The first FreedomTech Assembly www.freedomtech.ie was held in the Aviva Stadium on November 16th 2017 with over 180 partipants, drawn from across the health, education, employment and tech sectors.   FreedomTech is a partnership between Enable Ireland and the Disability Federation of Ireland, and its primary goal is to ensure that those who need Assistive Technology can get it in a timely manner.  

Christina McCarthy, Expert AT User

‘So I am only 1 of 14% of people who is lucky enough to be working.  The reason that I’m lucky enough to be working is because I was able to gain qualifications because of Assistive Technology and now in the workplace my employers, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, have embraced Assistive Technology’. 

Christina McCarthy at Freedom Tech Assembly, Nov 2017

 Stephen Cluskey, Co-Founder Mobility Mojo & Disability Advocate

‘The next stage for me is having a fully voice-controlled house and we’re on the road to doing that.  And it’s amazing that now it’s technology that you can buy in Amazon off the shelf, for less than 100 quid which is going to help me to achieve that’.

Hector Minto, Accessibility Ambassador, Microsoft

‘We will focus on designing and building products that our customers love and that are accessible to everyone and built for each of us’. 

At the FreedomTech Assembly, Teresa shared with us her son Jamie's experience of using AT.  Teresa is the Mother of a 15 year old who is an enthusiastic user of many assistive technologies'.

We were invited to deliver this course by the Malta Communications Authority (MCA), who secured EU funding for it. The course was accredited and hosted by Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology (MCAST).

Enable Ireland’s National Assistive Technology (AT) Training Service and third level partners Dublin Institute of Technology have facilitated the collaboration between product design students and Assistive Technology users since 2008, through its Community Design Challenge......