mySycous Support What Does Accessibility Mean to Me? Awareness Week

When you hear the word ‘accessibility’, what do you think of?

Accessibility means something different to everyone. We all have different experiences, challenges, abilities, and thoughts regarding the world of inclusion, whether at home or in the workplace.

mySycous are proud to celebrate ‘What Does Accessibility Mean to Me’ awareness week, a key date in our calendar to get everyone talking and learning about accessibility, diversity, and inclusion.

October 18^th - 22^nd 2021 marks the first ‘What Does Accessibility Mean to Me’ awareness week with Recite Me, where we come together and recognise the differences within our communities to support a diverse range of people.

To celebrate…we took 5 mins to sit down with our mySycous Support Manager Hannah Abbas-Lodge:

So, Hannah, when you hear the word ‘accessibility’, what do you think of?

“To me, accessibility means inclusivity! Being able to access the same services uninhibited due to personal circumstance or restriction. It means feeling included and welcomed and it is an important part of the journey for our customers at mySycous.”

As the mySycous Support Manager, how do you consider accessibility in your role?

“Well, I think it is only right to strive to be the best you can be and that means being able to provide the same excellent level of service to everyone, no matter the circumstance.

Whether that is being able to provide a statement in braille, a user manual in large text, or being able to view mySycous.com in Ukrainian! We want to make sure our services are available to you no matter your circumstances, as and when you need them.”

How important is diversity and inclusion to you?

“An accessibility problem immediately puts up a wall, one which often you can't overcome. Walls like these not only inhibit the users experience, but they also impede any chance of further understanding around a topic. At mySycous we are committed to inclusivity and equality.”

How can we improve accessibility at mySycous?

“We need to continuously be looking to improve and provide accessible resources to help educate the community.

I believe two of our biggest collective goals must be to overcome the challenges of fuel poverty and of climate change. Working within the heat industry has taught me that we have the tools at hand to effect real change, but one of our biggest goals is that of education.

Residents are used to dealing with a usual primary utility structure and the ability to choose and switch suppliers.

Through education and continuous improvement, we can educate consumers on heat networks, on the benefits and help them redefine utility billing within the context of a heat network.

The more people, businesses and local communities that join onto an efficient heat network, with full access to educational resources, the further we are along the journey to a more efficient future and net zero targets. Doing so whilst bringing down those accessibility barriers is key to achieving this aim.“

At mySycous we believe that everyone deserves the freedom to live a barrier-free life. 1 in every 5 people has a disability that may impact an individual’s access to information, services, experiences, and opportunities.

Together we can give everyone a voice to express their understanding and thoughts on what accessibility means to them. This starts by creating awareness on an individual or organisational level, helping to bring the workplace together, empower individuals, and improve inclusion. Join the journey to an accessible world.

mySycous have joined forces with ReciteMe to include an assistive technology toolbar on the mySycous.com website. The toolbar allows you to customise the website display to make it work for you! Options include text to speech functionality, fully customisable styling features, reading aids, and a translation tool with over 100 languages, including 35 texts to speech voices and many other features. To learn how to access and use the tool bar on mySycous.com please visit our Making mySycous accessible for everyone with Recite Me blog post.

To join the conversation on what accessibility means to you, use the hashtag #MeaningOfAccessibility