Even with funding from RMIT Vietnam, Dr Rohman’s project faced challenges that money alone could not resolve. This came to light when the Da Nang Government launched the 101 app for citizens to report public issues. Dr. Rohman noticed how inaccessible it was for PwD. As a result, his team organised a stakeholder workshop to discuss how to make it more accessible. A key finding was that the font was too small, making it unreadable for visually impaired users. He also realised that the developers lacked awareness that Vietnamese Sign Language has a different structure to written Vietnamese. He shared, “The signing system is different. It's like dialect. So, some of them do not understand each other.” This challenge highlighted that accessibility must be built inclusively from the beginning so that everyone can use it effectively.
Beyond this intervention, Dr. Rohman observed how the disability discourse in the media was often framed as charity or support, further portraying people with disabilities as vulnerable and disadvantaged. “Disability can be part of their identity, but society often sees it as a burden,” he noted. Yet, when working closely with PwD, he discovered that most do not wish to be treated as sources of inspiration or admiration. This underscores the urgent need to rethink how media language represents PwD. Nevertheless, training journalists from the start requires lots of resources. To address this challenge, Dr. Rohman has initiated workshops with journalists, guiding them to adopt an inclusive narrative in all project-related articles.
As Dr. Rohman emphasised, “innovation based on inclusion benefits more people than innovation based on exclusion.” Inclusive innovation must begin with a change in mindset and dialogue toward PwD. Accessibility should not be about providing support for PwD, it is about empowering and strengthening their capabilities. To shift society’s perception of disabled people, it needs to start with small actions, such as language use. This is what Dr. Rohman advocates through his projects, using his voice and influence to empower and inspire a more inclusive way of thinking.
