Culturally Sensitive Technological Solutions for Super-Aged Societies

Imagine a world where every individual, regardless of age or geography, can seamlessly harness the power of technology. That's the future tech strategists Frances West and Claire Chang envision as we unpack the multifaceted world of digital inclusion in the Asia-Pacific region. Through their expertise, we traverse the landscape where corporate accessibility strategies intertwine with the sociodemographic tapestry of a rapidly aging society, like Taiwan, spotlighting the importance of culturally sensitive tech advancements.

Venture into the heart of innovation with us, where traditional family structures and respect for elders are not just preserved but augmented by cutting-edge solutions. Taiwan's ascendancy to a super-aged society presents an extraordinary opportunity for human-centric innovation, and our guests Frances and Claire elucidate how this island nation could pioneer sustainable elder care models. Furthermore, we wade into the global beauty industry's waters, where giants like L'Oréal are blending ideas with local enterprises to sculpt a future that cherishes diversity and champions inclusive practices.

Closing on a note of reflection, we share the personal motivations that spur our quest to integrate technology into elder care. Be it the nostalgia of a multigenerational household or the anxiety over a looming caregiver deficit, these narratives underscore our collective responsibility to forge tech solutions now, for a tomorrow where the dignity of aging is upheld by the very innovations we create today. Join the conversation and help us shape a more inclusive, accessible world for generations to come.

Chapters

• 0:01 Digital Inclusion and Innovation in AsiaPak
• 16:59 Innovation and Technology in Aging Countries
• 26:18 Global Beauty Industry Innovation Discussion
• 31:11 Caring for Elderly in Changing Society

Transcript

0:00

Axschat Frances West and Claire Chang

NEIL: 0:01

Hello and welcome to Axschat. I'm delighted that we are welcoming back Frances West, author, founder of Frances West & Co, former Chief Accessibility Officer at IBM. But also Claire Chang, who is the founder of Tech Y International and between them they are co-founders of the APAC, Authentic Inclusion Association. So welcome back Frances. Welcome Claire. Frances, if you'd like to go first and briefly reintroduce yourself for those of our audience that have not been with us for so many years because we've had you on a few times but it's been a while.

FRANCES: 0:40

I know. Well, first, thank you Neil, Antonio and Debra Ruh for inviting me and Claire to this show. I feel like it's almost like a reunion, you know. I think I was one of your early interviewee and it's just amazing how time passed. Just a quick introduction, I'm Frances West, I'm the founder of Frances West & Co. We are a global strategy advisory company, working all the way with, you know national, international organisations like United Nations to private sectors and enterprise customers, to start ups and our focus is really how to embed the concept of authentic inclusion, into the C suite business strategy and it becomes a must do imperatives and that the way that we approach it is through our working experience, like Neil mentioned. You know, I spent 37 years in IBM, so learned a few things how to utilise a concept like accessibility or digital inclusion with strategy framework and also with repeatable you know, process and all that. But I am most excited is to really take this digital inclusion global. And right now, I'm working with Taiwan and Claire is the leader in Taiwan to help you know, not just to see but to also promote this digital inclusion and a disability is industry construct. So, I'm going to turn it over to Claire and have her introduce herself.

CLAIRE: 2:35

Well, hi everyone. Thanks for inviting me today. Thank you for the organisers. I'm Claire, I'm the technology innovation strategy consultant and my company, Tech More is a market research driven strategy consulting and event organisation company. So, in the past few years, we help the startups and small business in translating their technology from concept to prototype and providing guidance for commercialisation. From there, we have more passion and the focus, like technology and IOT related, which could support our life to have a better quality. So from I'm also the board member for French Tech, Taiwan and I am the lead for the diversity inclusion division, which would support women in Taiwan a lot. Also, that we co-founded the APAC, Authentic Inclusion Association, which is new and we started from this year. We hoped that we can use the people centric technology to make our life more accessibility and the information barrier free. Yes. So that is a basic background about myself and the organisation. Thank you.

ANTONIO: 4:14

So, I think we can start, so if we look to the APAC the Authentic Inclusion organisation that you just mentioned. What are your priorities? What is in the top of your mind?

