Cynthia and Stephen to assure Americans with disabilities continue to be fully included in society.  I want to thank Stephen Wing and Cynthia Waddell’s family and friends for their efforts to include people with disabilities in all aspects of society.  Their legacies are making a huge difference in the United States and all over the world.

Our family supports the UN Convention of Rights for People with Disabilities (CRPD).  We are hopeful the US will fully adopt the UNCRPD and take our place as global thought leaders.  To learn more about the convention please visit http://www.usicd.org.

Please let me tell you more about both of these amazing leaders. They both have powerful legacies and terrific families. They will be missed!!!

Cynthia Waddell, a pioneer in developing and advocating for legal theories to support website accessibility for people with disabilities, died on April 3, 2013.   She was married a wonderful man named Thomas Waddell and had two brilliant daughters, Elizabeth Waddell and Christina Thompson.

She was also so thrilled to have a beautiful granddaughter named Julia Garcia.  She was so proud of her family and often talked lovingly about her husband and daughters.  She was so excited when her granddaughter was born.

I had the pleasure to work with Cynthia many times including sharing a spot on the G3ict Accessibility Expert Zone.  www.G3ict.org    I also joined her on stage at many conferences including to conference in Bangkok, Thailand.  She had a quick wit and a wonderful laugh.  I miss her expertise, contributions and friendship.

In the world of accessibility, Cynthia Waddell was an internationally recognized expert in the field of electronic and information technology as well as employment and construction.  She helped author the first accessible web design standard in the United States in 1995 that led to recognition as a best practice by the federal government and contributed to the eventual passage of legislation for Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility Standards (Section 508).

In September 2007, the International Communications Union commissioned her to write a background paper on meeting information and communications technology (ICT) access and services needs for people with disabilities.  The ITU paper is entitled “Major Issues for Development and Implementation of Successful Policies and Strategies” and has been well-received.  She is also the co-author of UNESCO publication addressing access to the built environment and accessible ICT for telecentres and multimedia centers:  Accessibility Guidelines for Multimedia Centres.

She co-authored two books: Web Accessibility: Web Standards and Regulatory Compliance (Apress 2006) and Constructing Accessible Web Sites (Glasshaus 2002, reprinted Apress 2003). These best practices and technical resources include the first global surveys of laws and policies in countries addressing accessible web design.  Constructing Accessible Web Sites was selected by the Japanese Industrial Standards Working Committee for translation into Japanese for an ICT training event.

The free CynthiaSays™ web accessibility tool and portal was named after her and endorsed by the American Council of the Blind. The CynthiaSays™ portal at www.cynthiasays.com  is a joint educational project of ICDRI, The Internet Society Disability and Special Needs Chapter, and HiSoftware.  The tool enables web developers to post content on the web that is accessible to assistive computer technology utilized by people with disabilities as well as alternate Internet access devices such as cell phones, palm pilots and personal digital assistants.

Her seminal paper, “The Growing Digital Divide in Access for People with Disabilities: Overcoming Barriers to Participation” was commissioned by the U.S. Department of Commerce and the National Science Foundation for the first national conference under President Clinton on the impact of the digital economy.  It has been translated and cited by governments, businesses, universities, and entities around the world, including an IMF/World Bank Summit and the World Economic Development Congress.   A collection of her papers are posted on www.icdri.org

A frequent writer and speaker, her papers have been translated and cited by organizations including the National Council on Disability, an independent advisor to the US President, in their 2001 report The Accessible Future.

Cynthia Waddell was a Lecturer in Law and holds a Juris Doctor from Santa Clara University School of Law.  She was designated a Public Interest Disability Rights Scholar and a Dan Bradley Fellow for the Employment Law Center in San Francisco, California.  In addition, she was a Rotary International Foundation Fellow at Exeter University, England, as well as an USC-Cambridge University Scholar at Cambridge University, England.  She received her B.A. cum laude, from the University of Southern California where she received Honors at Entrance.

