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Act Together!
GAAD 2024

To think, create and enjoy together

May 16th is GAAD （Global Accessibility Awareness Day）
This is a day to talk, think and learn
about accessibility and the people who need it.
Toward delivering innovation for an accessible future.
Sony leverages creativity and technology
to enhance the accessibility of our products, services, and experiences.

Audio Description Version

Product Accessibility

Easy to see, hear and use.
Introducing Sony's accessibility features that make it easier for all of us.

TV and soundbar are placed facing front

TV
Black headphones facing diagonally; SONY logo visible.

Audio
Two smartphones (Xperia) are side by side. On the left, the camera lens can be seen on the back. On the right, the LCD screen is projected on the surface.

Mobile
Front view of the camera. The sensor can be seen in the middle of the camera, and the logos Sony and a7c can be seen.

Camera
Oblique cut of the retinal projection camera kit. The camera is built into the retina projection camera kit.

HX99 RNV Retina Projection Camera kit
Left and right earphones Self-Fitting OTC Hearing Aids are placed

Self-Fitting OTC Hearing Aids

Co-Creation

Sony's drive towards accessibility
comes from our desire to think, create, and enjoy together.

A woman is walking in the park with a white cane (safety cane for the blind).

Seeing with Sound: What is the Intuitive Voice Navigation Facilitated by LinkBuds?
A blind man operating a remote control.

Sony's Inclusive Design: Co-Creating the Future with Like-minded Partners
A scene from a workshop in which participants are trying to reach a predetermined goal in the dark. Participants are having an experience in a dark room.

Xperia's Accessibility initiatives – Drawing accessibility out of the dark
There is a protrusion around the QR code. The protrusions are touched with a finger.

Find the location of the QR code
Initiatives to Leave no one behind

Audio Description Version
A woman wearing a hearing aid looks out from a balcony surrounded by trees in the warm sun.

Rediscovering Sound with OTC Hearing Aids - Experience the transformative power of OTC Hearing Aids through real heartfelt stories from our customers.

The boy is having fun touching the camera.

Bringing Joy into Taking Photos:
Empowering More People in their Creative Endeavors
Profile of a woman. She wears hearing aids in her ears.

Aiming for Over the Counter ("OTC") hearing aids where everyone can share the moment, for richer conversations and experiences
A man is standing by a window holding a camera and looking only at the LCD on the back of the camera.

Taking Photos with a Camera
Regardless of Visual Impairment.

A man and a woman are chatting in the workshop. The man on the left and the woman on the right, both wearing masks.

Sony's Employees Dismantling Each Other's Stereotypes: A Workshop Report from New Employees [Part 1]

Global Activities

Each of Sony's offices
conducts activities to deepen understanding of accessibility.

Sony Electronics (North America)

Eight members of the team are facing us with the booth in the background, looking at us with smiles on their faces.

Sony Electronics continues to exhibit at the CSUN Assistive Technology Conference (CSUN), one of the world‘s largest international conferences on accessibility, attended by many people with disabilities.

Direct contact and dialogue with customers helps us improve our products and services.

CSUN Event page
Many participants looked at us with smiles at the photo booth.

Sony Electronics provided FX30 Cinema Line camera to the Easterseals Disability Film Challenge, which gives creators with disabilities the opportunity to showcase their talents in a variety of ways.

Easterseals Disability Film Challenge

Sony Europe

Eight participants are looking at us with smiles on their faces with the exhibition booth in the background.

In 2023, Sony Europe participated and sponsored TechShare Pro, Europe's largest event for accessibility and inclusive design for the 5th year running.

TechShare Pro
Images of the exhibition booth and presentation. The photo on the left is a cutaway of the exhibition booth. The photo on the right shows a staff member giving a presentation at the booth.

Additionally, Sony carries out accessibility and inclusive design awareness across its European sites through its IDEA Lab (Inclusive Design Education and Accessibility).

Sony Corporation (Japan）

Two adults and two children are smiling at us from the classroom podium. The children are holding the DSC-HX99 RNV kit, a retina projection camera kit donated by the school.

Sony Corporation and QD Laser, Inc. have donated a total of approximately 200pcs of Retina Projection Camera Kit "DSC-HX99 RNV kit" to schools and organizations for people with visual impairments.

Since its launch last year, we have received many positive comments from people with low vision*1 who have used this product, expressing surprise at a new, sharper way to see and capture the world through retina projection. *2

The children enjoy taking pictures with each other with the "DSC-HX99 RNV kit," a retina projection camera kit donated by the school.


This donation was aimed providing as many people as possible with the joy of photography and opportunities to express their creativity. In conjunction with Global Accessibility Awareness Day, the exhibition of photographs taken by Camera Kit "DSC-HX99 RNV kit" has been held at Sony Imaging Gallery Ginza from May 10 (Fri.) to May 16 (Thu.), 2024, as one of the opportunities for them to present their works.

DSC-HX99 RNV kit

*1 Low vision is a visual impairment that causes inconvenience in daily life, such as difficulty seeing, being dazzled, or having difficulty walking due to a narrow field of vision, even when wearing glasses or contact lenses. The population is estimated to be 250 million worldwide.

*2 The viewfinder of Retina Projection Camera Kit “The RETISSA NEOVIEWER” is not a medical device. It does not diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any specific condition. Depending on visual impairment, it may be difficult to recognize images, such as when the function of the retina is totally impaired.

Sony Group Corporation (Japan）

Scenes from the workshop. In the photo on the left, an adult and a child are working on a craft while looking at a tablet. In the photo on the right, a child is working on a craft with a serious look in his eyes.

Sony Group Corporation runs the "KANDO Experience Program," an initiative to address educational disparities among children in Japan. The program conducts a wide variety of workshops utilizing Sony's technology and entertainment to elementary school-aged children in collaboration with NPOs and other external organizations.

Scenes from the workshop experience. On the left is a visually impaired person with a white cane and a staff member accompanying him. On the right is a participant looking intently at the craft.

As part of this initiative, a workshop was held using programming blocks "MESH™" for visually impaired elementary school-aged children and their siblings. The MESH project team from Sony Marketing Inc. took part in planning and running the workshop. Throughout this program, children learnt computational thinking by combining everyday tools to create inventions that make our daily lives more convenient and enjoyable.

KANDO Experience Program

MESH™
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