JAMES: Good morning, Bioneers. 
[AUDIENCE RESPONDS]
I'm thrilled to be here 
with this community today.
It's a real honor.
I'm especially honored that 
I'm here to introduce
a good friend in my 
partner, Dr. Victor Pineda.
I met Victor for the first 
time a few years ago.
One of Victor's many influential roles 
is that he actually teaches urban planning
not far from here at the 
University of California in Berkeley.
And I was about to hire one 
of his former graduate students.
And so I arranged a talk with Victor 
as a reference for this student,
and Victor and I, we chatted for maybe 
five minutes about the student.
We’ve hired him. He’s great. 
He continues to work for us.
But then we went off into a 
discussion of some other topics,
and one in particular that we 
were very passionate about,
and ended up talking for about 
at least another hour
about a risk that we were seeing 
globally with some trends
around urbanization and the 
increasing role of technology
in our lives every day, 
the risks for increasing
the digital divide for people with 
disabilities around the world.
So we chatted about that 
for quite a while,
and the concerns that 
we had in those risks.
In that very enthusiastic 
conversation with Victor,
it was my first introduction to him, 
and really his charisma just came through.
We happened to be Skyping at that point 
because I was in rural Mexico
and I think Victor was here in 
San Francisco at that point.
But his drive to solve problems 
really came through
in that first initial Skype 
call that we had.
And I remember actually thinking 
as we finished the call,
that I knew at some point 
I would be working with this man
because he was just so 
energetic and charismatic
and so focused on 
making a difference.
So about a year later we actually 
launched a global project together
called Smart Cities for All, 
and we've been working together
closely for a year and a half 
or so on that.
And I’ve gotten to know 
Victor incredibly well.
We work together; basically every day,
somewhere on the planet
we’re doing work together.
And I know Victor likes challenges.
He likes adventures, 
he likes challenges,
he likes tackling tough issues. 
He scales mountain peaks
both figuratively and literally, 
which is great to see.
And he bring this 
fearlessness to our work.
I see the impact 
of his fearlessness,
of his determination 
on the problems
that he's trying to solve 
around the world.
So I mentioned that one of Victor's roles
is teaching at Berkeley
and really shaping 
the next generation
of urban planners and 
of policy makers
to get them to think 
about disability rights,
and to think about inclusive design, 
which he's doing.
But in addition to that, 
he's got a few other important roles
that I want to make 
you aware of.
He started his own 
nonprofit called World Enabled,
which focuses on promoting both 
the rights and importantly the dignities
of people with disabilities 
around the world.
Here in the US he was 
appointed by the president,
and I'm very careful to say 
now by President Obama.
Twice he was appointed 
to the US Access Board,
which is the federal agency 
that focuses on accessibility
and disability issues, disability rights 
for the US federal government.
Fifteen years ago when Victor 
was just 23 years old,
he played a very impactful role 
in the development of a historic
human rights treaty for the 
rights of people with disabilities
around the world.
This treaty is historic because 
it was the fastest negotiated
and adopted human rights 
treaty in history.
It’s the first human rights treaty 
to raise access to technology
to a basic human right.
And Victor’s contributions to that at 
23 years old were instrumental,
and I think the proof in the 
value of this human rights treaty
and in his contributions is that 
this treaty has been adopted
by just about every country 
on the planet at this point
in just a decade.
[APPLAUSE]
Yeah, it’s fantastic.
So over the past few years the 
United Nations has been working
to find a road map for cities, 
recognizing that we are a
rapidly urbanizing planet.
Victor’s also played a 
pivotal role in that work,
convening disabled persons groups 
around the world to make sure
that their voice, their perspective, 
is a part of these international
discussions and agreements, 
because too often they're not.
And he continues to lead that 
organization and have an impact
on that UN work globally.
So Victor's, his vision, and more 
importantly his actions and his leadership
are truly transforming 
our world today,
particularly when it comes to people 
with disabilities around the world.
And really, for all of us who value 
and work to safeguard human rights
around the world, we can thank 
Victor for his contributions.
So with that, ladies and gentlemen, 
now to present his vision for –
and I love this – 
radical inclusion,
please join me in welcoming 
my partner and my good friend,
Dr. Victor Pineda.
[APPLAUSE]
VICTOR: How are you, Bioneers? 
[CHEERS]
How you feeling? 
