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Essl Foundation, Fundación Descúbreme and Impact Transfer joined forces to initiate the first program to support the internationalization of innovative disability solutions for a barrier-free world.

 

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

The Zero Project, an initiative of the Essl Foundation, focuses on the rights of persons with disabilities globally. It provides a platform where the most innovative and effective solutions to problems that persons with disabilities face, are shared. The Zero Project builds on a growing network of over 4,000 organizations and disability experts with and without disabilities in over 160 countries. With its Conference, Report and Awards, the Zero Project disseminates and promotes replicable and innovative solutions that have overcome the problems people with disabilities face, by raising public awareness of the issues and stimulating reform, thereby acting as a catalyst for a world without barriers.

The Essl Foundation, Fundación Descúbreme and Ashoka joined forces to initiate the first Accelerator to support the internationalization of innovative disability solutions for a barrier-free world. From the hundreds of nominations for Zero Project Awards, ten initiatives are selected each year for the Zero Project Impact Transfer Program.

Over the course of the programme the selected initiatives receive training, mentoring, tailored support, networking, and visibility to further replicate their innovation and impact in other geographies, in collaboration with local replication partners. The goal is to make these initiatives ready for replication, to connect them with relevant replication partners, and to further support the replication through our Alumni Community.

“ I am grateful for the experience of the Impact Transfer programme. It allowed me to examine my project; and by introducing me to different transfer models, it helped me define our collective work in a way that others can best replicate and transfer to their communities. The process was extremely helpful, especially to share this with a cohort of like-minded people with a passion for social impact.” Zero Project – Impact Transfer participant

Discover more on the Program and some Impact Transfer examples here: Impact Transfer _Zero Project Almanac

PUBLIC WEBINAR SERIES 2022-23

The Zero Project – a worldwide community of innovators and experts in the field of disability – invites you to a public webinar series dedicated to exploring and unfolding the potential of innovations for people with disability to achieve global impact.  

WEBINAR #1: Impact models: Why it matters to know, measure and report your impact. 

Hosted by Essl Foundation, Descubreme Foundation, GIZ, Atos and Ashoka 

Facilitated by Ashoka 

WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT: 

Hear from leading social entrepreneurs and impact experts in disability, inclusion and accessibility why it matters to know, measure and report your impact! They will share “real life” stories on how impact can be best measured and how this helped to improve organizational performance, fundraising, and international scaling. Together with them, we will explore common challenges and smart solutions in impact measurement. This public webinar addresses all organizations (NGOs, social businesses, impact driven start-ups) and innovators who want to understand why impact modelling and measurement is key to unfold the potential of innovations.  

Live interpretation from English to Spanish will be provided (through Zoom) 

WHEN: 18th October, 2pm-3pm CET 

To register via ZOOM, please click HERE.  

AGENDA:  

  • 15 min impulse from a leading social entrepreneur 
  • 15 min reflexion from international impact experts 
  • 20 min Q&A with the audience 
  • 10 min wrap-up 

This webinar is the first in a series of 4 webinars.  

WEBINAR #2: Social business models: How to design social business models that work 

WEBINAR #3: Scaling strategies: How to plan for achieving impact abroad  

WEBINAR #4: Performing your pitch: How to use body and speech to connect to your audience. 

Dates, times and registration links will be provided soon!

Supported projects

App&Town Compagnon

Limited access to transportation is one of the causes of exclusion and discrimination. In 2019, the technology company Mass Factory…

FACIL’iti digital inclusion

FACIL’iti is an innovative digital inclusion solution from France that adapts the display of a website according to the user’s…

RIT – WORLD AROUND YOU

Of the over 34 million deaf children worldwide, less than 2 percent of these deaf children learn to read in…

CAFE – ADC Program

The Centre for Access to Football in Europe (CAFE) is an NGO based in the United Kingdom dedicated to making…

PFDA Vocational Training Centre Trust

PFDA-Vocational Training Center (PFDA-VTC) is a social welfare organisation based in Dhaka, that builds skills and promotes employment opportunities for…

Jamba – Career for All

JAMBA is a Bulgarian NGO and a social enterprise supporting job seekers with disabilities and assisting companies with recruitment and…

