Ben Akuoko is a passionate advocate, public speaker, accessibility consultant, community connector, and founder of Brightside Scope; dedicated to highlighting the intersections of race, culture, and disability through storytelling, education, consulting, and media. As a proud Black man of Ghanaian descent living with Retinitis Pigmentosa, Ben draws on his lived and professional experiences to amplify underrepresented voices, challenge misconceptions, and create spaces where diverse perspectives are heard and valued.
Ben holds a Social Service Worker diploma from Sheridan College, a Bachelor of Social Work from Laurentian University, and a Master of Social Work from the University of Waterloo. He is also a Registered Social Worker whose professional and advocacy work is rooted in accessibility, equity, inclusion, education, and community engagement.
Ben is actively involved in disability advocacy and community leadership. He serves on the Council of Canadians with Disabilities and has contributed to Holland Bloorview’s National Disability Initiative and the National Black Disability Coalition. He is also a founder of a Black blind men’s group, creating a space for Black men living with blindness and low vision to connect, share experiences, build community, and engage in conversations around the intersections of race, culture, masculinity, and disability. Ben also participates in initiatives and coalitions focused on advancing disability rights, accessibility, representation, and racial equity.
Through Brightside Scope, Ben brings together advocacy, education, entertainment, and storytelling to create engaging conversations about disability, race, culture, identity, and inclusion. He delivers workshops, presentations, lectures, and panel discussions for educational institutions, community organizations, corporations, and other audiences. He also provides accessibility and inclusion consulting, including within media and the arts, helping organizations move beyond simply talking about inclusion toward meaningfully putting it into practice.
Ben’s advocacy has taken him into media, television, podcasts, conferences, classrooms, and community spaces, where he uses what he calls “edutainment”—the fusion of education and entertainment— to make conversations about accessibility, equity, and intersectionality engaging, relatable, and impactful.
When Ben isn’t advocating or speaking, he taps into his creative side. He writes scripts, writes and composes Hip Hop, Pop, and R&B music, acts in commercials and television shows, performs stand-up comedy, refines his merengue and salsa skills, lifts weights, travels, and takes on exciting new challenges. His adventures and accomplishments have included skydiving, parasailing, zip-lining, driving a go-kart at 80 km/h, completing a half marathon, and running a full marathon.
Ben firmly believes that diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility should not be afterthoughts—they should be woven into the fabric of our organizations, media, communities, and society. Through Brightside Scope and his broader advocacy, Ben continues to use his lived experience, professional expertise, creativity, and storytelling to challenge perceptions, build connections, and help ensure that people who have historically been overlooked are seen, heard, and valued.
Ultimately, Ben hopes to inspire people to recognize their potential, embrace the many dimensions of their identities, and know that their voices and stories matter.