[CHEERS]
Excited?
Are we going to climb 
some mountains?
Are we going to make 
some solutions?
AUDIENCE: Yes!
Are we going to solve 
the world’s problems?
Maybe not, 
but we can try.
We can each do 
what we can.
And I think that all of us can do 
more when we work together.
[APPLAUSE]
I believe that there are 
no problems that are impossible
if we have an imagination to look 
beyond what is apparent
and we imagine a new future.
You see, that was something 
that was instilled into me
by this incredible woman – 
my grandmother, Nana.
Babi is the rock 
that raised me.
She was the one that gave 
me the strength to imagine
my place in the world and 
re-imagine what I could do.
My mother actually came to this country 
in search of opportunities
because every time she took me 
to a school in Venezuela
the principals and the 
teachers said to my mother:
Keep your kid at home; 
he'll be teased in school.
It’s better that he 
doesn’t go to school,
plus we don't know what to 
do with a kid that can’t walk.
We can’t really educate him.
He's not going to be 
able to get a job,
he’s not going to be 
able to have a career.
Just keep him at home; 
it will be easier for everybody.
But my mother realized that those 
were just people that lacked imagination.
Right, right?
And my grandma actually really raised us 
because my mother was a single mother.
We came to the United States 
when I was 7.
I stopped walking around that time 
because my muscles were weak.
My muscles weren't strong 
enough to hold me up.
But you know who 
was strong enough
is my brothers. 
These guys.
They were strong enough to 
carry me up the tree
so I could get a good view and 
give my grandmother a heart attack.
[LAUGHTER]
They were strong enough to help me 
learn to defend myself
from bullies in school.
And my big brother, Francisco, 
who’s in the back there,
gave me the apple in junior high, 
said, You know, Victor,
who’s this guy that’s teasing you? 
I want to beat him up.
And I said—I said, 
It's that guy.
He said, You know what? 
Maybe it’s better that
I don't beat him up; 
maybe it’s better that you
figure out a way that 
you can defend yourself.
And it was that idea that 
I could actually stand up for myself,
and that I could assert my rights 
with dignity that allowed me to gain
the self-confidence that I needed 
to tackle the challenges that
life would throw before me.
The little guy is Patrick. 
Patrick also was very curious,
but he was great because the things 
that I physically couldn't do
I would get him to do.
Like I said, What would happen 
if you stick your finger inside
the electrical socket? 
[LAUGHTER]
So he survived.
[LAUGHTER]
But anyway, I think family, 
love, support, you know,
being able to think about 
what's possible beyond
other people's expectations 
was critical.
And that’s what 
my family did.
And that's also what instilled in me 
the desire to go beyond what
even I thought was possible.
So I came to the United States. 
I ended up excelling at school.
The United States has 
kind of the ADA.
Passed the ADA – 
Americans with Disabilities Act.
Huge civil rights struggle. 
Huge victory for 54 million Americans,
and something that 
supported my education
in a way that I did not feel different 
than Robbie’s red freckles or Sally’s glasses.
I just had a wheelchair. 
It was part of diversity.
It was part of the class, 
but it was also part of my own story
because I ended up 
going to UC Berkeley, right,
[APPLAUSE]
getting a degree in 
political economy,
business administration, 
then a master’s in
regional economic development, and 
a PhD from UCLA in urban planning.
Now I teach at some of the 
world's most prestigious universities.
Not bad for a kid that wasn't 
going to get an education, right?
[APPLAUSE]
But it's really how we apply the 
skills that we have
and what we do in 
search for social justice,
what we do in search for 
making a contribution.
You see this image represents 
a spirit of adventure,
something that I've carried 
with me my entire life.
Go to places where people 
need to rediscover what’s possible,
share my vision and imagination 
of what we can do when we eliminate
the barriers that 
limit our potential.
And we eliminate the limiting beliefs 
and we reimagine what's possible.
You see, inclusion really is not about 
just who's in or who's out.
Inclusion is about 
understanding the diversity
of all of our lifestyles and 
all of our preferences.
It's not about whether you 
can see or you can’t see,
it's about a spectrum of abilities.
It's not about whether you can 
walk or can’t walk
but how you’d prefer 
to move around.
You see there are one billion people 
in the world that live with a disability.
That's one in seven.
And that just rises 
dramatically with aging.
