Latest / Podcasts By Donna Jodhan / Remarkable World Commentary Episode #69: Looking Back and Looking Forward

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Remarkable World Commentary Episode #69: Looking Back and Looking Forward · Podcasts By Donna Jodhan

• 0:13
  Podcast Commentator: Greetings. Donna J Jodhan, LLB, ACSP and MBA,
• 0:19
  invites you to listen to her biweekly podcast,
• 0:22
  Remarkable World Commentary.
• 0:24
  Here, Donna shares some of her innermost thoughts,
• 0:27
  insights, perspectives, and more with her listeners.
• 0:31
  Donna focuses on topics that directly affect the future of kids,
• 0:35
  especially kids with disabilities.
• 0:38
  Donna is a blind advocate, author, site loss coach,
• 0:42
  dinner mystery producer, writer, entrepreneur,
• 0:46
  law graduate, and podcast commentator.
• 0:49
  She has decades of lived experiences, knowledge,
• 0:53
  skills, and expertise in access technology and information as someone who has been
• 0:59
  internationally recognized for her work and roles.
• 1:02
  She just wants to make things better than possible.
• 1:07
  Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Hello there. I'm Donna Jodhan, your host for the Remarkable World
• 1:14
  Commentary. It's my second podcast for December,
• 1:21
  and today I'm in a mood to look back and look ahead.
• 1:26
  My dad always used to say that it is better to just look ahead,
• 1:31
  but sometimes I cannot help but look back.
• 1:34
  And what has happened for this year?
• 1:37
  So many things have happened for me personally and professionally.
• 1:44
  And as I sit here reflecting and, you know, just thinking about things,
• 1:53
  we still don't have a minister designated for issues on disability here in Canada.
• 2:01
  Not sure why. I guess Prime Minister Carney has a lot on his mind with the tariff wars
• 2:09
  continuing with the United States, with all kinds of things hemming him in re
• 2:17
  the economy, the climate, the tariffs, everything else.
• 2:21
  So it's no wonder that somehow he has forgotten to designate a dedicated minister
• 2:30
  for disability issues.
• 2:36
  But you know what? Government departments are still using workarounds or I call it
• 2:43
  workarounds. All right.
• 2:47
  To take advantage of lived experiences of persons with lived experiences,
• 2:55
  knowledges, knowledge and skills and expertise to get the information that they
• 3:02
  seek and you know it's not right.
• 3:07
  And what I mean by this is that they're not paying for lived experiences.
• 3:13
  They're not paying for expertise.
• 3:16
  They're not paying for knowledge or skills.
• 3:18
  They're using workarounds.
• 3:20
  Workarounds like surveys work around like asking for people to participate in research
• 3:28
  projects. And they're not unabashedly unashamed to do this.
• 3:36
  They're not wanting or they're not in a mood,
• 3:40
  or they're not in any way ready or willing to pay.
• 3:46
  Persons with disabilities for their lived experiences,
• 3:50
  their knowledge, their expertise and their skills.
• 3:54
  And sometimes, or more often than not, they have the nerve to say,
• 3:58
  well, you know, it's your obligation to do this because you're helping your community.
• 4:04
  And I say to this. When I say to my fellow community members,
• 4:09
  don't pay any attention to this so-called excuse or reason.
• 4:16
  Stick up for your rights and make sure that you are paid for your expertise,
• 4:22
  your knowledge, your skills, and your life experience.
• 4:28
  Okay. Another thing I find is that apps need to be made more accessible and usable.
• 4:38
  We've come a very, very long way.
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  But in the world of apps where everybody and everyone,
• 4:46
  companies, entities, everybody is using apps,
• 4:51
  apps, apps, apps to process things, to gather information,
• 4:57
  everything like that. It still needs to be made more accessible and usable,
• 5:03
  and it is my hope for 2026 that we can continue to work with developers and
• 5:11
  designers to make this possible.
• 5:14
  Okay, so looking forward to 2026.
• 5:23
  I hope and pray for greater accessibility and usability,
• 5:28
  more understanding, more awareness of the true meaning of accessibility and usability.
• 5:36
  And despite the fact there has been a great, great damage done to disability equity and
• 5:44
  inclusive inclusiveness, do we still can hope that accessibility and
• 5:53
  usability remains at the forefront?
• 5:58
  I want to promote my podcasts more widely.
• 6:01
  I've had a great year thus far.
• 6:04
  I've done several interviews with oh my gosh,
• 6:08
  a plethora of different interviewees, ranging from the CNIB to Air Canada to Inner
• 6:15
  Search to Doctor Allen Chase of the Eye Retreat organization.
• 6:21
  Elections Canada Louise Gillis of ex president of the ECB.
• 6:26
  Rob Lattanzio of arch doctor Leo Bissonnette,
• 6:30
  my dear friend Larry Lewis, my other dear friend,
• 6:35
  and so many more. David Baker, the Charter Challenge champion lawyer Diane
• 6:42
  Bergeron, Alan Moore, so many to name Ian White,
• 6:50
  Robin East, my dear friend Abby Baker, okay.
• 6:56
  And many more to come.
• 6:58
  Abby belongs to the chess British Chess Association,
• 7:01
  our blind Chess Association.
• 7:03
  And then I have Alex Barrasso of the United States Blind Chess Association.
• 7:10
  I've interviewed all of these wonderful, wonderful people and more.
• 7:17
  Oh, and there's Kathy Saliba of the Greater Toronto Airport Authority and Cathy Nyfors of
• 7:24
  the Vancouver Airport Authority, Sonia Ganga Papalia of the Canadian
• 7:31
  Transportation Agency.
• 7:34
  Thank you, everyone, and thank you to my dear friend Erin,
• 7:40
  for walking the walk with me and helping me to make these interviews possible.
• 7:47
  So I'd like to promote my podcast more widely,
• 7:52
  and the same for my transitioning to a New World initiative,
• 7:56
  where I am going to be working with kids and young adults,
• 8:02
  kids preparing to leave high school.
• 8:05
  I want to help them transition to a new world.
• 8:08
  I want to produce weekend camps where I get them to start believing in themselves,
• 8:14
  to build their confidence, their independence,
• 8:17
  and show them how to obtain trust and respect.
• 8:24
  These are my wishes and hopes for 2026, and I wish all of my listeners a happy end of
• 8:34
  year 2025 and a wonderful 2026.
• 8:39
  See you in 2026. Bye for now.
• 8:47
  Podcast Commentator: Donna wants to hear from you and invites you to write to her at DonnaJodhan@gmail.com.
• 8:53
  Until next time.