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GO AHEAD WITH GOOGLE
In 2015, Beit Issie Shapiro's growing partnership with Google bore the joint launch of Project Go
Ahead, facilitating our nationwide distribution of the groundbreaking Sesame Enable technology.
People with spinal cord injuries, CP, ALS, Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and others who are unable to use
their hands, have had their lives transformed by this technology, which enables independent control
over smartphones and tablets (including phone calls, text messages, internet) solely through head
movement! Shani Eshkol, 13, demonstrated use of this technology to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu, and explained how it assists her: “I can finally use a cell phone. It helps me and so many
others who can’t use our hands, to connect to the world”.
ACCELERATING INCLUSION THROUGH INNOVATION
The second cohort of socially-inspired start-ups graduated from A3i, the world’s first incubator
which fast-tracks innovations exclusively for people with disabilities. A3i is the fruit of a partnership
between Beit Issie Shapiro, PresenTense, the Ruderman Family Foundation and the Jewish
Federation of Greater Los Angeles. 12 innovative hi-tech ventures were nurtured in 2015 by this
revolutionary accelerator, including a universal connector that enables wheelchair-bound parents
to push their child’s stroller, and a program that semi-automatically improves website accessibility.
These are the latest technologies to come out of the startup nation that can also be scaled globally.
MAKING APPS ACCESSIBLE
For most people, using apps is a simple operation. For people with disabilities it is almost impossible
- the mobile revolution "forgot" the visually impaired, deaf, and those with motor disabilities. For this
reason, Google Campus teamed up with Beit Issie Shapiro to provide training for app developers
on how to create more accessible apps. Project Applicable has rapidly generated impact as leading
Israeli apps Moovit, Fiverr and Get Taxi have significantly improved their accessibility. Orlee Tal, a
training graduate, shared: “I understood how implementing just a few simple rules can create an
immense improvement for people with disabilities...As a product manager in a start-up company
I have started making changes in our platform". The project's success even inspired Google to
replicate the Applicable model at its London and San Francisco campuses.
Annual Report
| Pages 4-5