AAATE Newsletter 2026#1

The AAATE board addresses you and your loved ones with our best wishes for a great year 2026 full of fruitful exchanges, cooperation and projects enabling people with disabilities. As you know the international situation is extremely worrying, and we’re concerned about its impact on the most vulnerable people, threatened in many areas by the increase of conflicts and violences. As a community committed to supporting people with disabilities, we call for an end to conflicts, respect for human rights to live in peace, and the development of inclusive policies.

The new board, elected at the AAATE 2025 conference in Nicosia, for the period 2026-2027, met in Paris in January. Georgios Kouroupetroglu, who just terminated his mandate as past-president, Evert-Jan Hoogerwerf, our Secretary General and Ralf Klug from the AAATE Office in JKU (Linz) joined this meeting. In general, the board meets in person once or twice a year (depending on conference opportunity), and about once a month online.

We need your input for the European Commission’s public consultation! AAATE is preparing an official response to the European Commission’s public consultation: “Enhancing the strategy for the rights of persons with disabilities up to 2030”. To shape this response, you will be invited to contribute by providing your input via a survey which will be sent to you in the next few days, in order to ensure that AAATE’s voice is robustly representing your expertise.

The Board proposed to work on 3 particularly important topics in the current context, and we need input from members. Three working groups will be set up and will decide the form of their work and the objects they will produce. More information will be sent with separate calls in the next few weeks. In case you are interested in any of the following topics please send an email to work-groups@aaate.net, which will be forwarded to the contact persons.

  • AI and AT: Annalu Waller and Dominique Archambault
  • AT policy and policy impact: Pedro Encarnação
  • AT in humanitarian crises: Tone Øderud

In addition the Think Tank on Ageing and Person-Centred Technology will continue its activities in 2026 with three more meetings (dates to be decided).

As you probably already know, the AAATE 2027 conference will be hosted by Thomas More University of Applied Sciences in Mechelen from September 8 to 10, 2027 (pre-conference days on Sept 6 and 7). We have already started the preparations together with the local host, with the aim of creating a highly engaging event that fosters networking, knowledge exchange, and the development of new collaborations and projects, building on the legacy of our 18 previous conferences. All information will be posted on https://aaate2027.eu/, stay tuned!

We will also continue to invite members to share experiences and meet during online short sessions, as we started with the AAATE Aperitivos. The last one took place on Nov 27, 2025 and offered members a relaxed virtual gathering. During these sessions, members could connect with fellow members from across Europe and beyond, share thoughts and outcomes about their work, have the opportunity to discuss, ask for advice and/or find and offer collaboration.

Below, you will find more information about the projects AAATE is involved in, provided by our Secretary General, Evert-Jan Hoogerwerf. AAATE can efficiently take part in projects, as long as they are in line with our constitution, that is contributing to support the development of AT. On the project page of our website you can find the current and past projects involving AAATE, and guidelines for project participation. AAATE can serve in the tasks of dissemination (we run a major conference in Europe but also we have the experience of organising workshops and of communicating results of research about AT) and users involvement (we have members in many countries and a large network of partners). Please think about it when you design your next project application and visit https://aaate.net/activities/projects/. Contact Evert-Jan Hoogerwerf via the office email address office@aaate.net.

Below you will find information about upcoming conferences and events related to AT, and especially about our sister conference, the International Conference on Computers Helping People with special needs – ICCHP 2026, in Brno from July 15 to 17 (deadline for scientific contributions is Feb 9).

You will also find the list of recent papers published in Technology and Disability. This is your journal, AAATE members have access to papers content. For this, you need to visit our website https://aaate.net, connect with your personnel account, and access the journal via the T&D access page in the Member’s area. We strongly encourage you to consider publishing your AT and accessibility related research in this journal, which has an impact factor. We are continuously looking for reviewers in the AT field. Members who are involved in the research field can contribute to our journal by serving as reviewers. If you are interested, you can contact the office and provide a list of topics that match your expertise, indicating the areas where you’d be able to review manuscripts.

This newsletter is also your newsletter. If you have information useful to share with AAATE members, please send a brief text (with a link if relevant) to office@aaate.net.

AAATE has National Contact Persons in 33 countries (see the list https://aaate.net/about-aaate/national-contact-persons/). They are also invited to forward information via this newsletter.

We hope to meet you online and in person during our events and other conferences/opportunities and to work together for the development of Assistive Technologies to enable people with disabilities in Europe and beyond. We will be present at the ATIA 2026 conference in Orlando, (Florida) at the end of January, at the Zero Conference in Vienna in February, and of course at our sister conference: ICCHP 2026 in Brno in July of course, as well as in many other places.