Cynthia made so many contributions that it is hard to list them all.  To find out more about her work please visit ICDRI. www.icdri.org

Stephen (Steve) Wing was a close friend. I joined many people that were very sad when he passed away on May 25, 2013.  I remember the sad day that he called me to let me know he was ill.  He told me that it was serious but that he believed in miracles.

He was a newlywed and adored his new wife, Mary Lopez Schell.  He was also a grateful man and loved his family more than anything in the world.

He was blessed by his family. He had two sons Nicolas and Thaddeus Eppley, a beautiful daughter named Emily, two step children Kelsey and Nicolas Schell and five gorgeous grandchildren.

I had the pleasure to know his first wife Elinda.  We became very close friends after we met at the US Department of Labor’s ODEP Circle of Champions meeting.  We hit it off right away and it felt like reconnecting with an old, dear friend.  Elinda bravely fought brain cancer for many years.  She loved her family and adored her children and grandchildren.  She was an amazing woman, terrific mother and a dear friend.  I think of her often and continue to miss her.

Steve served in the Army National Guard and was the president of WINGS; former president of Corporate Voices for Working Families.  Steve had an amazing career and he always focused on helping other.  His goal was to help everyone including people with disabilities and people that we aging be included and retained in the workforce.

Steve and I remained close friends after Elinda’s passing.  He was my mentor and friend and always encouraged me to Find My Voice.  I was thrilled when he told me that he had fallen in love with Mary Lopez Schell and had proposed to her.  He felt so blessed to have the opportunity to love two amazing women.

He married Mary and created an amazing life with her.
He formed a company with Mary called WINGS LLC. http://stephenmwing.com/

WINGS LLC engages corporations to develop partnerships with government agencies, non-profits, foundations, workforce investment entities, faith-based organizations, and educational institutions to create customized training programs to find qualified, skilled and talented workers. These partnerships enhance both companies and workers through increasing access to additional services, maximizing return on investments, and leveraging resources to create mutually beneficial results.  The goal of WINGS LLC is to become the leading firm bridging the American workforce system with diverse companies and organizations to put people to work and to enlighten employers to the long-term benefits and proven ROI that results from creating innovative workforce solutions with a diverse network of organizations.

Before founding WINGS LLC he was president of Corporate Voices for Working Families.  His responsibilities included managing the organization’s day-to-day operations and implementing its long-term strategic plan to improve the lives of working families and the competitiveness of American business.  Steve was formerly a member of the Corporate Voices Board of Trustees. He also served on the President’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board.

Steve also had 35 years of corporate experience with CVS Caremark, the country’s largest provider of prescriptions and related health care services in the nation.  During his tenure at CVS he built several profitable divisions and programs including CVS’s Workforce Initiatives Department.  His ability to establish partnerships for corporations with government agencies, non-traditional employment resources, educational institutions, and faith-based organizations has resulted in innovative employment and training programs that thrive and produce a quality workforce. He is a corporate advisor for numerous faith-based, disability, and educational institutions and coalitions.

Steve’s CVS Caremark initiatives have garnered attention and recognition, including: 2009 National Employer of the Year from the Clubhouse Coalition for People with Disabilities; 2009 Top 50 Employers from Careers & the disABLED magazine; 2008 Pioneer Award from Homes and Working Families; the Pillar Award from Smart Business magazine, and the U.S. Department of Labor’s prestigious New Freedom Award.

Steve was an amazing man, leader, husband, father, friend and mentor.  I was blessed by his friendship in many ways.  He always encouraged me in my efforts to help people with disabilities on the global stage.  I miss him and think of him often.  He blessed me and many others with his strength, gentleness and generous spirit.   I know his family is very proud of this amazing man.  His legacy and many contributions will continue to help millions of people.

I will try to live up to the legacy of these two powerful role models.  

Isn’t Social Media about Sharing and Interacting? Or is it about worshipping the Elite among us?

I find it interesting that some people/accounts collect followers but never follow back. I have decided NOT to follow people that do not follow others.

I do not mean someone that has 20,000 following and they follow 15,000.  I am talking about the person that has 2,230,000 following and they follow zero people or a tiny handful of other elite people.

