Digital innovations are changing society at an amazing rate and have the potential to help solve some of the biggest problems we face today, including social isolation. We all have a part to play, and at Samsung, we are committed to giving everyone equal access to the knowledge, skills, and resources needed to shape a better future for themselves and their societies, supported by the power of technology.
At Samsung, accessibility is at the forefront of new innovations, creating products, solutions and services available to all. Our products and solutions are built around a human-centred philosophy that recognise diversity and embrace difference. See here to find out more about Samsung’s approach to accessibility.
Social Isolation is our fourth and final theme within the Solve for Tomorrow programme. We brought together an inspiring panel of experts including Hannah Witton (award winning YouTuber), Ibrahim Javed (Founder of Deen Developers), Adah Parris (Tech Futurist and Systems Thinker) and Alex Fefegha (Co-founder of design studio-COMUZI).
Hannah draws on her experiences with loneliness, and how reaching out to others on the internet and the YouTube community helped her to overcome this. She highlights the importance of asking for help when you feel isolated, as embracing vulnerability is an important step in learning how to deal with feelings of loneliness.
Next, Ibrahim, inspires us with his work to drive social change through his organisation Deen Developers. He shares examples of his work in crowdsourcing talent within the tech community to create solutions to societal problems, such as running Hackathons that build products for the deaf blind community, or providing free meals during Ramadan for vulnerable people within the Muslim community.
Adah then introduces us to the concept of tech futurism, and highlights that we should focus of the present in order to build a better future. She opens up about the challenges that both climate change and the mental health crisis are posing to our society, and the role that social isolation plays in these issues.
Finally, Alex shares that we all play an important part in designing a future where no one feels socially isolated, and this starts by understanding one another and recognising the rich diversity within our society. Alex encourages us to listen to each other and to acknowledging our assumptions and biases. He introduces us to ‘The Skateboard Mindset’, whereby we should start small when designing, and make small iterations through testing and feedback, to help us break free from our assumptions.
Want to hear more from our experts? Join our CPD accredited Solve for Tomorrow online course, and explore the ways that technology and design thinking can be used to help solve pressing societal issues. All courses are free, and can be completed at any time. Click here to access the Social Isolation On Demand course.
Continue the conversation on our Solve for Tomorrow Discord community and discuss your thoughts with other likeminded young people, and our programme mentors. Click here to join the community now.