CLAIRE: 4:30

Yes, I think that we have of course, there are so wide range of the topic that we can work on. But from now, we are more focused on the first thing is that the digital inclusion and accessibility. The second and the second is that we are, because Taiwan is entering to a super age, era next year, which is four times faster than any other country in the world. So in the past few years, our government is always talking about, we need a long-term care assistant kind of thing or we are talking about a house care. But not so many people talking about accessibility and how to support people. Especially we use electronic devices every day. And well and no one was thinking about that and also one thing is that Taiwan is trying to promote the remote health care system but they don't really think about a digital gap between the city and the countryside, which they -- they just don't think about that and they only think about how where the infrastructure but they don't think about accounting. That is something we want to address and work on with the older society, all the community here in Taiwan, to support that.

FRANCES: 6:10

Yes, maybe I should just add to a little bit what Claire said. Yes, we absolutely see the like, she mentioned the use cases emerging, very quickly on the aging side. And how do you use technology to provide care, right, with diminishing birth rate and over 25% of the population over 65 in the super age country. This is going to be a common issue for everybody. But the question about what would be our focus? We are hoping that I mean, a lot of time people talk about technology, inclusion and this and that, but how do you do that? We think it's actually very important to have a strategy and also, to really involve, you know actual education and training and that is why we hope to have a kind of a partnership with organisation like and IAPP International Association of Accessibility Professionals because we think it is very important from the get go for any country or any place or any yes any geography that wants to embrace digital inclusion authentically then they have to they have to learn about it. They have to pay some dues and have that knowledge. And then, you can really create the impact that we all think that's needed.

NEIL: 7:45

Debra, I know you had a question?

DEBRA: 7:48

Yes, I did, I did. And first of all, I want to say, I wanted to also mention that Frances was the first female Chief Accessibility Officer in the world so as a woman, I just wanted to say yay about that and right, because I really I was so hopefully when we created that position and then I was a little discouraged that brands have not really owned that position. But that's okay too. Anyway, I just mentioned that Frances. And as you know, as one of my partners at Billion Strong, I really believe that we have got to come together, really authentically, using your word, and really be seen and often, I do not see enough diversity, from Asia Pack in these conversations. And so, I just think that it's really important that it be localised from people that really understand. Just using Taiwan, for example. People that understand the culture. People that have lived there. People that really get what the other people need, want and are thinking. And so, I'm actually excited about it because I think it is something that that is one area that I think there is so much innovation happening and then I like you are also supporting the aging conversations because the communities, as we have always said, Frances, that you know, we have a lot of common needs. And so, I just think we need to see more of these kind of efforts. And so, I applaud you and Claire for doing it because it really is about thinking about doing these things in a different way. We can keep trying to do it exactly the way we have all been doing it but we are not really I see one thing that's happening that is troubling is that a lot of the conversations are being held by westerners, people that look like me and by the way, people that look like me, we add value to the conversations but where are the younger people. What kind of legacy are we building here? Which you mentioned Frances even before we came On Air, and so you said, that's one reason why you've been working with Claire. You see the leadership with Claire. So, I just wanted to applaud what you are doing and I'm really glad we are talking about it on Axschat. Because we have to make these conversations applicable to the areas where we want them to include us. We can't just always use the language that we have been using that is not working. So I know you want to make a comment, let me pass it to you Frances and Antonio also has a comment after you are finished.

FRANCES: 10:26

Well, I just thank you again, I mean to me, having the local own it and want it, is the key; right? I mean it's very interesting because my book actually will be translated into Chinees and just through the translation process you talk about language, it is very nuanced, you know. I learned so much in choosing certain words because, even though I read Chinese, but I haven't been back in China, in Taiwan for over you know, 50 or 60 years. So my Chinese is like, you know, really a middle school level. So the whole journey has been very helpful. And also, even though it's Chinese but you know the nuances of the language and how it's articulated in places like Hong Kong or Taiwan or China are all very different. So that's why, number one, you got to have a local be part of this and number two, because we are in the beginning of forming the board, all the board members are Claire's age or younger; right? So it's really exciting. I am the aging representative. So there is only one or two of us, the rest of them are all in their prime.

