Wagner Yuval
Organization: Access Israel
Year Founded: 1999
Country: Israel
Website: www.aisrael.org
Geographic Area of Impact: Israel.
Model: Hybrid Non-Profit
Focus: Disabilities,Health,Technology.
Social Entrepreneur of the Year, Israel, 2006 The Innovation Access-Israel engages the full participation of disabled citizens in the country’s social, economic and cultural life. It does so by ensuring their accessibility to public places through legislation and enforcement, and serves as an informational center providing the latest essential information for people with disabilities and their families, enabling their participation in all kind of activities and improving their quality of life. To achieve its mission, Access-Israel works with top corporate and government agencies as they redesign their physical and technological infrastructure to accommodate the needs of the disabled. In so doing, Access has influenced leading groups across the country, including Leumi Bank, Hapoalim Bank, Azrieli Malls, Paz Gas stations, “Menta” chain stores, “Superpharm” chain stores, McDonalds, and others. These companies recognize that people with disabilities constitute an important market whose participation needs to be facilitated so that they can engage fully as producers and consumers. As such, needed changes in infrastructure are considered an investment from which the company can profit in terms of public image and market share. Background An estimated 10% of Israel’s population is disabled – the equivalent of 600,000 people who are mobility impaired, wheelchairs’ bound, blind, and deaf. Simple tasks, such as a visit to the doctor or meeting with friends for a coffee, become impossible and humiliating due to lack of appropriate handicap parking zones, proper handrails and accessible toilets. Too often a person with disability will get to an office, restaurant, concert hall or any other venue and will be unable to enter. People with disabilities in Israel live under restrictive conditions that affront their most basic rights, needs and activities. The obstacles that people with disabilities face on a daily basis are the driving engine behind Access-Israel’s commitment and work. Strategy Access-Israel spearheads a number of initiatives to advance its mission, including Access Key - an online database that provides essential information to people with disabilities and their families. It includes up to date and reliable information on access to over 10,000 public and private places and facilities, information regarding leisure and cultural activities, employment opportunities; legislative information; technological and physical aids; a dynamic online community, relevant updates and news. Each year more than 300,000 people make use of Access Key and the number of users is increasing. Utilizing technology to address the essential needs of the disabled community in Israel is unique to Access Israel. Access Key’s components include Access Employment: most people with disabilities in Israel live below the poverty line and are unemployed. This unique project provides legal information, job listings, and mentoring services both for job seekers with disabilities and their potential employers. Technological Accessibility: advances technological accessibility for people with disabilities using diverse tools, such as the Internet, cellular phones, television and other technological aids. House of Windows – has established two accessible computer-learning labs in Israel in which hundreds of people with disabilities acquire basic computer and Internet skills. Accessibility Library - the first-ever library and resource center in Israel providing construction and architectural industries with key information about how to design and build, keeping the specialized needs of the disabled in mind. Raising Public Awareness – spearheading successful media campaigns to educate the public about different aspects and obstacles faced by the disabled. The Entrepreneur Access-Israel was founded in 1999 by Lieutenant-Colonel Yuval Wagner, an Israeli Air Force combat pilot who was injured in a helicopter crash in 1987. It left him a quadriplegic and confined to a wheel chair. As a person with disabilities and a father of three, Yuval realized that Israel was inaccessible to the disabled community, limiting their ability to lead independent and dignified lives. He decided to take action by establishing Access-Israel with the help of personal and business colleagues. Despite the limited resources at hand, they managed to become the leading accessibility consulting provider in the country.
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