By Marsten Anderson The Alycia Anderson Company Staff

The New Year is well underway, and there are huge events, moments, occasions and things to be looking forward to. There are the Primary Elections and Presidential Elections that are sure to stir a whirlwind of new ideas, priorities and objectives from a political point of view that is already heavily laden by global conflicts and huge international events like the upcoming Olympic and Paralympic Summer Games.

The never ending technology conversation is further advanced by all the questions that Artificial Intelligence brings to the table, along with the widely argued aspects of privacy concerns, social impacts and rights of protecting minors in regards to social media.

And there is always the constant catch up work related to the accessibility needs driving an equitable internet for all us.

There is a scheduled manned mission to the moon later in the year, along with every important annual meet up, gathering, commemoration and ceremony that dot the calendar every year.

With so much going on it is sometimes difficult to remember all of the work that is going on in the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) & Disability, Accessibility and Belonging movements that are so desperately needed everywhere we turn.

Here are a dozen areas we should be looking for significant developments in these areas in throughout 2024:

• Policy Changes: Let’s hope for and expect potential updates or changes in disability-related policies and regulations globally that will help national and global disabled populations in all countries all around the globe to live finding richer, fuller, and more inclusive opportunities within our society.
• Technology Advancements: Anticipate new technologies and innovations aimed at improving accessibility and inclusion for individuals with disabilities. AI playing a major role in this conversation moving into 2024.
• Corporate Inclusion Initiatives: Look for major companies implementing or expanding diversity, equity, and inclusion programs with a focus on disability inclusion. The word is getting out that the disabled community represents one of the world’s largest consumer bases, and leading companies want to know how they buy in.
• International Disability Awareness Events: Events like the International Day of Persons with Disabilities (December 3rd) may see increased global awareness initiatives, and major milestone moments throughout the year like National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM), Global Accessibility Awareness Day(GAAD), Disability Pride Month and the nearly other 240 special disability related days listed on this calendar.
• Advocacy Campaigns: Let’s hope that we will see catchy, mainstream impactful advocacy campaigns addressing disability rights, inclusion, and awareness.
• Education Initiatives: Campaigns throughout the upcoming cycle should be focusing even more than ever on the development of inclusive education practices and initiatives supporting accessibility in educational institutions and the learning to move beyond compliance and bridge and connect the human elements of inclusion.
• Accessible Infrastructure Projects: From Federal to State and even at County and City levels every step in the chain of command in our government should be seriously considering and be actively in the discovery phase of advancements in creating more accessible public spaces, transportation, and infrastructure as a way to fill the need of their growing numbers in populations.
• Media Representation: There should be continued efforts to improve the representation of individuals with disabilities in media and entertainment. Where real people living with disabilities find work in sharing and developing the themes, topics and instances that reflect a life of living with a disability portrayed in these representations.
• Inclusive Employment Practices: Lets encourage and find more companies adopting and promoting more inclusive hiring and workplace practices for individuals with disabilities by bringing a real stake in the game to the entrepreneurs, innovators and advocators building the foundations of for the benefits of disability inclusion in the workforce.
• Global Conferences: Participation and discussions at major international conferences focusing on disability inclusion and accessibility should include more people with disabilities outlining pathways to pushing forward the disability empowerment movement.
• Inclusive Design Trends: Keep an eye on the integration of inclusive design principles in various products, services, and environments, as the full gamut of the world’s industries realize the new frontier of universal barrier free designs and truly all inclusive environments.
• Collaborations and Partnerships: Watch for collaborations between organizations, governments, and advocacy groups to enhance disability inclusion on a broader scale. And, for the allyship of even the members within our tight knit community of people with disabilities learn to lift up and work with each other to usher in the new era of opportunities that await.

The work of creating equitable spaces, opportunities, careers, homes, products, services and our global community working together on all of this is literally our only path forward to a world filled with peace, prosperity and wellbeing. The time is now more than ever for our global populations to set aside the rifts that have divided us for far to long and focus on adapting, conserving, and providing equitable outcomes for the people of our one world population.

This requires safe welcoming places to discuss, learn, share and devise our best paths forward as a whole Earth together. Happy 2024! Let’s make this year a great one for all of us!