Interviewing Hypra’s Jean-Philippe Mengual about software accessibility
Accessibility is a key factor for the inclusiveness of digital transformation, but only a few people are really competent in the topic. To learn more about accessibility, we interviewed Hypra’s co-founder, Jean-Philippe Mengual. Q1. Jean-Philippe, can you tell us about the birth of Hypra? A1. In 2008 I met Corentin at the Sciences Po higher-learning school in Aix-en-Provence. Through our friendship and the time we spent together studying, he realized how much IT can bring to visually impaired people, but also realized the current limitations. Together, we understood the revolution it represents: digital technology may erase some inequalities, when one knows how to use it of course. We studied how digital technology can bring equality between visually impaired and sighted people, and then we realized that other people may also benefit from this phenomenon. We were looking for a solution to this challenge, and we decided to create a computer that was accessible to all, easy to use, adaptable and accompanied by an empowering training. That is how Hypra was born. Q2. How challenging is it to work full-time to improve accessibility, and to help seniors and people with disabilities to leverage the opportunities offered by IT? A2. It is