DEBRA: 11:50

Good.

FRANCES: 11:52

They are the next generation. So if we are you know, if we really want this, you know the movement to take hold, I mean, at least for me that's the only way I know how so anyway, back to you.

DEBRA: 12:07

And Claire, I don't know if you wanted to come in on that, if not we can also turn it over to Antonio, he has a question.

CLAIRE: 12:16

I think I just wanted to thank Frances, which she spent a lot of time together and how she really told us a lot of experience she had worldwide, which is really useful and appreciated and the one thing I would like to address is that, just like Frances mentioned, our board are really young and we have only the younger generation but we also have someone who a professional but with a disability. She is really, I think, she is very special. That's the reason why I want to talk about, more about her. She is the one we met last year who joined our diversity talk, for the French Tech event. And she shared, as a people with the disabilities, how she find a job and how she was followed in the workspace and how her team members support her and what kind of a resource she got from everyone and what kind of support she needs from else, not only from the work but from the society but from the public. And that are reasons why we want to recruit her to our board. Because I believe that she is about 30 years old, only but she really experienced that. And she is willing to share and she is really wanting to do something, impact change.

DEBRA: 14:05

I agree. And we really shouldn't be doing any of this if our community is not involved. We need all people with disabilities involved in this and often, we do not see our people with disabilities included until later. And that doesn't really work for us. So I am glad people you're including people with disabilities, because that's really the only way we can move forward. So thank you.

FRANCES: 14:28

In this case, it is not just including them as member but a leadership on the board. So I think that is one thing that we/I am very proud of that the team in Taiwan actually had that foresight to say, okay, it's not just membership but leadership position that we need to include the diversity of aging and people with disabilities.

DEBRA: 14:55

It often doesn't happen though, that is not happening. We often see these things being created and we are not being meaningfully included. So it's very important that people with disabilities be on the board be part of the membership to make sure voices are heard. Go ahead Claire.

CLAIRE: 15:15

I think she could be a very good role model because she is competent. She is not she doesn't feel wrong with her disabilities. She is very confident and she can stand forward to say, hey, I can do it, you can do it. I think that is a very important message that we want to deliver to our audience, yes.

ANTONIO: 15:42

I've many questions but I need to find a starting one. Just mention that aging demographics is not something that is taking us by surprise, many of these data we know it for years, you know? Aging is a constant in our lives. But what I wanted to ask you Frances is, you know, if you look at Taiwan and if you look at the private sector, the public sector, what maturity do you observe in both and also, considering your experience in how can we enable this in a way that sticks? You know, in a way that actually happens because we know, you know, people move and sometimes in the space of accessibility and disability, organisations have back and forwards. How can you actually try to mitigate that and make sure that we are able to do something that, in the end reaches results?

FRANCES: 16:50

Okay. So the question is very multi-faceted

ANTONIO: 16:54

Yes.

FRANCES: 16:55

We can have another whole separate conversation about that. I think fundamentally the reason I feel like Taiwan would be a great country to really test out our hypothesis, which is you know that we've been talking about ages and people with disabilities, the kind of a common ground and that we need innovative solutions. I think I would start with culture, right. I mean, Taiwan is a country made of you know, a lot of people, in many cases originated from China but then they have been in Taiwan for many years. But Asian specific, as a region, have a very different attitude towards aging than say western society. So in general, we are very respectful of the aging. We view aging as a good thing. I always add one year to my age when I talk to my kids. They hate that because they want to be young like typical American but I always want to be old because I get the respect. So there is that cultural difference. So when you have countries like Japan, like China or Taiwan or India, they have a cultural respect for aging, then you you're starting on the positive already; right? And now, also the elder care, historically is done by families. They don't institutionalise the elders. So by families. So you know that they really care and they create eco system to do that. But the reality with a diminishing birth rate. You got aging population and diminishing birth rate, it's not possible. But because of the culture of care is there, they are going to be the new generation, like Claire's generation, they are going to be confronted with elder care and they are going to want to have look for solutions and because, they are, you know, they are not quite digital native but they are definitely, you know digital competent. So they are going to look for digital solutions. So to me, and then you look at Taiwan as a country, they have been the most advanced, as you know. Semi-conductor creators and manufacturers in the world. So technology is already a thing that Taiwan is very known for and their experience exporting the technology has been there. So I think if I sit back and look at long term and Debra knows, you know from the old days, you know that is, from my background and all that. That is all you have to do. All you have to do is look at what you can do today but then what is an impact, not just two years or three years, but five or ten or 20 years from now. So to me, that is why this is a very unique sandbox, so to speak, for putting innovation, what I call the human first innovation in place.

