by David Banes. It is not a new issue, but it is worth regularly revisiting. I recently sat in two meetings where one or more people suggested that when planning the provision of AT, we needed to focus on the most important items first. In their minds, these were very traditional AT, mobility aids, spectacles, […]
The war in Ukraine has left many people without homes and without access to disability services and supports. It has also displaced millions of people, resulting in associated language and cultural barriers. Accessible and Assistive Technologies can potentially ease some of these barriers, from translation apps to Ukrainian language symbol sets for AAC users and […]
Active participation in daily life, today, needs a comprehensive understanding of digital tools that we use to make our lives easier. As a society that has largely transitioned to a digital space, it is important to take into account the needs and requirements of people with disabilities to ensure they are not excluded. Contributing to […]
ICCHP-AAATE, the Joint International Conference on Digital Inclusion, Assistive Technology & Accessibility, is taking place 11-15 July 2022 in beautiful Lecco, Italy. It is the bi-annual gathering of experts in the field of Assistive Technology (AT), (e)Accessibility, Accessible ICT and Digital Accessibility, but also much more than that. Makoto Kobayashi, Prof. at the Tsukuba University of Technology (JP) shares […]
During the recent EASPD conference The Future is Now: Person Centred Technology to empower people and disability services I launched the idea for the European Commission to facilitate the establishment of a European Innovation Partnership on the Digital Divide. European Innovation Partnerships (EIP’s) are more or less self-organising collaborative ecosystems that without much top-down coordination […]
The pace of change has increased incredibly in the assistive technology sector, just as in all other parts of our society. In these rapidly moving times, experience is a foundation and provides valuable background. It was therefore our particular pleasure to win Björk Pálsdóttir for an interview. Björk has started out as occupational therapist in […]
It is an open secret when writing reports for research or consultancy that the most crucial part is the executive summary. In any project, at some point, it will be agreed that most of the audience will only ever read the executive summary. Research reports are long, complex and time-consuming, and as a result, the […]
Digital skills are crucial to fully participate in today’s life – that was already true before the global pandemic hit and is even more true going forward. While at least in developing countries the accessibility and affordability of ICT devices and online services has markedly improved, we are still lagging behind in providing the necessary […]
Can you give us a quick overview of the role and mission of the Association for the Advancement of Assistive Technology in Europe (AAATE) Ιn brief I would say that the general mission of AAATE is to indorse assistive technologies as an important player for equal opportunities and quality of life of people with disabilities […]
Access to AT is a right, which enables access to employment, education, and all aspects of daily life. Delivering this is not a one-off intervention in most cases, and this is reflected in the 5P’s (People, Products, Provision, Personnel and Policy) developed by the World Health Organisation and in the AT ecosystem that I have […]
