Dell Technologies and Intel have a strong partnership, propelled by the shared belief in the power of technology to drive humanity forward. Both companies have a long-standing relationship with the Motor Neurone Disease Association (MNDA) to create technology solutions for people living with motor neurone disease (MND). MND is a neurodegenerative condition that deteriorates nerve cells that control muscles and ultimately takes away a person’s ability to speak. Even though voice banking technology is available, only about 12% of people with MND in the UK have banked their voices. In 2020, Dell Technologies and Intel came to us with a brief to find a way to get more people living with MND to bank their voices.

Motor neurone disease (MND) is a terminal illness. But before it takes your life, it takes your voice. Voice banking can help those with MND create a digital copy of their voice so they can continue sounding like themselves as the disease progresses. But only 12% have used this technology. Most put it off because they find the process difficult and impersonal. That’s why we created "I Will Always Be Me" – The Book That Banks Your Voice. We worked together with bestselling author Jill Twiss and artist Nicholas Stevenson to create a story that those with MND can read aloud to express what they’re going through. The story contains all the syllables needed to accurately bank their voice in less than 30 minutes. We’re turning the cold, solitary process of voice banking into an experience that’s full of life — encouraging more people with MND to bank their voice.

When MND takes away all your abilities, your voice becomes the only means to express yourself. While realizing that our voices are our identities, denial prevents newly diagnosed people from considering a future without their voice. Yet time is of the essence for people with MND.

Therefore, we set to turn voice banking into one of the first things they’d want to do and elevate the voice banking experience from its current solitary, clinical environment to an inclusive and empowering one.

Voice banking is a technology that can make a difference in the lives of people with MND. But the process can be hard and discouraging. That’s why we created "I Will Always Be Me" — The Book That Banks Your Voice.

Over 15 months, we brought together technologists, speech therapists, creatives and MND patients to create a platform that made it easier for those battling the disease to bank their voices, inspiring them to use this helpful technology. The first step of the process was to create the book. Written by bestselling author Jill Twiss and illustrated by artist Nicholas Stevenson, the story gently explains what it truly means to live with MND.

Once the book was written, we created a site to host the story. iwillalwaysbeme.com is the first voice banking platform that follows AAA accessibility standards and allows users to bank their voices from any laptop or mobile device. We adapted every single page of the book so it could be read online and on any screen. Every illustration was animated, and every paragraph was placed accordingly to enrich the experience and help readers bank their voices.

Throughout every step of the execution, we ensured that people with MND felt comfortable and safe using the platform.

"I Will Always Be Me" was created with the goal of making voice banking more accessible to people living with MND, reducing the time between diagnosis and voice banking and increasing overall voice banking rate. Less than two months after launch, hundreds of digital voices had been created by reading the book, making "I Will Always Be Me" the most popular choice for voice banking in the UK today. More than 72% of those recently diagnosed with MND are now using the book to bank their voice. The campaign to launch the project generated over 1.2 million social media engagements and over 200 million PR media impressions, driving more people to bank their voices and raising awareness around MND.