NEIL: 20:11

Yes. So I was smiling when you were talking about adding one year on because my wife is also from Taiwan and she always puts a year on my age as well. And so we argue about it because we count from the point of view completed the year, and they count from

FRANCES: 20:33

The day you were born.

NEIL: 20:34

They count the year you are in, so yes, plenty of arguments about that one because I continue, I think it's really interesting, you're talking about the attitudinal differences in terms of familial care, but then you've got this demographic pyramid that is challenging that because you have the balancing of having to work to be able to support that, support pensions, support the State and so on. So super aging is not just a problem for you know, individuals, you know the ones that are getting older or their children or their families but also the infrastructure of the societies that they live in. So then the application of technology doesn't just became an issue for those people, but it becomes, you know a mega trend kind of problem that needs that sort of country level/global level approach to be able to solve some of this. So I know you're having the conversations and also, you're wanting to convene people to have these conversations and you know, you are running an event, coming up shortly, in about six weeks’ time, maybe you could tell us a bit about that and the intent behind that, to incapsulate that into the conversations that are going on in Taiwan right now.

FRANCES: 22:05

Sure, I'll start and ask Claire to you know kind of provide more detail. But the overall, we think that timing Debra, you're the one that actually called out the timing. We think the timing is actually good, not just for Taiwan, but because we are all technologists here, right? We look at the challenges of super age or people with disabilities or accessibility from the technology angle. We also note a year ago the Chat GBT, the AI just kind of dominated the world. And there is actually a sense of urgency to really you know, raise awareness with technology and in society and on humanity here and now. So that is why we choose April as a kind of launch point, to introduce this topic and maybe Claire, you can give them, we have like maybe a high-level description of our morning agenda and afternoon agenda that would give you some sense as to what our focus is.

CLAIRE: 23:18

Yes. In the morning, that I think we will have a more business and concept. Concept of idea part to tell people. Especially Taiwan, many people they may hear digital inclusion, accessibility kind of things. But they don't know the meaning or the definition of this. They might heard from like, we have a digital affair department, administration of digital affairs. They also have that guideline. But no one knows how to use the guidelines for the digital inclusion. And when we start this journey, we start to see, oh, it's really interesting. We got this guideline but no one knows how to use it and even we have this problem, which means that everybody got this problem, in Taiwan. So I think that good thing that Frances say to talk about the concept about the diversity, about the innovation and how we use that. How important digital inclusion, it is. That is the morning session. And in the afternoon, I think that we are going to be more practical and more related to the technology part. So that is at reason why we have Christopher from IAAP and Thomas Logan from Equal Entry, to real to from the very, very practical way to tell people, to tell our audience, if they want to conduct this kind of concept into their organisation, how can they do it or why. Why they have to do that. And we are happy to have L’Oréal who is interested to share their journey with us. Especially, I think that is very interesting. Because, when I went to a L’Oréal, Taiwan, they told me that they have a different position for the French office. And Taiwan they know there are a lot of good technology and good engineers, for not only the soft layer, but also the data analysis kind of work. So they position themselves as a tech behind beauty, yes and also, they had a lot of diversity for the beauty and that is something they want to share with audience. So how they use the tech to make everyone to look pretty.

DEBRA: 26:15

And Claire, Claire. I will just say that I've seen stuff that L’Oréal has been doing over the last few years, well quite a few years now. And I wanted to applaud what I've seen them doing. So I know cool stuff in the States. I also saw them talking about these topics in China, when I went to China, and I saw them in Canada as well. So I have also seen L’Oréal. I'm not connected with that brand but I've seen them making efforts and I just appreciate it. So I just wanted to agree with you on that one. But go ahead for the day.