Youth4Jobs – College Connect

Youth4Jobs Foundation is an NGO based in Hyderabad, India, focused on employment and education opportunities for students with disabilities. Its…

myAbility Talent® Program

myAbility is an Austrian social enterprise offering strategic consultancy services to companies on disability inclusion. It operates in Austria, Germany…

Nayi Disha Resource Center

Nayi Disha is an Indian NGO that supports families of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities.  Its free online platform…

Manzil Center – PRIDE Programme

The Manzil Center is a non-profit organization focused on Inclusive Education and employment based in the Emirate of Sharjah in…

KVPS – On the Verge of Adulthood

The Finnish Service Foundation for People with an Intellectual Disability (KVPS), an NGO working across Finland, has developed On the…

Livox

Livox International is a Brazilian social enterprise that has developed Livox – an alternative communication platform that can be used…

Solar Ear

Solar Ear is a social business that started in Botswana in 2002. Now headquartered in Canada, the company manufactures low-cost,…

DanceAbility International

DanceAbility International is an NGO based in Oregon, USA, with affiliate organizations around the world. DanceAbility offers classes, workshops and…

Empowerment Through Integration

Empowerment Through Integration (ETI) is a non-profit organization committed to developing a more inclusive society and breaking the cycle of…

ENOSH – SEEDS OF CHANGE

Enosh (The Israeli Mental Health Association) is a non-profit organization and the largest provider of community mental health services in…

GRETA & STARKS – GRETA APP

Greta & Starks, a technology-based social business in Berlin, Germany, has developed the free GRETA mobile app to make cinema…

Unidos Somos Iguales

Unidos Somos Iguales (Unidos, “Together We Are All Equal”) is an NGO based in Monterrey, Mexico that runs social inclusion…

Fightthestroke – Mirrorable

Fightthestroke, an Italian social enterprise founded in 2014, has developed an online platform called ‘Mirrorable’ to support rehabilitation of young…

Jaipur Foot Organization – BMVSS

The Jaipur Foot Organization provides a variety of assistance, such as artificial limbs, calipers, wheelchairs, and tricycles – all free of charge and delivered directly to the user.

Enable India – Namma Vaani

Namma Vaani (meaning “our voice”) is a voice-based social network, where information is shared via mobile phones (no smartphone and web-access needed) for the disability community in rural and marginalised areas of India.

Poses Family Foundation – Understood.org

Incorporating the principles of Universal Design for Learning, Understood.org translates expert information into easy-to-use, engaging, and practical information that helps parents on a day-to-day basis to assist children with learning and attention issues.

Beit Issie Shapiro – Friendship Park

The playground was developed involving all relevant stakeholders, including people with disabilities, who followed each development stage to ensure that all perspectives and needs were addressed.

Gallaudet University – VL2 Storybook Creator

The storybook applications built from the VL2 Storybook Creator provide a bilingual reading experience for deaf and hearing impared readers through high-quality storytelling in both sign language and printed text.

APA (Austrian Press Agency) – TopEasy

Five times a week Top Easy is presented as a compact news overview accessible to people with reading difficulties, including four to six of the most important news stories of the day in the fields of politics, economics, history, culture, and sports.

Karuna Foundation – Inspire2care

The community owns the Inspire2Care model’s concept and takes a leadership role in implementing disability-friendly structures by utilizing resources provided by local government authorities.

MoMA – The fully accessible art museum

MoMA’s access programmes are inclusive to the visually impaired by offering tours that provide the opportunity to touch and experience the art while asking questions and receiving audio descriptions of each work.

Program Partners

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Mentors

Get in touch

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    Alexander Kesselring
    IMPACT TRANSFER

    Ashoka gemeinnützige GmbH
    Haus der Philanthropie
    Schottenring 16/3.OG
    1010 Wien

    T +43 1 38 40 100
    akesselring@ashoka.org

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    Löic van Cutsem
    IMPACT TRANSFER

    Ashoka gemeinnützige GmbH
    Haus der Philanthropie
    Schottenring 16/3.OG
    1010 Wien

    T +43 1 38 40 100
    lvancutsem@ashoka.org

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    Sumita Kunashakaran
    Zero Project

    Essl Foundation
    Haus der Philanthropie
    Schottenring 16/3.OG
    1010 Wien

    s.kunashakaran@zeroproject.org