After 60 years old the percentage of 
people with disabilities is about 45%,
and after 80, 
it’s about 75%
of people over 80 
experience some disability,
some challenge, encounter some way 
that they want the world to be
a little bit more inclusive, 
a little more accessible.
That's why we put all 
these images here,
these icons because 
it’s also situational.
It's how you experience 
the world around you.
It’s your environment.
We can either make environments 
that are inclusive or we can
make environments that keep 
people excluded, people out.
Now you guys probably 
recognize this place.
This is the Playa 
at Burning Man.
[CHEERS]
You see, 
Burning Man taught me
that inclusion is a 
state of mind as well.
You can be in the most 
inhospitable environment
but if people welcome 
you with open arms,
curiosity, ask about what 
your preferences are,
how you want to be treated, 
meet you on your terms,
a lot, almost anything 
can happen,
including having a radical, 
radical good time.
[LAUGHTER]
So what do we do?
What do we do to tackle 
the issue of inclusion?
How do we create 
a world that is with—
you can live with 
fewer barriers?
How do we understand disability 
not as a medical perspective,
as this person has 
this medical condition,
but rather as an 
experience of human life,
a diversity, that anyone can 
fall into at any time.
And how do we create those bridges 
that allow us to realize our potential?
So I think that we could 
each do something.
We could each think about 
what it means to be human
and we could each understand 
that being human is not about
being just part of 
the same species.
Google says it's also 
about weakness.
It's about understanding that 
we're not all perfect. Right?
And it's understanding that 
we each have vulnerabilities.
And it’s those vulnerabilities that 
actually can unlock strengths
within each one of us.
It’s those places where 
we’re uncomfortable
where we can we re-imagine 
sort of what's possible.
I took a trip to India where 
I went to the Ganges River
because I was experiencing 
some challenges in my life.
My marriage was in trouble.
I was in a career moment 
where I wasn't very satisfied
and I decided to re-imagine 
what my life could be like.
And they dipped me 
in the Ganges River.
I had a psychedelic experience 
and I realized that there was so much
more that I could do if I 
actually owned my life
and took my life 
at full throttle.
This is a documentary film 
that I'm producing, 12 Bends,
which is going to 
document that story.
I encourage you guys to 
check it out—12 Bends.
And really thinking about 
cities and companies as allies
in regenerative, responsive and 
radically altering these systems.
It's about how we can capture 
a market of $8 trillion.
That’s the amount of money, 
disposable income, of people
with disabilities and 
their families.
It’s about creating products 
and services that lift you up
and carry you further.
It’s about understanding 
that your core identity
is about being responsive 
to the population,
all of the population, 
because understanding
that your products should 
be easy to use.
The things that we build 
need to be accessible
for everyone so that 
there's less frustrations,
and no matter what 
your lifestyle is,
you can engage with 
that product or service.
I am really honored that my 
colleague, James and I,
are working on this initiative 
called Smart Cities for All
because we're seeing a huge 
convergence of technology
in urban development, and it’s 
really that convergence
that allows us to think 
about what’s possible,
and have new imaginations about 
the world that we’re creating.
You see, we don't want 
to just be sustainable.
We want to be responsive 
to the needs of the world
and all of our people.
We don’t want 
to be regenerative,
but we want to be not just 
regenerative but also inclusive,
meaning let's get a world 
where love and imagination
can create new opportunities 
and good times
and a better future 
for us all.
Thank you very much. 
[APPLAUSE]
Thank you so much.
[APPLAUSE]
JOSHUA: Every year, Bioneers 
gives a special award out
to people who are exemplars
in radical inclusion,
in presenting solutions for
some of the most pressing
and urgent, paradigm-shifting
issues of the day.
You saw on one of the
first slides that Victor shared
his nana. Unfortunately, his
nana is ailing, and he has to leave
tomorrow, or actually leave tonight.
Typically we would give this award out
tomorrow, but we wanted to 
share this recognition with all of you.
So to Victor and to James.
We want to thank the both of you
for this critical, vital, solution-based
work that you're doing.
The gift that we're awarding you
is a blanket made by a native-owned
firm in Seattle - 
Eighth Generation,
Indigenous.
[APPLAUSE]
Thank you, James and Victor,
so much for the work you're doing.
We're so grateful for you.
[APPLAUSE]
Thank you, Victor.
VICTOR: Thank you.
[APPLAUSE]
