January 26th, 2009
We live in celebrity obsessed times, reality TV, 24 hour news and gossip mags reinforce this time after time. In the UK government changes to school diets were introduced when Celebrity Chef Jamie Oliver made it a cause celebre
Accessibility doesnt appear to have such a champion. It was great to hear Stevie Wonder speak out on the issues of touch devices and visual impairment at conferences
Equally we were delighted to have Francesca Martinez - comedienne, actress and AT user speak at our Access IT awards last year. But we dont yet have the level of celebrity endorsement for accessibility that would attract the interest of the mass media in the way that celebrity endorsement of anti hunting, anti fur or green issues have done
Its not as if celebrities dont get older, or dont develop needs like the rest of us, maybe its because as they get older so often youth obsessed media simply ignore them, In the past we have supported a number of “household names” but have never sought their endorsement publically
Perhaps we should - if we are going to really bring about systemic change - we need some champions, some heroes, that includes celebrities, but also grassroots “activists” who will tell the story, support the aims, help fund and act as gatekeepers
Still if Tina’s not currently available - any other ideas ?