Sberbank Rossii : holds first inclusive discussion about new technologies

June 16, 2017, Moscow - Sberbank jointly with Cyberathletics project organised the public discussion 'New Technologies. New Time. New Human Being' as part of the Integration '17 forum. People with disabilities who have reached success spoke about the impact of new technologies on their lives and careers during the discussion. Experts who are developing artificial limbs and representatives of the Bank participated in the discussion as well.

Sberbank's Senior Vice President Anatoly Popov was one of the initiators of the discussion. While delivering a speech he said that the Bank's management pays considerable attention to people with disabilities and their needs. He spoke about the Bank's specific projects in this area. 45% of Sberbank's offices, including those located in rural and remote areas, have been adapted for disabled people. More than three thousand Sberbank ATMs have been adapted for the visually impaired, and almost ten thousand ATMs have been equipped with Braille. The Sberbank Online iOS app has been fully adapted for the visually impaired through the VoiceOver function.

'There are more than 12 million people with disabilities living in this country, 80% of them are Sberbank's clients. We must assist them to use our services to the fullest extent. In addition, it is important to raise public awareness about such issues and not to be afraid of them. We have heard many success stories today, which can inspire many people to stop being afraid and start living a full life, we also see it as our mission,' said Anatoly Popov.

Swimmer Olesya Vladykina lost part of her left arm in an accident in 2008. Despite this she returned to a normal life and achieved impressive results, becoming a two-time Paralympic champion and the first disabled woman in Russia to appear on the cover of a beauty magazine. Olesya said during the discussion that she couldn't get used to her artificial limb and stopped using it altogether.

World Bank lawyer Alexey Morozov has been disabled since early childhood. Despite having restricted access to the urban environment, he majored in law and then won a grant to study in the UK. The university provided him with a modern electric wheelchair, which opened new possibilities for Alexey. He has been living in Washington for six years by now and has a prestigious position at the World Bank. Internal motivation and new technologies have helped him build a successful career.

Representatives of the largest Russian innovative artificial limb maker Motorica spoke about the development of high-tech bionic artificial limbs that are managed by muscle power. The company is going to imbed into the artificial limbs chips of the Troika card to pay for travel fare, remote controls to manage household appliances, and probably even payment cards in the longer term. Hence, the artificial limb will create more opportunities. Morotica's mission is to change the culture of artificial limb creation in Russia. Paralympic champion Olesya Vladykina who did not want to use an artificial limb before took an interest in the new project during the discussion.

Participants of the discussion said that new technologies will contribute to the active inclusion of disabled people in social life and the broadening of employment possibilities for them. It is also very important that disabled people participate in such public discussions to share their stories, as society will get rid of stereotypes and fears in such a way.