It all started with gaming, modifications for joysticks, and controllers that allow disabled veterans to once again play their favorite video games. Now, Microsoft’s Inclusive Tech Lab is a haven of innovation and creativity, featuring toys and tools created by and for the disability community. Come along as Program Manager Solomon Romney takes GZERO on an exclusive tour of the lab making accessibility awesome.
Through livestream discussions, interviews, podcasts, and coverage of major global gatherings, Global Stage delves into the issues that are shaping our world and explains how they will affect people, industries, and economies everywhere.
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Watch the latest Global Stage interviews and livestreams on the trends at the intersection of technology, politics and society.
Accessibility is critical for the world's disability community
July 25, 2024
An estimated 1.6 billion people, roughly 18% of the world’s population, are part of the disability community, and that number grows each year. Yet Microsoft’s Chief Accessibility Officer Jenny Lay-Flurrie says only 2% of websites globally are accessible. As Disability Pride Month comes to an end, GZERO’s Tony Maciulis spoke to her about confronting challenges at work and home while embracing the diversity of different abilities.
Why the UN's 17 Sustainable Development Goals are not on track to be financed soon
April 20, 2024
The world faces a sustainable development crisis, and while most countries have strategies in place, they don’t have the cash to back them up. How far off track are we with the financing needed to support the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals, ranging from quality education and health care to climate action and clean water?
Are markets becoming immune to disruptive geopolitics?
April 20, 2024
There’s no escaping the intricate link between economics and geopolitics. Today, that link has become a crucial factor in investment decision-making, and who better to speak to that than Margaret Franklin, CEO of CFA Institute, a global organization of investment professionals? Franklin sat down with GZERO’s Tony Maciulis at a Global Stage event for the IMF-World Bank spring meetings this week.
Why Africa's power partnership with the World Bank should attract investors
April 19, 2024
At the World Bank Group’s Spring Meetings this week, GZERO’s Tony Maciulis spoke to Lucy Heintz, Head of Energy Infrastructure at Actis Energy Fund, a global investment company focused on sustainability. Heintz expressed optimism in the announcement and explained the reasons why it could be attractive to investors.
How to tackle global challenges: The IMF & World Bank blueprint
April 18, 2024
The International Monetary Fund and World Bank’s Spring Meetings in Washington have told a tale of two economies: In the developed world, inflation is falling, and recession looks unlikely. But many of the world’s poorest countries are struggling under tremendous debt burdens inflated by rising interest rates that threaten to undo decades of development progress. That means these key lenders of last resort have their work cut out for them. But according to GZERO Senior Writer Matthew Kendrick, there's a proven model.
World Bank announces plan to bring power to 300 million in Africa
April 18, 2024
During the World Bank's annual Spring Meetings this week, the group announced a major new initiative to provide electricity to 300 million Africans by 2030. It is estimated that nearly 800 million people globally lack access to power, and the vast majority of them, 600 million, live on the African continent. GZERO’s Tony Maciulis met with the World Bank’s Director of Infrastructure for West Africa Franz Drees-Gross, to discuss the project's details.
Digital Governance
Online violence means real-world danger for women in politics like EU's Lucia Nicholsonová
March 21, 2024
Lucia Nicholsonová, former Slovak National Assembly vice president and current member of European Parliament for Slovakia, recounts her harrowing personal experiences with disinformation campaigns and gendered hate speech online during a GZERO Global Stage discussion on gender equality in the age of AI.
The online abuse crisis threatens the mental health of young women worldwide
March 20, 2024
On the internet, more than half of young women encounter abuse and harassment, some as young as eight. Michelle Milford Morse of the UN Foundation emphasizes that this takes a huge toll on their mental health.
What impact will AI have on gender equality?
March 18, 2024
At the current rate of progress toward gender equality, the World Economic Forum estimates it will take 131 years for women to attain parity in income, status, and leadership. While technology is a powerful tool to help close the gender gap, it can also be weaponized.
Voters beware: Elections and the looming threat of deepfakes
March 05, 2024
With AI tools already being used to manipulate voters across the globe via deepfakes, more needs to be done to help people comprehend what this technology is capable of, says Microsoft vice chair and president Brad Smith.
