残疾包容是企业的当务之急

Dialog’s interventions toaddress barriers for personswith disabilities in Sri Lanka The GSMA is a global organisation unifying the mobileecosystem to discover, develop and deliver innovationfoundational to positive business environments andsocietal change. Our vision is to unlock the full power ofconnectivity so that people, industry, and society thrive.Representing mobile operators and organisations acrossthe mobile ecosystem and adjacent industries, the GSMAdelivers for its members across three broad pillars:Connectivity for Good, Industry Services and Solutions,and Outreach. This activity includes advancingpolicy, tackling today’s biggest societal challenges,underpinning the technology and interoperability thatmake mobile work, and providing the world’s largestplatform to convene the mobile ecosystem at the MWCand M360 series of events. Partnership|Progress|Prosperity This material has been funded by UK Aid from the UKGovernment; however, the views expressed do notnecessarily reflect the UK Government’s official policies. Authors:Agatha Appleton-Sas, Kim Viljoen Contributors:Abi Gleek, Claire Sibthorpe,Tharusha Wanigasekera (Dialog) Published:December 2025 We invite you to find out more atgsma.com The Connected Society programmeworks withthe mobile industry, technology companies, thedevelopment community and governments to increaseaccess to and adoption of mobile internet, focusing onunderserved population groups in developing markets. For more information, please visitwww.gsma.com/connected-society To get in touch with the Connected Society team,please emailconnectedsociety@gsma.com Contents 1.Key findings and recommendations4 2.Dialog’s commitment to digital inclusion for persons with disabilitiesin Sri Lanka8 3.Dialog’s approaches to supporting digital inclusion for persons withdisabilities10Making mobile and mobile services more affordable for persons withdisabilities11Building digital skills to increase the use of mobile products and services11Increasing the perceived relevance of mobile and mobile internet forpersons with disabilities12Spotlight:Partnerships to improve the availability of localised assistivetechnologies13Improving the accessibility of mobile products and services17Improving the accessibility of customer service touchpoints19Supporting safety and security20Going beyond business to support disability inclusion20 4.The impact of Dialog’s disability inclusion initiatives21 5.Dialog’s plans to better reach and support customers with disabilities23 1.Key findings andrecommendations Dialog Axiata, Sri Lanka’s largest mobiletelecommunications provider, is committed to usingconnectivity as a tool for everyone to participate fully insociety, including persons with disabilities. Its experiencewith disability inclusion provides valuable insights andactionable recommendations for other mobile networkoperators (MNOs) to improve accessibility and advancethe digital inclusion of persons with disabilities. Thefindings of this case study highlight the practicalapproaches and lessons learned from Dialog’s initiatives. Leadership commitment can makedisability inclusion a strategic focusand organisational priority. Co-creating products and services withpersons with disabilities results in morerelevant and accessible digital offerings. Many mobile services are inaccessible to personswith disabilities, preventing them from reapingthe full benefits of digital offerings. To addressthis, Dialog engaged persons with disabilities inproduct testing and service development throughworkshops and participatory feedback sessions.This process informed accessible redesigns ofits website, implementing features like screenreader compatibility and alternative text (alttext) for images. Additionally, engaging Deaf SriLankans in the localisation of technologies suchas DeafTawk, which are not typically pre-installedor native to mobile devices, provided insightsinto user needs and resulted in a service that isbetter adapted to the local context and supportsDialog’s Deaf users more effectively. Disability inclusion is often overlooked in manyorganisations, with efforts relegated to corporatesocial responsibility (CSR) initiatives rather thanintegrated in the core business strategy. Dialog’sCEO, however, positioned disability inclusionas a business imperative, making it a strategicfocus and operational priority throughoutthe organisation. This commitment from thecompany’s leadership ensured that resourceswere consistently allocated to disability inclusioninitiatives, even during financially challengingtimes. The CEO’s commitment also stimulatedcross-departmental collaboration, which wasvital for implementing initiatives effectively. Partnerships can make assistivetechnologies more available, relevantand localised. Tailored digital literacy programmes canincrease adoption of technology. Mobile-enabled assistive technology (AT)can significantly improve accessibility andindependence for people with disab