Atos Team Inclusivity Project wins Best Digital Campaign at international Digital Enterprise Show

Atos is pleased to announce that the AXSChat project, founded by employees Antonio Santos and Neil Milliken together with their friend and world renowned disability expert Debra Ruh, won the award for Best Digital Campaign in the European Digital Mindset Awards, at the Digital Enterprise Show (DES), the world’s largest international event on digital transformation, which took place in Madrid last week.

The DES Awards acknowledge the most innovative projects, leadership and digital transformation cases that present a disruptive and innovative approach to customer experience and ICT Management and new digital business models. The Best Digital Campaign is awarded to the best advertising campaign based on digital channels and platforms.

Interview with Antonio Santos

What is AXSChat and how it was founded?

We created AXSChat to broaden the conversation about accessibility and the ways in which society can benefit from the inclusion of ‘persons with disabilities’ (PwD). In the beginning, Neil and I reached out to Debra Ruh, to propose a partnership to create a weekly chat to help engage all stakeholders in conversations with the goal of helping to break down barriers.  Our goal was also to give people with disabilities a more prominent voice on social media.

We are personally all connected with the community of people with disabilities and dedicated to raising the profile of talented individuals to ensure that their voices are heard all over the world. We have amassed an archive of over 150 video interviews, from talks about innovation, Building Barriers, the Digital Divide to Assistive Technology, Artificial Intelligence and Empowerment of ‘persons with disability’ and many more.

What does this award represent for you?

We have been surprised and delighted by our successes. One of our primary goals was to have people talking about accessibility and inclusion everywhere and not just at events focused on the topic. Receiving this award at one of the main Digital Transformation Conferences in Europe, shortlisted from 400 applications, proves that we have achieved part of our goals. 

What is the next step for the AXSChat?  

AXSChat has been around for almost four years, but we continue to review our processes to ensure we are as efficient as possible.  We are growing and getting attention from participants and guests including the United States State Department, the UN as well as multinational firms and global leaders.  Our greatest triumphs are the individuals with disabilities that have blossomed and found friends and a community through being part of AXSChat.