 Welcome to JSA TV Europe together with the greener data movement for this quarter's live event focus on closing the digital device with additional infrastructure deployments. I'm Jean-Marc Lime and joining me today is Netanyel Cook from the head of the Special Olympics Digital Center of Excellence. Nathan, thanks so much for joining us. It's been a pleasure meeting you, Lisa, a few days ago at the Special Olympic Games World Games in Berlin. There was an amazing opening ceremony and what's happening on the ground, there was the mess and there was the German capital. It's quite incredible. So congratulations on an fantastic. Thank you. It's been a pleasure to meet you as well and the games have been wonderful. It's been really great being here. Thank you. And then, I mean, of course, visiting the games, I thought you would be perfect to come on this soft discussion and kind of educate our audience a little bit towards what's happening with the athletes as well. Because you've got about three, three million, six million athletes around the world. Yeah, it's about seven million. Okay, well, there you go. But yeah, so and then, of course, walking through what the Special Olympics are doing around technology and how technology is benefiting the athletes from healthcare to also running the games itself. I thought this would be a very interesting chat to talk to you about. So my first question would be, how are the athletes that you do the work with? How are they feeling the digital divides today? You know, they're, they're feeling in a lot of ways. Globally, there seems to be about 80% of people who are not affected with disabilities able to use technology easily. They have access to it. They understand it. And we're finding that the number for people with disabilities is closer to about 40%. And what that means is there's a huge gap between those who are able to successfully navigate the modern world and those who aren't. And the athletes are in that aren't section, they're struggling, they're being left out of opportunities. You know, coming to Berlin, I used my phone every step of the way from booking my flight to connecting to it to scanning to actually get in on the plan. And they struggle with those simple or what feel simple to us activities and they're being left behind right now. So they're really filling these effects and it got heavily, heavily highlighted during COVID where we were forced to very quickly move into a more digital world. So yeah, they're certainly being impacted in a lot of ways. It's their education as well, but one of the things I really took away from the events and the site conference, the sideline conference around technology is the need to involve the technologist from the get go. So essentially in a very simple way, the discussion that we used to have in the old days about security has to be designed and put into the production from day zero. Also, the thought around how will people with with ID be able to use this solution then is to be embedded from day zero as well alongside security. So I mean, to that extent, so that's one of the transformative things I've heard at the event. But what would you say that the games in Berlin have achieved so far in terms of helping to close or at least to narrow down the digital divide a little bit. Yeah, so the way we've approached technology to your point at Special Olympics is we've said that it should be designed from a person's disability use purposes first. So in other words, we bring them in during the design cycle and we make sure that they're able to use it. We get feedback from them and we continue to iterate on what we are building to ensure that it works for them. Through the games we've been doing this around how we handle athlete registration and onboarding, how we connect them to their team, how we communicate with them, how we make sure that they're in the right places at the right time. So managing transportation and engagement. What we've seen is to, again, your point by bringing them in throughout this process and making sure they're part of our design and that they are really thought of and doing it with us. We've been able to deliver games that meets their needs and maybe even exceeds our expectations, giving that opportunity to have inclusion, which is one of the most urgent things that we have for them is that this technology gap has actually created an inclusion gap for them. And yes, and I mean the inclusion revolution, as you guys call it, a lot of it that sits on the cloud as well. Cloud cloud services will help bridge this gap. So you've got a huge partnership with Microsoft, but not wanting to go into Microsoft if you want to. I was going to ask maybe if you could share one use case on how clouds is being used by the Special Olympics to narrow down the problems. Yeah, we are working with a number of cloud partners in order to narrow these down. So speaking to the Microsoft partnership, we are working with Microsoft on a new athlete registration system and process. So I can speak to that one pretty comfortably with that system and process. We're really aiming to make sure athletes are able to join us wherever they are and start getting that inclusion opportunity, which is just an urgent need for them. And so when we think about that engagement, what Microsoft is bringing to the table is a whole swath of expertise, accessibility teams, underlying technology and platforms that are scalable and global in nature because this isn't a localized problem. This is a global issue that we need to work on addressing everywhere. And when we think about cloud, one of the benefits is it's everywhere. It's pervasive and by building in the cloud, we can come up with solutions that scale globally. So I would say cloud has been instrumental in our ability to start tackling this problem at scale. Otherwise, we would be dealing with it individually at a very small basis and we would not be able to get the momentum and traction we need to address the core issues. Which is so important. But also, I mean, a lot of the conversations that we had in Berlin over the weekends and on Monday, and including with your CEO as well, Mary, and with other members of the Special Olympics Tech team and beyond the tech, is that even though the Olympics are happening in Berlin, in Germany, in a country that kind of houses one of the best infrastructure systems in the world, you deal with more than 200 countries and regions. And probably more than half of those don't really have the bandwidth, as in the infrastructure bandwidth, to quote with a lot of the technology that we get to use and we get to enjoy in the West. So, I mean, you have the open mic here. So we have an audience of data centers and telecoms professionals. These are the people that puts on the ground and builds these infrastructures across the world. And from the bottom of the ocean to the top of the mountains in most countries around the world. What would you say they can do more to help bridge this digital device, focus especially with people with ID on people with ID. Yeah. Well, I think to start from the ID perspective. There's a saying our athletes use, which is nothing about us without us. Yeah, that speaks back to that earlier point we made, bring in people with intellectual disabilities early and often and get their feedback understand what their need is what the gap is where they're strong. One of the things I run into and I'm working on navigating with everyone we work with is to focus on what they can do as opposed to what they can't do. And by focusing on what they're able to do, you can find a solution that meets their needs. Beyond that, I'd say that absolutely the gap in availability of network access and technology is pervasive. It is worldwide and anyone who can see that urgent need to address that gap and provide solutions working in conjunction with people with ID. Whether that is to build up the infrastructure that enables them to get online or to even look at how that infrastructure has been designed and make sure it is accessible from the get go. You will find that you have an ability to make a positive impact on a massive, a countless number of lives who are in urgent need of it. Okay, so if we had to kind of foresee the future, or at least the future that you would like to see in four years time when the next world games come around. What would you like to see having been done by then in 2027-28 when the next games will be? What would you like to have happens to help close digital divides with ID around the worlds and then also from a games perspective? Yeah, so you know, starting with the first question, we're working on a project right now with one of the Special Olympics States that is focused on distributing technology equipment, network access, and training on how to use the equipment, because it's not just the lack of material goods, it's also a lack of understanding on how to engage with online world, how to do so safely, how to be secure, how to send an email that conveys what you're looking at for it to convey. And so we're working on a program right now that's intended to both help our athletes learn this, but also teach other athletes how to connect with the world. And in doing so, we're aiming to address some of this digital divide. My hope is that in the next four years, that program can be scaled to a global program where we start addressing this massive digital divide, providing equipment, networking, and education to millions of athletes, enabling them to get caught up and join us in the future in this increasingly digital world we live in. When we think about how that connects to the games, there's a couple pieces there, right? It will enable them to more easily join us. I don't know if you got lost walking around on our grounds, but I certainly did, and multiple times I had to rely on Google Maps or on our games application in order to navigate. We need to make sure that whatever solution they're using in those situations works for them, enables them, empowers their success. And when we think about that and how it connects to the games, there's a lot of opportunity for us to start thinking about designing these tools, these connectivity options around how they connect and join us in person in four years. And so I think that these two projects can be part and parcel of each other, that we look at how do we enable everyone coming to the games in four years with courses, with technology? Can we equip them all with phones so that when they are on the grounds here, they are not lost and disconnected? On top of that, we are working on ways to make sure that the games provide awareness, that they create an opportunity for everyone to see what our athletes can do. The more people see them succeed and do amazing things on the field, the more they understand how amazing they are and how much they are capable of. And so we are also looking at in four years, how do we make sure that the games are even more broadly visible? We are broadcasting them right now on ESPN and ESPN Plus, but how do we increase that visibility? How do we make sure that there's digital streams, that athletes back home have the opportunity to watch their teammates live? So I think when we think about some of the projects for that four-year timeline, they're going to be really about how do we make sure that there's more visibility? And how do we enable the athletes that are on the ground here to be more successful and self-sufficient? There is a very good point, especially with the broadcasting, the raising awareness and spreading the message. I mean, I know you've got a partnership as well with the EVU and some of the European countries have broadcasted it, even though on a different time or a few minutes or hours later than the live streams, but they are still broadcasting. So you would like that to come to a live, almost like the Olympics and the Paralympics. I think that would be really ideal. Will we get there in four years? Well, let's hope so. I think it's worth aiming high. Well, the higher you aim, the more you're going to achieve if you don't aim as high. I was going to ask as well to close. So how has the experience been for you? I mean, from the moment of the opening, because you've been working on this for four years. So seeing this getting on the road as well must be quite an overwhelming feeling, almost. So you're halfway the journey now, more than halfway. How's it going so far? And what can we expect from the closing? It's been amazing. This kind of event is the reward for the work we do here at Special Olympics. And it's because you get to see the impact you are making on the lives of people who need that impact. They are so happy. They are enjoying themselves and having the time of their lives. And it is incredibly rewarding. And so being able to be here and see the games come together and come to life and give our athletes these experiences has been amazing. I would even go as far as to say life changing, but that sounds a little bit, you know, maybe too much, but it has been an amazing opportunity. Our closing ceremonies are always spectacular. They're an amazing event. They are full of joy and music and entertainment. And that will be a great evening. And I believe that is coming up on Sunday. And so I will say that that is something else I'm quite looking forward to. I'm maybe a little bit sad about because it will be the end of the games, but it will be the closing of a wonderful opportunity. No, I'm sure it will be beautiful and it will be at the Bradenburg gates. You couldn't get more of a monumental location to host something like this. And I'm sure there will be a lot of fireworks like the opening. There will be a lot. The opening was amazing, too. Yeah, I don't know. Well, they will talk about the fireworks alone and the system that goes behind bringing a show like that together. Nathan, I'm not going to take more of your time because I'm sure you're very, very busy this week with everything that's going on. So thank you so much for coming on board and for everything that you do because I do think this is quite an important movement. And I mean, taking to the point of even just watching athletes compete in Berlin, you can see the happiness in their faces. And it is about participating. It is not about winning in this game, which is a completely different avenue on how to do the game. So thank you so much for what you do. As for your home, thank you for watching and for tuning in to JSA TV Live. Don't forget to check our social channels for more content. And until next time, happy networking.