Globally, it is estimated that 1.3 billion people live with some form of distance or near vision impairment. Prejudice about blindness is widespread; blind people do not have equal access to education and the labor market. Social entrepreneur Andreas Heinecke was determined to do something about it. He founded Dialogue in the Dark—in which blind people lead the audience in small groups through a set of real-life scenarios in total darkness to share this experience.
Carlos Pereira is the CEO and founder of Livox, and the father of an 11-year-old girl with cerebral palsy caused by a medical error. Since discovering his daughter’s impairment, empowering people with disabilities has become Carlos’s passion, from which he created several initiatives to improve the lives of disabled people. He founded the software company Livox that enables non-verbal people to communicate and learn via tablets and smartphones. The software interprets the user’s movements through intelligent algorithms that adapt to motor, cognitive and visual disabilities.
Tim Jones, CEO of Artscape, is a city builder, social entrepreneur and change agent who works at the intersection of arts and culture, urban development, community activism, philanthropy and public policy. Under his direction since 1998, Artscape has grown from a Toronto-based artist studio provider to a globally recognized leader in creative placemaking. In 2014, Tim was recognized by the Geneva-based Schwab Foundation as Social Entrepreneur of the Year.
Dave Ross, ScD, is president and chief executive officer (CEO) of The Task Force for Global Health. In this role, Dr. Ross provides strategic direction to The Task Force and oversees seven programs focused on neglected tropical diseases, vaccines, field epidemiology, and public health informatics. He assumed leadership of The Task Force on May 1, 2016, after 16 years as director of The Task Force’s Public Health Informatics Institute (PHII) and its predecessor All Kids Count.
Michael Lwin is the managing director of Koe Koe Tech, a health IT social enterprise based in Yangon, Myanmar. He and his cousin, Dr.Yarzar Minn Htoo—a Myanmar citizen, doctor and computer scientist—first met in Myanmar in 2009, discovering that they were kindred spirits with a desire to help others. Together they founded Koe Koe Tech and created the first mobile health app in Myanmar, providing low-cost, easy-to-use healthcare software developed by Myanmar people for Myanmar people within its data-deprived healthcare sector. The organization trains local Myanmar people in computer science, sales and marketing, in addition to its software work.
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