In our new CONVOCO! Podcast Corinne M. Flick speaks with Hein Wagner. Born blind, Hein Wagner is a motivational speaker and the diversity, equity and inclusion ambassador for Beaumont.
What can blind people teach us?
Here’s what he said:
When I climbed Table Mountain in Cape Town, I completely fell in love with the smell of the fauna and flora, with the texture of the protea flower between my fingers. If it wasn’t for me being blind, I probably would’ve not given nature another thought on that level.
I sometimes get the feeling that sighted people see things but don’t necessarily experience them … Awareness is a key element of being more in tune with your surroundings.
Ableism is a big problem. Sometimes people are making decisions on what people can and cannot do based on assumptions.
Even in developed countries, the statistics of disabled people being employed are a drop in the bucket compared to the employment of able-bodied people … Sometimes one has to resort to new rules to change the status quo.
We are seeing progress in terms of inclusion. Companies, organisations, and governments have done a lot to help improve the situation. But there’s still a lot to be done.
Technological advancements are going to help accelerate the inclusion of the disabled into the able-bodied world … There is a lot of awareness now for looking at equality from a design perspective.
For me, self-motivation has become a habit and practice. And practice makes perfect.