Some people pride themselves on not following anyone but their elite buddies.

I do not begrudge someone from being popular and elite. It puzzles me when people are not social on social media.

I use the term “accounts” interchangeably with “people” because most of these accounts are not really the celebrity or thought leader but an account that a social media firm manages. Many social media firms recommend that the account/person not follow anyone back or try to follow as few as possible.

I see experts, magazines, news media, corporations, CEOs, thought leaders and other personalities that follow zero or a tiny ratio of people when they have thousands and millions of people following them.

I understand that some social media platforms like Twitter have ratios that most of us have to follow.  Plus there are some good reasons to care about your follow ratio.

Check out this great article by Neal Schaffer.  It is older post but still great data.

“So what is the ideal ratio?  It will change depending on how many Followers you have, but it has to be in a range near 1.0 (0.75 to 1.25?) if you want to grow you Twitter Followers.  Anything above that shows that you may not have anything interesting to say and below that range may indicate that you don’t care about who follows you and may not follow them back anyway (of course, if you are a famous celebrity you can get away with following nobody). Neal Schaffer”

http://maximizesocialbusiness.com/twitter-followers-following-quality-or-quantity-807/

Another good post about Follower Ratio can be found at Does the Follower / Following Ratio Matter in Terms of True Influence on Twitter? http://www.searchenginejournal.com/does-the-follower-following-ratio-matter-in-terms-of-true-influence-on-twitter-poll/40214/#

However to have a follower ratio you have to be FOLLOWING someone.

I will bestow on you the right to follow me (aren’t you lucky) and hang on my every word.  Obviously you will have nothing to share that had any value for me.  I do not care what you have to say and doubt that I could learn anything from you.  

We are allowed to adore them and hang on their every word but they do not care what we have to share.  It feels like the good ole “us versus them”.  Are they the popular kids in high school that do not have the desire to hang out with the regular kids?

This does not feel social to me.  So if you have little to no followers- your choice- however I choose to NOT follow you on social media.  I will buy your music, watch your films, buy from your services or products, read your blogs, watch your videos.  However, I have decided to NOT follow you on social media.

I am sure you do not care because there are many that will adore you and follow you.  You really don’t need me to follow you.   I choose to not become one of your adoring masses.  Instead I want to follow people that have something of substance to chatter about, have good content, and have or are finding their voices.  I also follow people that care about my content and I am grateful for my followers.

I am not saying that you should follow everyone but I do follow about 95% of people that follow me.  Here are my reasons for NOT following someone back.

Reason #1: I do not follow people that appear to be fake accounts.  I will also unfollow people that have never tweeted or chattered.  Or I will unfollow people that have not been active on social media for months or years.  I will confess that I am still following some dear friends and my father that have passed away because I cannot bear to unfollow them – I am nostalgic and miss them.  Maybe they will tweet me from the other side.  That would be a cool blog.

There are some good tools (most are free) that allow you to determine if an account or person is a fake.  My favorite is Manage Flitter but Social Bakers or Fake Followers also have tools.  Fake accounts can be used to spam or create viruses.  Have you ever gotten this notice from a legit follower?  “Someone is spreading nasty messages about you”.  I always contact that follower and tell them that they have been infected and suggest that they change their password.

Reason #2: I do not follow people that say mean things about others.  I also try not to hang out with people that say mean things about others.  I try really hard to not gossip or say unkind things about others.  I am not perfect but am trying hard to live my life authentically.

Reason #3: I rarely follow people that curse all the time even though I use inappropriate and colorful words now and again. My daughter Sara (@sararuh) born with Down syndrome always scolds me when I do use curse words.  So to honor her I try really hard to be disciplined and use other words to make my point but sometimes those words just seem to be the best fit.   I choose to never curse on social media.  Using swear words on social media does not really work for the content that I share.  For others it might make sense but it does not for me.

Reason #4: I also choose to not follow people that share porn pictures or insensitive or racially charged content. I try not to follow people that cram their political, religious or other views down my throat.   I do follow some people that chatter about religion and politics if it takes a mean or hurtful tone – well go back to Reason #2.

