The U.E (aka, Understanding Experience) toolkit aims to facilitate a workplace of understanding
When was the last time you have interacted with a person living with disabilities?
Our society has come a long way of dividing people up based on their labels, and slowly we have lost contact with diversity within our society. According to research in physical and mental disabilities, the best way of reducing stigma and discrimination is to literally put people together to have a conversation about their lives.
If the power of social contact and sharing our experiences to one another is so prominent, why not use the most out of it?
How might we increase employment for people with disabilities by sharing their lives?
How can we put social responsibility to employers to have meaningful inclusion in their company?
By designing a mentorship service for nondisabled folks to walk in the shoes of people with disabilities, U.E. is ensuring that increased understanding of barriers at workplace will lead to increase in allocating more resources on supporting people with disabilities. And therefore, breaking down the barriers, so that employing people with disabilities is no longer a burden.
Product Concept &
UI/UX Design
Through a carefully selected Buddy & Mentor scheme, U.E pairs a disabled worker with an able-bodied worker via the U.E app. This is an opportunity for Mentors (disabled worker) to educate their Buddy (able-bodied worker) through a series of listening and action tasks. Buddy’s & Mentors meet on a regular basis, working together, and learning from each other in order to cultivate a harmonious and understanding workforce.
Mentor - Buddy scheme
u.e mentor
Our mentors share their experiences of working with a disability with their buddy. Working together, they create solutions to reduce stigma and increase opportunities.
u.e buddy
Our buddy’s are there to learn from the mentors, by experiencing their disability and working with them to make the workplace more accessible.
Stakeholder Presentation
Presenting initial concepts to potential collaborators from IDEO.
Duration of the project: 2 months
Co-authors: Jazzy Olive, Soh-Yon Park