2023 has been a big year for BindiMaps, our users, community and clients!
From innovative updates and impactful collaborations, we thrived in enhancing accessibility for all. As we wrap up this remarkable year, we are excited to share our key highlights of this year.
🌏 Increasing our social impact
Our mission has always been to make every space 100% accessible, and this year we continued to make significant strides in enhancing accessibility and inclusivity for all.
In 2023, we were recognised for our impact on inclusion and accessibility as the Global Champions at the UN World Summit Awards.
We are helping to meet the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals through our digital tools that narrow societal gaps.
Many of our clients, like Brookfield Properties, Vicinity Centres, Treasury Wine Estates and KPMG, have adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to improve their business practices.
Our products align with many SDGs, including:
- SDG 10- Reduced Inequalities
Our products reduce inequalities and promote inclusivity by making public spaces and facilities accessible to everyone.
- SDG 8- Decent Work and Economic Growth
We contribute to decent work and economic growth by fostering sustainable communities where individuals of all abilities can actively participate and contribute to economic growth.
- SDG 3- Good Health & Wellbeing
By providing accessible wayfinding within public spaces, we support the good health and well-being of our users. A poor wayfinding experience has been associated with high levels of stress and anxiety, especially among people with a disability.
- SDG 11- Sustainable Cities and Communities
We contribute to sustainable urban development by ensuring accessibility in cities, making them more inclusive for everyone. As we continue to expand and map more buildings, we create barrier-free environments that are easy to navigate.
This also aligns with our acceptance into NSW’s green building technologies Singapore Program which seeks out innovative technology that pushes the boundaries of building energy performance in Singapore.
👨🦯 Reducing barriers for people with disability
A BindiMaps-supported location reduces the barriers for someone with a disability to easily and independently navigate an indoor location, improving access to vital services such as hospitals and employment, and increasing participation and engagement in society by creating more inclusive shopping centres, libraries, theatres and courtrooms.
We have made meaningful contributions to our mission of making every space accessible by growing our supported locations this year.
This year we’ve created over 5.6 million square metres of additional accessible locations, all over Australia!
We’ve added supported locations from healthcare, like the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Victoria, retail, such as DFO Homebush in Sydney, to national rollouts across corporate firms like Clayton Utz and KPMG, and many more, including Australia’s first BindiMapped accessible airport, Sunshine Coast Airport.
We also provided the official wayfinding experience for iconic world-leading events like the Australian Open and Formula 1 Grand Prix!
👩🏽🦽 👨👧👧 Growing users and improving our 📱 products
This year we had an increase of 104.94% downloads of our BindiMaps app, reaching tens of thousands of users across Australia!
We continue to improve our products
Developing our products with people with a disability is incredibly important to us to make sure we deliver an accessible product that is not only created for people with a disability, but made with them.
We conducted 44 in-depth qualitative tests and gathered feedback through surveys from over 1780 users, encompassing individuals of all ages, backgrounds and locations.
- We introduced a new navigation algorithm: Cousteau, which significantly improves our audio navigation instructions to make them friendlier, more accurate and easier to follow for people with vision impairment.
- We added audio mode to the map during navigation, enabling users to listen to directions while also using the map!
- We made the onboarding experience more intuitive, enabling people with vision impairment to more easily choose their navigation preferences.
🌟Celebrating our work
While we don’t do what we do for the awards, we are humbled to have been recognised for our hard work this year:
We are proud to share that this year we secured the Global Winners title at the World Summit Awards under the Smart Settlement and Urbanisation Category.
Additionally, we are honoured to be finalists at the Centre for Accessibility Access Awards, which recognises organisations demonstrating extraordinary commitment and delivering outcomes for Australians living with a disability.
Our CCO and Co-founder, Mladen, was also awarded the Young Entrepreneur Awards for Sustainability and Social Responsibility, and our CEO and co-founder, Anna, was recognised by The 2023 Meaningful Business 100. Now in its 5th year, the award celebrates leaders combining profit and purpose to help achieve the UN Global Goals
Furthermore, two BindiMaps-supported locations earned prestigious awards for commitment to innovation across design, architecture and technology:
- Quay Quarter Tower (Sydney CBD) achieved the 10th International High-Rise Award, awarded for the world’s most innovative high-rise in 2022/23.
- Wesley Place (Melbourne CBD) received the esteemed Good Design Award Winner Accolade in the Architectural Design category in recognition of outstanding design and innovation.
It has been a big 2023 and we couldn’t have done any of this without our amazing, dedicated and talented team, our passionate clients who are dedicated to breaking barriers for people with disability, and of course all of our amazing users for their support and feedback!