Reason #5: I rarely follow people that are always selling me something.  I do not mind you chattering occasionally about your service or product but if that is all you chatter about then I do not want to follow you.

Social Media is about being SOCIAL.  It allows all of us to have a voice.  It is my right to decide who that I will follow and you do NOT have to follow me or other pesky followers.

Here is a tip for the big corporations that are all over social media.  Follow your customers and potential customers back.   Allow us to interact with you.   You might learn something and sell a lot more products and services.  Plus we chatter so we can tell you friends about your products and services.

It really surprises me when social media tools and platforms do not follow back.  How ironic.

It amazes me that Social Media Thought Leaders think that they do not have to participate in the social part of social media.  I believe that things are shifting and others have decided to not follow you if you are not participating in the conversation instead of just chattering at me.

I was just wondering if other people felt the same way as me.  If you are going to chatter and share on social media – shouldn’t you be social and at least follow others back?

I adore social media and have written a book called “Find Your Voice using Social Media”.  If you care to follow me and have good content and something to say on social media – I will follow you back.  Plus I will share your good content as frequently as possible.

Not everyone will agree that Social Media should be Social but for the mere mortals among us maybe it makes sense to be social on social media.

You can follow me on most social media channels at @debraruh or check out my website at www.RuhGlobal.com.  I would also be delighted for you to buy my book on Amazon Find Your Voice using Social Media”  http://ow.ly/kxglR

Follow Me on SKYPE, twitter, linked-in, facebook, pinterest, tumblr: debraruh

Proud to announce my new book “Find Your Voice using Social Media”  http://ow.ly/kxglR

Follow @debraruh and @sararuh 

I had the pleasure to attend and participate in the 2nd Annual M-Enabling Summit in Washington, DC. This conference set the bar high for other ICT Accessibility conferences.  The content focused in ways Mobile Accessibility can allow people with disabilities and senior citizens fully participate in society.

http://g3ict.org/resource_center/newsletter/news/p/id_434

I am one of the 78 million baby boomers living and working in the US.  It is interesting to chat with other baby boomers.  Many have stuck their little toes in the water.  They may have started by creating a Facebook account to share posts with grown children and look at pictures of grandchildren.   Some have discovered the joys of posting recipes or a bucket list on Pinterest.   However there seems to be a desire to use this next phase of our lives to make a positive impact on the world.

Baby Boomers (born in 1946 to 1964) are known as the country’s greatest generation for leading change.  The baby boomer generation makes up almost 26 percent of the population in the United States.  This generation started reinventing the way American lived right out of the gates we changed everything from the way we dressed, wore our hair the music we listened to, the people we voted for, the way we traveled, and how we felt about supporting other countries.

Every step of the way we have redefined the way we age and most of us feel much younger in spirit than our actual age.  We are not interested in going quietly into retirement.  We want to embrace this next phase of their life, make a difference in our communities, our country and the world.  We want to find joy in our lives and leave a positive mark on the world.

So how do we continue to redefine our lives using social media?  First lets’ start with the basics. Social Media is the use of telecommunications to interact with others online through the sharing of words, pictures, video and audio.

Social Media begins with a virtual representation of each user (a profile), his/her social links, and a variety of additional personal/professional information.

Social media networks become richer with more personal connections and more diverse ways to spread and gather information.

Plus many special interest groups have their own social networking groups.  For instance, pet owners have their own social network called Petcentric.

Both of those groups allow members to post and reply to comments, share videos and photos, and play games.

To begin you should have  a plan.  You need to understand what you want to accomplish with social media.  Do you want to stay in touch with the grandkids?  Build a new business?  Reconnect with old high school buddies?  Change the world?

Some people start with Facebook or Twitter and others with Linked-In.  Each platform gives you many of the same opportunities to socialize but I use the different platforms to build upon my message.  For example, I might tweet about a topic and then expand on that topic via Facebook and Linked-In Groups.  I like to pin some pictures,  and include a description and web link to continue to expand on the discussion.

