Moritz Brückner: Innovation – that’s really what REHACARE is all about. I mean, no matter where you look, no matter which of these many halls you walk through, you’ll see innovation everywhere. You’ll see lots of new assistive devices, different organizations, and people sharing their expertise and experiences. And I think that’s the most important thing about trade fairs.
Sabrina Lorenz: Innovation is the key that makes inclusion possible. We need innovation so that we can participate. We, people with disabilities, want to live self-determined lives. We have the right to be here. And I know what I want. I know what matters to me. And today, I can look around and see what tools and tips might help me make my life even more independent – connect with people from the community, exchange ideas with professionals, with engineers.
Moritz Brückner: Without this wheelchair, I’d be lying in bed at my parents’ house, seeing nothing of the world. I’m a national wheelchair rugby player, which means I’ve already had the chance to travel around the world with my team. Some innovations are so groundbreaking that they truly make self-determined living possible for some people.
The smartphone is one of the most amazing and important innovations we’ve had in recent years. Everything runs through it – controlling electronic devices, making calls, communicating, or even just getting help when you need it. That’s when innovation is really great – if it actually makes it through. Unfortunately, there are still quite a few barriers today.
We’re seeing a lot of amazing exhibitors here. But what we don’t see are the thousands, if not millions, of ideas that had to be scrapped – for all kinds of reasons.
Dr. Urs Schneider: The voice of self-help organizations is becoming more and more important. And most importantly, people with disabilities need to get into the driver’s seat and say: "This is what I need! That doesn’t work at all!"
Dr. Martin Danner: It would be much better if, right from the start, we asked: What are your actual needs? In which direction do we need to conduct research? What are the shortcomings of existing products? What do we need to work on?
Nico Koplanov: I think we need to be a bit more open to taking risks here in Germany. We’re still maybe a little too careful. And maybe it’s also okay if something doesn’t work perfectly yet and still needs a bit of fine-tuning.
