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- Dedicated to building tools, telling the stories of accessibility and inclusion through media, journalism, news and technology -

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About AXS Lab

A social enterprise that is building a coalition of individuals and organizations to boost the movement for inclusion and accessibility. With the use of new media, films, and the power of story, the full accessibility experience is further realized.


 
HISTORY

AXS Lab is dedicated to serving people living with disabilities through media and technology.

Started in 2008 as a way for AXS Lab founder Jason DaSilva to document the impact of being diagnosed with Primary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis, AXS Lab’s first project, When I Walk went on to achieve critical success in film festivals worldwide, and garnered an Emmy Award for Outstanding Informational Programming Long Form.

In 2008 DaSilva realized there was a need to shift AXS Lab’s focus beyond filmmaking. The goal of helping people with focus on inclusion and accessibility gain greater independence came out of personal experience.

“I know what it is like to lose your independence, and the social isolation people face when dealing with accessibility. I started AXS Lab with the responsibility to carry the torch for a movement for disability-rights, and AXS Lab will continue to tell these stories that were once on the fringes of society” - Jason DaSilva

In 2012, AXS Lab conducted its first Mapathon, community events facilitated through the AXS Map mobile application where participants form teams, competing to rate and review the accessibility of various locations in their communities.

To date, there have been over 280 AXS Mapathons conducted worldwide, and AXS Map is now considered the largest database for accessibility data in North America.

Since 2013, AXS Lab has been providing essential data through AXS Map to inform the UN’s flagship report on Disability and Development.

AXS Lab’s work today continues to focus on how to use media and technology to advocate for people with disabilities world wide.

AXS Lab is a contributor to the New York Times and continues to produce films that speak to the underlying disability crisis in America, and the “of Accessibility.”

Our Team

20k+
People involved
10
Projects
10+
Partners

our work

AXS LAB HAS A RANGE OF PROJECTS ON ENVIRONMENT, IDENTITY, AND DIVERSITY RANGING THE PAST 15 YEARS.

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recognition

  • NYT Critics' Pick "DaSilva's experience behind a camera shows in his brisk pacing, clear narrative structure, and the awareness that a story of sickness needs lighthearted distractions... Fueled by [...] uncompromising intelligence and unrelenting candor."

    Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times about When I Walk

  • Village Voice Critics' Pick "Absorbing and moving!"

    Ernest Hardy, Village Voice about When I Walk

  • For people living with physical disabilities, the project [AXS Map] is sort of like a more robust Yelp.

    Vignesh Ramachandran, Mashable about AXS Map

  • When We Walk tells a deeply moving personal story with unflinching clarity and self-deprecating humour while it exposes how the US Medicaid system abandons vulnerable people.

    Maurie Alioff, POV Magazine about When We Walk

  • You name it – it’s on AXS Map ready to be reviewed[...]AXS Map’s focus is on what is important for most customers with disabilities: Being able to get into an establishment to enjoy its goods, services, and restroom facilities.

    Minh N. Vu, Seyfarth Shaw LLP about AXS MAP

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Email Us: [email protected]

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