Decide what you want to accomplish.  It is okay to start small and build upon your successes.

Here are some suggestions for starting your plan.

Make a Commitment

Before you start to create a plan, decide how much time that you want to invest in the effort.  Make a commitment and promise to yourself that you will get on social media daily, every other day or at least once a week.  Social Media like everything else requires you to stick to it to have results. You will get out of social media what you put into it.  Establishing a solid following can be a slow, methodical process.  There are apps that can help drive followers.  It is best to grow your follower’s organically one follower at a time.

So remember you need to create a time each day, every other day or at least once a week to observe, like, comment, tweet, post, chatter and pin to build your expertise and followers.  Less than once a week will probably not give you good results.  It is critical that you be active, engaged and committed even when starting out.

Find the best fit for your goals

You can start by doing some searching.  Lots of people are posting on social media applications.  What are your friends and family using?  Are your kids, parents, friends on Facebook?  Join Facebook and add a photo and profile and search for family members and friends.

It is okay to start slow.  Follow your favorite brands.  Search within Facebook for interesting conversation and Follow, Like, and Comment on the conversations.  The more you are engaged the more others will follow you and engage with you. It is a great venue for sharing family photos.

Or start with Twitter, you have 140 characters so decide what do you want to talk about.  Try testing a few tweets.  Remember to use your hashtags.

Example-I believe people with disabilities add value to the workforce. #disabilities #workforce

Then post it on twitter.  Anyone following the hashtag #disabilities or #workforce will see your post.

If you know of a firm, non-profit or association that is engaged in the topic try to include them.

Example-People with Disabilities want to join workforce, become employed & pay taxes. #inclusion #employment #taxes #disability

The good news is it is hard to mess up.  If you misspell a word or mix up your message, just retweet it.  Also remember to ask people to retweet your message.

Example-Excited about job fair for veterans with disabilities on 12-12 at noon in DC  www.RuhGlobal.com #veteran’s #disabilities #jobfair   Please retweet.

Quality over Quantity

There are no hard and fast rules for the quantity of posts.  A good rule of thumb is to put yourself in the shoes of your audience.  Do you want to see a post every five minutes from them?  Even if you have loads of posts with high quality resources, there’s only so much anyone can read.  So be smart about how often you post to your social media accounts.  More importantly, keep your posted content of the highest quality.

What is high quality? Posts should include resources that are useful–not junk or entry-level.  Try to keep your posts free of grammar and spelling errors. Avoid the temptation to using text language with shortened words.

Keep it Relevant

Relevance is critical.  Followers want consistent information. They want to be able to read our posts and know what to expect.

Relevance also pertains to posts that are meaningful   to your followers, not just to you.   It is okay to mix some personal posts but chatter about your passion.

When a storm is bearing down on the East Coast I chatter about it.   Followers appreciate personal touches as long as most of your posts are relevant to the topics that caused them to follow you in the first place.

Keep it Short

Twitter limits posts to 140 characters, including spaces. This is a good length to aim for with posts, even when the social media site allows for longer posts. Facebook and Google+, for example, allow very lengthy posts.  If you can get your point across in 140 characters or less do it.  That is why the media uses sound bites because it is easier to remember.

Keep posts short.  If you need long content, write a blog on your site and use social media sites to direct readers to the long content.  Most Social Media isn’t designed for long content, keep posts short and link to longer content.

Tailor for Each Social Media Account

Each social media site has a set of tools.  Members have different expectations for each site. Facebook allows lots of commenting, images, and other media.  Twitter is more straightforward with short texts, although support for links to images has recently been implemented.

Tailor your messages for each account.  It is best to start with a short tweet on Twitter.  Then expand on the message using Facebook or Linked-In.   Or create a visual for Pinterest.  A little tailoring can go a long way toward posting content that engages, creates conversations, and builds relationships.

Remember to share information by retweeting, Liking and commenting.  The more you engage the more people will follow you and engage with you.