Warmest wishes

Dominique Archambault, AAATE President
With the support of the AAATE team

AAATE Board meeting group photo
AAATE board meeting in Paris. From left to right : Lorenzo, Georgios, Ralf, Dominique, Tone, Merita, Evert-Jan, Annalu, Pedro, Silvio

AAATE Team

Board 2026-2027

  • Dominique Archambault, Université Paris 8-Vincennes-Saint-Denis, France, President
  • Silvio Marcello Pagliara, University of Cagliari, Italy, President-elect
  • Pedro Encarnação, Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Portugal, Past-President
  • Annalu Waller, University of Salford, Manchester, UK, Treasurer
  • Tone Øderud, SINTEF Digital, Norway, Secretary
  • Merita Hoxha, Aleksander Xhuvani University, Albania, Project Officer
  • Lorenzo Desideri, Sigmund Freud University Milano, Italy, External Communication and Information

https://aaate.net/about/board

AAATE Staff members

  • Evert-Jan Hoogerwerf,Secretary General
  • Ralf Klug, AAATE Office in JKU (Linz)

Contact the team : office@aaate.net

Projects

Currently AAATE is participating in two European (Erasmus+) projects: The AI4HomeCarers (https://ai4homecare.eu/) and the Upgrade project (website under development) on inclusive gaming.

In the AI4HomeCarers Project AAATE staff is currently supporting the development of a learning platform on the use of innovative technologies in home care. The release is foreseen for June 2025 after a validation stage with stakeholders.

This year will also see the release of the UPGRADE community platform for those interested in accessibility of videogames and inclusive gaming, as well as gaming as a tool for skills development for participants with disabilities. In the next newsletter we will keep you updated.

The Erasmus+ programme turns out to be an important opportunity for AAATE to realise its mission and to create impact in Europe and beyond. For an overview of the programme and the upcoming deadlines: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/C/2025/6080/oj (KA2 deadline 5 March 2026!)

Please consider including AAATE as a project partner in your proposals.

News from GAATO

The Global Alliance of Assistive Technology Organizations is currently reviewing and updating its 5 years strategy. The new strategy will be available in April 2026. https://www.gaato.org/

ICCHP 2026 Conference in Brno

We are happy to highlight our sister conference ICCHP 2026 – the 20th International Conference on Digital Inclusion, Assistive Technology (AT) and Accessible ICT (eAccessibility). ICCHP 2026 will take place at Masaryk University in Brno, Czech Republic, from July 15–17, 2026 (with pre-conference events on July 13–14).​

ICCHP has been a key venue for our community to exchange research, practice and policy on technology and disability, and to strengthen collaboration across disciplines and countries. Researchers, practitioners, users and policymakers are warmly invited to submit their contributions and join the discussions in Brno.​

Recently published in Technology and Disability

Technology and Disability, Volume 37, number 4 was published in November 2025. Review Articles

  • Advancements of prosthetic running blades: An in-depth literature review, by Md Irfanul Haque Siddiqui, Ibrahim A. Alnaser, Mohd. Muddassirul Haque Siddiqui, Khalid Alluhydan and Intesaaf Ashraf
  • Techniques utilising physiological data for supporting children with dyscalculia: A comprehensive review, by Thi Kieu Chinh Nguyen, Duc Duy Le, Thi Cam Huong Nguyen, Thanh Ha Le and Thi Duyen Ngo

Research Articles

  • Assistive technology provision at mainstream schools—Experiences of Serbian resource centers by Nenad Glumbić, Mirjana Đorđević, Sanela Slavković, Sharon Borg Schembri, May Agius, Riccardo Magni, Katerina Mavrou, Eleni Theodorou, Maria Mouka, Evert-Jan Hoogerwerf and Lorenzo Desideri
  • Supporting students with disabilities to transitions to or from postsecondary education: A review of technology-enriched transition programs by Björn Fisseler and Jane Seale
  • Cue-preserving auralisations for blind exploration of virtual indoor environments by David Poirier-Quinot
  • Ideas and visions of a new web application for early intervention: Interviews with parents of children with communication difficulties in Sweden, by Sandra Östberg, Gunilla Thunberg and Margret Buchholz
  • Utilizing VR-BCI for motor function rehabilitation by Ma Thi Chau, Kien Nguyen Minh, Long Vu Thanh, Hoang Anh Nguyen The, Y Huynh Thi Nhu, Loc Dang Huynh, Vu Doan Van Anh, Duy Vo Ngoc and Nghia Hoang Tien Trong
  • Comparative analysis of fuzzy logic and ANFIS controllers using a novel robotic ankle-foot orthosis, by Gowri Shankar Govindaraj and Arockia Selvakumar Arockia Doss

Book Review

  • Book Review: Evidence-based assessment framework for assistive technology: The MPT and MATCH-ACES assessments, by Soheila Seyedi

Job Position

Upcoming events

2026

2027

Posted on by dom
Categories: news, newsletters
Tags: