Who Gets Seen? Visibility, Accessibility, and Community

Hi, I'm Zaakirah, and I am the host of the See Life Different podcast. This podcast is perfect for you if you are a Black, Indigenous, woman of color ready to step outside of your comfort zone. This podcast will inspire you, empower you, and educate you on how to see life differently, whether it's in your business or in your personal life. I am a cancer survivor, brand cultivating strategist, author, and world traveler. Let's get into it. August is Black Business Month, and it's not just a marketing moment. It became a national awareness month in 2004. It started after Frederick E. Jordan Sr. and John William Templeton co-founded the observation because they experienced struggling to get backing for their financial firm back in San Francisco in 1969. So the goal was never just solely a symbolic support. It was about driving policy and change that still affect millions of Black-owned businesses across the US today. For the last 200-plus years, Black-owned businesses have had to build and rebuild and build and rebuild again. Oftentimes after wealth was violently taken away and always in the face of barriers to capital that still haven't fully gone away. So today we're also going to talk about how accessibility is a good business strategy, not just a checkbox, why accessible storytelling is a growth lever. So I always travel. I've been to over 15 countries and half of the United States, but when I travel, Especially post-pandemic, I make sure to keep an eye on accessibility, and I travel with accessibility and disabilities in mind. So I am Zaakirah. I am a brand cultivating strategist. I am the founder of See Life Different Media. The concept behind that is I am a childhood eye cancer survivor, and I see you only in one eye. And as a result, I have a mild hearing loss. It has not stopped me from seeing life literally through different lenses, being more empathetic to those who have different disabilities than I do, traveling the world to over 15 countries and making sure that everyone else who is marginalized has a platform as well. I have been blessed to be a TEDx speaker, keynote speaker, workshop host, panelist, and now even put together other panels. But there's still a few gaps that I observe when I step onto these stages. One of them is, yes, making sure that I have what I need to be able to be the leader that I am, But also I've noticed that there are other geniuses out there that have invisible disabilities that have a lot of experience and a lot to say, but they don't have the safe spaces to be able to do so. So then I realized, okay, how do I not only advocate for myself to make sure that the stage is accessible, the accommodations are accessible, the venue is accessible, the content for this specific event is accessible, how can we also get more people into the limelight, into the spotlight to get more visibility? So that is part of the reason why I also started, or restarted, if you will, my See Life Different Media Group. So I've been on the digital online space for about a decade, over a decade now, and being able to do that allowed me to start my own podcast, write my own book, have my own virtual summits, and now even make sure that people can literally see life differently and also make sure that their content is accessible for those who cannot see. The content as well, who cannot read the content as well, and to make sure that you're not leaving people out who actually want to work with you. But there's also an interesting gap that I've noticed. There are a couple of opportunities that are great for networking, great for getting more professional pictures for your portfolio, great for saying that you finally did speak on a certain number of stages and they don't pay you. But what happens is sometimes you still have to find other ways to pay yourself. I realized that intertwining it with the stages that I would speak on is not synonymous. They actually intertwine because there's still some people who still need to make sure that their accommodations are covered or looked out for in one way or another. So it's the same mission, the same goal, the same vision for making sure that people and the things that are overlooked are no longer overlooked. And by empowering others to see that differently, see the travel differently, see the content differently. And seeing the world differently. So making sure that you have access to someone who's lived the struggles of not being able to understand the content because I couldn't hear, there are no captions, so I can't turn on the captions to understand what's being said, or I couldn't exactly lip read the captions or lip read the content. So not only are you leaving me out because I may actually want to either refer someone to your business or work with you, but how can you make sure that you're no longer leaving people out who may actually want to work with you? And actually get rewarded, get more clients. I have submitted a panel to speak at South by Southwest, March 2027 in Austin, Texas. We're able to get evaluated by the South by Southwest evaluators and staff. So South by Southwest is a technology, music, film, cultural conference that's been around since 1987, originally in Austin, Texas. But after 2025, they branched out to London and Australia. I had the opportunity to go to the one in London, and I got to get firsthand experience of why I know that this panel is super important. Yes, South by Southwest, SXSW, does an excellent job of accommodating, but not many places are at that point where they are having people with different abilities and disabilities be at the forefront instead of the background. So this panel of Who Gets Seen is the name of it. Who Gets Seen: Building Accessible Media, Events, and Experiences. Helps you to make sure that you are keeping those with disability in the front of mind, not as an afterthought. A lot of times, events that I have previously spoken at, if I don't ask and advocate for myself or advocate for others, they get forgotten about. And then it's also making sure that people who cannot see that well will understand with having image and video descriptions and captions for those who cannot hear that well, or those with English as their second language. And then as well as continuing to have sensory spaces for those who need There's too much conversation going on, too much music going on, how can we make sure that their sensory is not being overloaded? I'll be mainly moderating the conversation to just guide the conversation, make sure that people are aware of other kinds of conditions and disabilities and how we can make sure that everyone is included. Just 3 simple ways for people to be included in future events, in media, and in experiences. Panelists are, Dan and President Taylor Howard, 2 other ladies that I actually know in person. I got to meet them at a Johnson Johnson content creator conference in person, and one of them is deafblind and the other one has epilepsy, but they both are very active speakers and very active entrepreneurs, and they also have had their own share of ableism as well and have their own stories to be able to share as well. The goal is to get onto the South by Southwest stage. That had been a goal really since I knew about it. I knew about an iteration of it called All 3 Coasts in Atlanta, Georgia. I was a volunteer behind-the-scenes photographer for it. All 3 Coasts, or A3C, which was in Atlanta, Georgia for about 10 years. And they basically got the concept of A3C from South by Southwest. It's normally known for breaking new films and new music artists and new technology. And it's also where a lot of your favorite influencers build their brand as well. South by Southwest originally, the concept, it's in the southern part of the United States, western part of the United States, western part of Texas. So although it's been around since 1987, I'm not new to the concept. I was familiar with it. I had applied to speak and didn't get accepted this time. So I still went and attended and put myself into the ecosystem, if you will. Although the conference is 6 days and I got the badge for a 6-day conference, I didn't end up attending all 6 days. I only ended up attending 2, and honestly, that was A-okay with me because most people, especially if it's their first one, will say that it's overwhelming. But I knew from attending lots of conferences that I need to set my intention first and foremost. What am I gonna do at this conference? What connections do I wanna make from this conference? And also, the South by Southwest conference is one of those conferences where the badge that you have matters. The color code that you have matters. Also, because filmmaking is one of my goals, I've known it To be one of the places where your favorite movies that are now on your favorite streaming platforms— South by Southwest is one of the film festivals where it gets its start on the film festival circuit. So because one of my long-term goals is to not only attend the next one in the US, but also speak on a panel and also premiere a documentary. So it's a great way to get my foot into the door and really understand, okay, what do I need to focus on next creatively? What do I need to continue to build creatively? What relationships do I need to continue to nurture? It's like any conference, there's amazing panels. There's also some networking activations offsite. But having gone to the one in London, I got to see firsthand that they really are innovative. A lot of the ideas, a lot of your favorite technology companies, a lot of your favorite movies and music artists get their start. If I get it, it's gonna be a huge dream come true. If I don't get it, I'm still gonna be on the grounds because this is all just, these are building blocks, building blocks for continuing to build community, building blocks for continuing to be able to advocate, continue to empower others who are ready to make sure that their content is more inclusive, continue to build a speaker barrier. All of this, it's building blocks again to making sure that people with disabilities have the platform to tell their stories 'cause they're brilliant. And they've been through a lot and they have a lot to share. Now they just need to be confident to be able to do so. Why did I go all the way to London for South by Southwest? Although this is the second iteration of London, one thing that I did notice that South by Southwest London did very well was their accessibility. They were very interactive throughout the time leading up to the conference. They also did have an app. It was a very interactive app where you can Build your schedule, navigate the venues, click on it straight to maps apps of your choice, and you can network with other people, discover people who are in your same industry and network with other people. So they had direct messaging. You could build your own profile with your bio and your social media handles. But I'll be honest, the people that I did end up meeting in person, we immediately went straight to LinkedIn or Instagram because we were like, I'm going to forget about this. Let's just connect on LinkedIn, Instagram, or WhatsApp. The staff was very helpful with any questions that I had, even on site. There was a certain badge that I had as well that let them know that I have a disability, so they were also very accommodating in that manner. There were a lot of sessions that did have captions. Being visually impaired and hard of hearing, sometimes I don't catch everything from a conversation. So one, that badge allowed me to sit up front so I can lip read if the session did not have captions. So either I need to sit up close and To the speakers in the front row, right, if I'm VIP, which I am, or I need to sit near one of the TVs that had captions. And then the venues were all within close proximity, walking distance, in the area called Shore Ditch, which is a very creative area. And if there was too much noise, too much listening, too much lip reading, too much people interaction, in the expo, they had a really cool nook where as soon as you get in, it's like a little mini pod. Most people used it to take a quick Zoom call or type, send off their email or type up whatever they need to do on a computer. 'Cause you could also charge your device, charge yourself and charge your device. But actually that ended up being one of my favorite networking opportunities because it's like a little booth, like a booth as if you're sitting in a restaurant and someone can sit across from you. And so I met one lady who was actually there as an ambassador for a creative company called New Karma, and that was fun. So I got to network. Those are the best networking moments where you just sit there and just trust your intuition on who is it that you wanna meet and network and talk to. And then another one of the other means of needing to be sitting in peace and quiet is there was a partnership with a coworking space over there called Four, and they only let you sit in like the hot seat area unless you obviously upgrade and get a temporary membership or day pass to get one of these spaces. But I was also gratefully able to use one of the spaces for about an hour. Again, people can do that if they need to take a Zoom call and need a quiet space to take a Zoom call. But I also was able to conduct an interview 'cause I am also working on a documentary. That's one of the reasons why I was like, let me get on the ground and get to know how it is, meet some of the people who are on the team, who are part of the decision makers for programming for the next year. I'm working on a documentary about travel and disability and being a woman of color, being a woman of faith, having a rare childhood eye cancer. So I got to also interview another childhood eye cancer survivor in one of the spaces. They had a couple of vendors like LinkedIn and Adobe and Meta and Google, all the major technology companies were vendors at the expo. One of my favorite panels though that I did attend was a doctor from Mooresfield Eye Hospital was one of the healthcare panels. And again, the power of LinkedIn is that when all of the speakers are being announced, On their website, it's their LinkedIn that gets tagged. And because they got tagged, I was able to send a DM ahead of time and let them know that I'll be there. So the minute that I was able to see them at their panel and lock eyes, then I could follow up and send an email afterwards saying, great to see your panel. I would love to continue to tell you more about what I have going on. And so in my instance, it was telling them that I had known about the hospital because of my time in Ghana and that I'm working on a documentary and what idea do you have and are you interested in being a part of it? So don't underestimate LinkedIn, don't underestimate the power of online and in real life connections. Overall, stop by Southwest London, stop by Southwest as a whole, because again, they're just taking the same framework from Austin, Texas, taking it to London, taking it to Australia, taking it to wherever they're going to next. It's definitely one of those conferences where you're not just going and collecting business cards, you're actually collecting ideas, you're learning ideas that are about to become the next world phenomenon. You are building relationships, and if you are thinking about going, make sure that you do that. It's one of those conferences that no matter how much we depend on artificial intelligence, in real life, connections matter, and being in the right place at the right time matters. Now, when it comes to just being in London, of course, I did spend some time just sightseeing around London. I love the artwork around Shoreditch though. Some of 'em, they're so woke, as I like to say it. They're very encouraging and so woke. People are very intelligent in London, and I think it's because it's a new mecca. It's a new mecca Expats. I met every ethnicity. I did go near the Buckingham Palace. I did see the Eye from afar, but I was on a nonstop flight to and from London. And again, because I have an invisible disability, I made sure to wear what they have is called a hidden disability sunflower lanyard. So the staff at the airport is very well trained to recognize that sunflower lanyard and well trained to ask you, do you need assistance? Because also what happens is sometimes if you have an invisible disability and you need help, It's either a matter of just having the space to ask for help or you actually don't know how to get around, which in my case, I haven't been in the airport in a long time. Technically, I didn't know where, so I'm like, I need help getting to and from customs. So accessibility, making sure that your content is not leaving people out, it's actually gonna allow you to have a stronger brand, bigger audience, more clients booking partnerships, whatever you're specifically looking for. And especially if you are those who are inclusive, because August again is Black Business Month, even though it originated in the US, the diaspora are truly all over the world. So when you support the diaspora, you do support the economy, especially the Black travel economy as well. If you want to be on stages like major magazine festivals and you're just not sure how to get started, I'm calling it the Accessible Content Creator see your content differently. There's also a second track where it's gonna be not just the media company to make sure that you're on other podcasts, but you're also gonna be having everything you need to be able to set up and be ready and get accepted for these applications that require you to apply to speak. So if that sounds like one of your goals for either the last quarter of the year or for the new year, and if you are ready to work with me directly, definitely reach out to me or leave a comment, send a DM. To let me know that you're actually interested. Thank you for listening.