CLAIRE: 26:52

Yes, I think that is very, very good feedback from you. Thank you, Debra.

FRANCES: 26:59

Yes, and I think in between these kind of invited extra speakers, we'll have a panel of individuals from Taiwan companies, from start-ups to like L’Oréal and all that because again, what we want to do is to foster, you know not just to not just our expert coming in to do a kind of a preaching, you know, but we really want a dialogue and interaction. So we are going to try to facilitate. You know, we'll have a moderated panel with a local government and university and private sector participation and yes. So this is really just a beginning of a launch and we'll have a signing, my Chinese book, so it should be interesting and Debra, your name, you know, you name is in my book, right, so.

DEBRA: 28:04

Yes, thank you so very much. I appreciate everything you all have done. That's exciting.

NEIL: 28:11

Yes, absolutely. I think that it's great to have those two-way conversations. There are too many conversations, air quotes, where, we you know we fly the experts in or we beam them in. And they talk.

DEBRA: 28:28

Yes.

NEIL: 28:29

I talk at people. You know, I disconnect or I fly off home and we don't take enough time to actually listen and observe and learn. So I think one of the joys of being there, in person, unfortunately I can't be this time around, is you get that offline time to actually observe and have the conversations. And, they are really, really valuable. The round tables, the corridors conversations, the snippets of how people do stuff are actually the nuggets of gold that you get by having these kinds of conferences because yes, you can learn from conferences and so forth but we also need to learn, as Debra said at the beginning, there is far too many, you know, pale, male, stale people in the business that we need to make sure there's room for everyone.

FRANCES: 29:35

Yes, that conversation is so important, especially for us, where at the beginning of stage, you know, if we want to make this really impactful, we have to localise it. And then you can't localise if you don't understand, they are thinking their priority. And what we think is important, may not mean a thing for them. So that kind of dialogue. We are hoping that this April 25th, I mean Neil, you need to let us know if we can beam you in.

NEIL: 30:03

You can beam me in.

FRANCES: 30:06

Yes, right. Because we know you are never stale, you maybe pale.

NEIL: 30:13

Yes, I am pretty pale. It's been raining here since August. Welcome to life in the UK. Yes, thank you. Absolutely. So Frances, Claire, it's been an absolute pleasure. I think that we could talk forever. And we would love to have a bit more time about you talking about your own stuff, Claire.

CLAIRE: 30:42

Yes.

NEIL: 30:43

We can probably, you know it's this let's go an extra five minutes, we normally go for half an hour. But let's extend it a little and tell us about how you came into this space because I think that would be really great.

CLAIRE: 30:59

Yes, I think that before we call it a day I think, thank you very much and I like to share my own story. I always tell people that I started to do this that's only because for the very high or very, very brilliant goal, I do it for myself. And I live with the fourth-generation family, the eldest one is my Grandma and she is 98 now and the youngest, youngest twins are 11 months old. So I have to meet more than six people over 65, every day. So from them, I observe them, what they need and just like Frances mentioned earlier in Asia, Asia, especially like a Chinese culture, influenced countries, we really wanted to take care of our elderly, especially our grandparents. My parents we don't want them to send them to the institutions. So they are all at home and we bring people back to take care of them. And from there, as I mentioned earlier, the rate of birth is really low. So for example, like 40 years later, I wouldn't have the service or like the treatment my grandparents, my parents have now. So that is the reason why we start to think, okay maybe we need the technology to support our life. But we cannot to do that until then. We have to start from now to do that and we are designing for the future. We are not designing for now. And that is the core for the team that we have the mission and that we have the dream for our future, yes. That is my personal story about that.

NEIL: 33:32

Absolutely. And you know understanding underlying motivation is really key to really understanding why you're involved in the passion for it. So thank you for sharing, Claire. Thank you, Frances. I also need to give thanks to Amazon and My Cleartext for keeping us On Air and keeping us captioned. Look forward to you joining us and continuing this conversation on social media.

FRANCES: 33:59

Thank you.

CLAIRE: 34:00

Thank you so much.