Changemaker GUTS - Colors of Life Beyond Sight

[This is a talk in Changemaker Gear Up Training Series (GUTS)] [The event is rescheduled to 28 March and changed to online via Zoom] 

What comes to mind when it comes to enriching the lives of the visually impaired? Braille books and keyboards or shows and movies with audio descriptions? If you were in their shoes, would you be satisfied with the quality of your life?

Dr Rico Chan, founder and CEO of Beyond Vision International, created tactile ways for the visually impaired to experience enriched forms of art, such as layers of audio, colors, words, etc. Their experience goes beyond reading or listening to descriptions - they can actually feel the layers of the artwork, reaching a realm that braille and audio description cannot. 

Join us as Dr Chan shares how creativity could be a powerful impetus to impacting society, fostering diversity and making the world a more equal and enriching place for the good of all. This is what a changemaker does!

Sign up here: https://connect.hkust.edu.hk/get-involved/opportunities/230322-colors-of-life-beyond-sight

Speaker: 
Dr Rico CHAN
Ph.D, M.Des, PolyU
B.Des, RMIT

Dr Rico Chan, is the founder and CEO of Beyond Vision International (BVI), an NGO that strives to enhance the quality of life of the visually impaired (VI). At the same time, he is a social designer who explores the relationships between people, technology, and our visual environment. In 2013, Rico was the only person from Asia to be named an International Access Fellow of Art Beyond Sight in New York.

Rico and his team invented the Tactile-Audio Interaction System (TAIS), a multisensory interactive platform for the visually impaired to experience art through the synchronization of touch and sound, to build greater mental image. The Tactile Visual Vocabulary System (TVVS), another invention from the team was also launched successfully at the Blind School in Hong Kong. It is an assistive educational learning system and tactile materials that helps visually impaired students overcome barriers in the learning of visual information from textbooks and from the living environment. Tactile Colour System (TCS), a groundbreaking invention to stimulate the colour perceptions of the visually impaired was well received when launched in late 2019. 

Rico and his team have also curated multiple exhibitions in Hong Kong and overseas. He has collaborated with “Leonardo3 Museum (L3)” in Italy, “Another Way of Seeing” in Seoul, “Asian Art Museum” in San Francisco and more. Currently, he is also collaborating with Hong Kong Museum of Art, M+, Tai Kwun, Hong Kong Museum of History, French May, and Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF). At the same time, he is expanding the impact of the inclusive educational materials —Tactile Visual Vocabulary System (TVVS) for the visually impaired community in Seoul, with the collaboration of Another Way of Seeing.

Special Guest:
Ms Mei Ling WONG
Project Officer, Beyond Vision International
Visually Impaired Golfer

Remarks:

1. Complete 3 GUTS talks/workshops to get a certificate of participation

2. Priority will be given to HKUST Connect registrants (Start your changemaking journey with HKUST Connect: https://connect.hkust.edu.hk/joinus).

3. To avoid interruption and hindering the progress of the session, facilitators may not admit new participants who are late for more than 10 minutes.

4. [CORE1905] This is a recognized event in the "Self-directed Experience" component of CORE1905: Behavioral Foundations of University Education: Habits, Mindsets, and Wellness. You need to attend the event in full to get 1 hour.