Followers engage with me because they are interested in topics that I chatter about over various social media mediums.  One of favorite social media apps is Pinterest.  My favorite topics are disabilities, universal design, inclusion, sustainability, food, travel, tourism and family.  So I started by creating a board on all of these topics.  One of my most followed boards is called Disability never Doubt our Abilities.

Next I searched on disability and repin photos of amazing people with disabilities and other resources.  I started following people that had pinned photos that I liked.

Then people started following me.  I created more boards and others started following that board.  Then someone invited me to pin on their board.  Now I have lots of followers and boards.  I try to pin often at least every other day but sometimes it is longer depending on my schedule.

My journey with Followers certainly became that type of walk.  I have more Linked-In followers than all other accounts combined.  As of this writing, I have over 35,000+ followers on all my social media channels.  I have often wondered how people got millions of followers.

Of course, I understand that celebrities get millions, but how does someone that wants to change the world get more followers?

I decided to do some research.  I read many posts on this topic including advice and warnings.

There are services that will sell you followers.  Most experts feel this is cheating.  Some people noted that if they found that people were buying followers they would unfollow that person.  Some people felt it was fine to do it.  I decided to try out one of the services.

There was a free service so I decided to try it out.  I figured the more people that followed my work to include people with disabilities in all aspects of society the better, right?  What could go wrong?  Oh so much.

Let me tell you about this ridiculous exercise.  I did not want to pay for followers when I can get them for free.  So I found a site that promises free users and signed up.  I looked at Twitter right after I had signed up and my twitter followers started jumping.  3036, 3037, 3038, 3039, 3040, 3041, 3040, 3039, 3038 wait a minute what is happening here the numbers are going backwards?

As these “followers” were being added the sophisticated Twitter engine quickly realized that some of these followers were fakes.  So as soon as these fake followers were added Twitter took them off.

The real users were followers that I did NOT want to follow me because I did not want their tweets to appear in my twitter feed.

There was a man in a pornographic position and he was … well let’s just say it was not the kind of posts or followers that will help me change the world.

I got a note from a legitimate follower saying, “Debra, I think your account has been spammed.  Your twitter feeds have some awful tweets.”

OH NO – as predicted – I am about to lose a real followers.  I explained to her that I was doing a test, apologized and quickly removed myself from that site.

It took me several days to clean off (BLOCK) the new FREE followers.   It was pretty funny to watch me scrambling to undo the mess that I created.

I have found that the only way to grow your influence is by having good content and grow your followers organically.   I did find a cool game called Empire Avenue www.empireavenue.com that was recommended to help grow your followers legitimately.  I joined and started playing in my space time.  It reminds me of Monopoly.   I started playing and people started following me.  They were real people that also wanted to make a difference in the world.  Let me warn you – it is a little addictive but super fun.

Exerted from my new book: “Find Your Voice using Social Media by Debra Ruh”  http://ow.ly/kxglR

For additional information please contact me at www.RuhGlobal.com

I am proud to support Journey Along the Erie Canal.  My friend John Robinson will ride from Buffalo NY to Albany, NY in 17 days.  John is quad-amputee and the founder of Our Ability.  They are raising funds to support the ride.  To learn more about the ride please visit www.ourability.com or call 518-429-9256.  I have also included the Press Release below about the event.  Thanks, Debra.

Journey Along the Erie Canal

With the goal of raising awareness of the ability inside all people, Our Ability will lead the largest event ever for People with Disabilities in New York State beginning June 23 with the Journey Along the Erie Canal, a 17-day bike ride starting in Buffalo and ending in Albany.

Our Ability, Inc., founded by quad-amputee John Robinson, is an organization that mentors and inspires people with disabilities through positive video stories. In 2012, Our Ability traveled to London for the 2012 Paralympics where it experienced the power of inspiration, sport and achievement.

“Our goal is to raise awareness of the ability inside all people and raise funds along the journey to support Adaptive Sports, Accessibility, Education and Employment for New Yorkers with Disabilities through the Disability Educational Forum of New York, a 501c 3 organization,” said John Robinson.

Robinson and members of Our Ability will bike, boat, run and walk across the state, looking to attract thousands to join them and support the mission of raising the consciousness with the public of the ability inside all people.

