Unlock the everyday: Celebrating World Day for assistive technology with ATscale
Today marks World Day for Assistive Technology! First launched on June 4, 2024, by the Unlock The Everyday campaign partners, this historic day serves as a powerful global platform to raise awareness among the public, the private sector, and policymakers. Now in its third year, our collective call to action is more urgent than ever: we must recognize the transformative potential of assistive technology and radically improve access across low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
At ATscale, we are proud to mark this day alongside our global partners by driving change at every level—from grassroots community advocacy to major international tech launches.
Empowering communities: The small grants programme
Systemic change starts from the ground up. To ensure the grassroots impact of this historic day, our small grants programme was launched to support Organizations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs) in leading their own celebrations. We are supporting three organizations to lead regional efforts: Bangladesh Disabled Development Trust (BDDT) in Asia, Inclusive Endeavors Colombia (Incluyeme.com) in Latin America, and the Southern Africa Federation of the Disabled (SAFOD) are engaging users of assistive technology through mass digital outreach, strengthening national-level advocacy, regional knowledge sharing, and capacity building.
These grants provide seeds for OPDs—who often operate with highly limited resources—to conduct coordinated, high-visibility efforts that can move the needle on national policy change.
We look forward to reporting on their incredible achievements—alongside all other local events taking place around the world—after the day.
The launch of WHOears
While local movements build the foundation, scalable technology expands the reach. Over 1.5 billion people worldwide live with hearing loss, yet access to early screening remains severely limited.
To bridge this gap, ATscale has been working with the World Health Organization (WHO) to support the global launch of WHOears—a groundbreaking hearing screening app designed specifically for community and primary healthcare settings.
To celebrate the launch, we invite you to join us today, 4 June 2026, from 13:00 to 14:45 CET, for a special global webinar. The session will take place online via Zoom with English live closed captions.
Together, we will see the app in action, hear first-hand experiences from field implementers, and learn how community hearing screening can be expanded globally using simple, standardized protocols and low-cost equipment.
👉 Register for the WHOears launch webinar here
Looking to the future: AT Expo Africa 2027
Our momentum doesn't stop when World AT Day ends. In fact, we have exactly one year to go until another massive milestone! From 3–5 June 2027, the Government of Senegal, in partnership with OADCPH and ATscale, will host the inaugural AT Expo Africa, set to become the continent's premier stage for assistive technology.
This landmark event will connect markets and transform access by bringing together global innovators, healthcare leaders, and policymakers to showcase the next generation of life-changing tools—from advanced prosthetics to digital accessibility options.