Joining them will be People with Disabilities, New York State organizations, Disabled Sports USA and local affiliates (STRIDE, Greek Peak and Cape Ability Outrigger Ohana) veterans and what’s hoped to be thousands of supporters. Each day during the Journey Along the Erie Canal, they will be collecting stories and raising awareness for People with Disabilities, all while sharing the beauty of New York State!

The Our Ability cameras will chronicle the ride providing daily video and blog updates on www.ourability.com, as well as through various social media outlets, all the while recording stories for a television documentary. These stories will focus on the inspirational people met along the way, from other people with disabilities to community leaders, athletes, war veterans, parents and children.

In a follow-up to the PBS documentary, Get Off Your Knees: The John Robinson Story, Our Ability will produce a television documentary and ‘web-episodes’ of Robinson, his family and other people with disabilities crossing Upstate New York along the historic Erie Canal.

The lead sponsor of the event is New York State Industries for the Disabled, Inc. (NYSID). For more than 35 years, NYSID – a not-for-profit member agency organization – has been meeting the purchasing needs of state and local government agencies while advancing employment for New Yorkers with disabilities.

“At NYSID, our mission is to provide opportunities for employment, an important focus for all New Yorkers – with or without disabilities. What John and his family are doing to raise awareness of accessible tourism in our state is yet another aspect of a fully inclusive life. As the Robinsons prepare to put their best feet forward from one end of our state to another, we commend their inspirational example of the human spirit.”

NYSID acts as a “virtual storefront” for a statewide network of 165 community rehabilitation agencies and private sector business partners to employ skilled people with disabilities in production facilities and community-based jobs.

“We are thrilled that the Our Ability Tour will be taking place along the Erie Canal and Erie Canalway Trail this summer. The event will highlight the many opportunities that exist for people of all ages and abilities to experience the scenic beauty and rich history of the Canal System,” noted Canal Corporation Director, Brian U. Stratton.

“We’re in for an adventure this summer with Our Ability’s Ride! Whether you’re cheering from the sidelines or joining them for part of the trip, you’ll experience the ride of a lifetime along the Erie Canal,” said Beth Sciumeca, Executive Director, Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor.

An estimated 2 million people each year are attracted to events along the corridor (Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor, Annual Report 2012, Page 2).

Corporations are being invited to sponsor days along the ride to show support. Volunteers and individual donations are also welcome. To learn more visit www.ourability.com or call 518-429-9256.

Sincerely,

John Robinson, CEO Our Ability, Inc.

“Find Your Voice Using Social Media”

To purchase a copy of my book, visit Amazon!

Positive feedback is really appreciated too.

The book focuses on how a corporation, brand or individual can use Social Media to follow their passion, create positive social change and make a difference.   If wanted to know how to use Social Media or to up your game Social Media this book can support your efforts.

I blend our story all through the book.  So the book has a lot of information about including people with disabilities in employment and other aspects of society.  It also tells the story of my daughter Sara Ruh that was born with Down syndrome.   I believe it will find a large following with the community of people with disabilities, baby boomers and many of my former and current clients.

The Second Annual Conference and Exhibition on Communications and Information Technology for People with Disabilities: Inclusion, Empowerment and Participation in Cairo, Egypt – April 2nd and 3rd 2013

In April 2013 my daughter Sara Ruh (born with Down syndrome) and I were invited to speak and represent G3ict by the office of the International Labor Organization of Egypt.   We were very proud to represent G3ict (www.G3ict.org) because of the campaign it orchestrates all over the world to promote accessible Information and Communications Technologies and include people with disabilities in society.  G3ict – the Global Initiative for Inclusive Information and Communication Technologies – is an Advocacy Initiative of the UN GAID, the United Nations Global Alliance for ICT and Development, launched in December 2006 in cooperation with the Secretariat for the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities at UN DESA.

 

I have always been impressed with G3ict’s mission because if we do not make Information, Technology and Communications (ICT) accessible the digital divide continues to widen for People with Disabilities (PwD).   G3ict also supports the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.     “According to the UN there is an estimated one billion persons living with disabilities worldwide, making accessible and assistive ICT solutions a priority for industry, users, and policy makers and representing both a major Human Rights milestone and a considerable market driver for Assistive and Accessible ICTs.”  Source: G3ict

 

Our host the International Labor Organization (ILO) in Egypt is working on a program called Decent Jobs for Egypt’s Young People.  The ILO is fully committed to the inclusion of people with disabilities in the workforce and labor pool.   To learn more about this program and other ILO activities in the region please visit:  http://www.ilo.org/cairo/

We were very impressed with the caliber of speakers, efficiency of the conference, and the amazing exhibitors in the exhibit hall.  We have visited many countries but the people of Egypt are some of the nicest, most amazing people you will ever have the pleasure to meet.

The conference hosted by H.E. the Egyptian Minister of Communications and Information Technology presented The Second Annual Conference and Exhibition on Communications and Information Technology for People with Disabilities: Inclusion, Empowerment and Participation.    The international conference was held in Smart Village Convention Center in beautiful Cairo, Egypt on April 2^nd and 3^rd 2013.

Leaders from all over Egypt came to support and speak at the conference.  Dr. Abeer, Shakweer, Advisor to the Minister of Communications and Information for Social Services opened the conference with exciting news of how the ministry will create an education and employment program for people with disabilities.  The audience was impressed with the plan and excited to support the efforts.

Other Egyptian leaders included Dr. Abdelsatter Shaaban, Advisor to the Minister of Education for Special Education, Eng. Saed Al-Hamelly, CEO at Etisalat, Eng. Ahmed Aly Ahmed Aly, Govenor of El Fayoum, Dr. Mohamed Fouad Gad Alla, Advisor to the President for Legal Affairs, H. E. Ambassador James Moran, EU Ambassador to Egypt, H.E. Dr. Mostafa Mosaad, Minister of Higher Ed

ucation and H.E. Eng.  Atef  Helmy, Minister of Communications and Information Technology.

It was inspiring to watch the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Minister of Communications and Information Technology and the Ministry of Higher Education on the technological development of People with Disabilities (PwD) centers at public Universities in Egypt.

The audience cheered as the Minister of Communications and Information Technology, H.E. Eng.  Atef  Helmy presented Awards of Excellence to PwD and others supporting PwD’s in Egypt.

The conference was an international conference with representatives and speakers from all over the world including Egypt, India, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Qatar, USA and others.  The conference was fast paced, interactive and innovative.    It was wonderful witnessing all the countries coming together to share ideas and support each other to include and empower PwD.  This conference continues to prove that the Middle East is committed to the inclusion of people with disabilities.

Topics included information about Assistive Technology, Accessibility and Universal Design.   We also spoke about different disability types including supporting people that are blind, vision loss, deaf, hard of hearing, mobility, physical, intellectual and cognitive impairments and multiple disabilities.   The focus on the conference was inclusion and empowerment.  How do we include people with disabilities in employment, education and every other aspect of society!

Sara and I spoke about our efforts to include people with disabilities in employment.  Plus we spoke about Sara’s transition from school to employment.  We also had the honor to provide a presentation about G3ict’s efforts to assure everyone has access to accessible ICT.

The exhibit hall had many amazing exhibitors from all over the region but I must confess that we fell in love with the young people from the Egyptian Association for Sophisticating the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (Asdaa).  These young people are focused on Robotic Inventions that will help people with disabilities and senior citizens.  Their enthusiasm for their inventions and their desire to make the world a better place for everyone was infectious.  If these young people are any indication of the brilliance of the youth in Egypt then it is going to be interesting to see how they change the world for the better in the future.  I would love to see Asdaa come over the United States and partner on robotic projects with Deaf and Hard of Hearing Associations.

This conference sets the bar high for other international conferences on inclusion and empowerment.  Egypt is a lovely country and the people were welcoming, inviting and gracious.  Sara and I look forward to returning to this amazing country very soon.  We also wish them great success in their continued efforts to include people with disabilities in their society.