The Cardiac project -in collaboration with the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) and the ICT Knowledge Transfer Network- is organising a conference on “Accessible ICT: Priorities for Future Research on Accessible Information and Communication Technology Systems and Services”, on 22nd January 2013, at the Institution of Engineering and Technology, 2 Savoy Place, London.

The aim of this conference is to obtain a consensus on priorities for future research on accessible information and communication technology systems and services. Funding bodies need to ascertain the best strategy for investing their finite resources in research and development to benefit disabled and elderly people. The scope will include network-based services (social networks, collective intelligent systems, augmented reality, cloud computing, advanced location aware services and ambient intelligent systems) as well as novel user interfaces and technology transfer.

In addition, “The Future of Accessible ICT” has been published by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) and will act as the background document for this conference:

In the past, technology for people with disabilities was largely stand-alone devices which had a single specific function. In the last few years the emphasis has changed to designing mainstream systems and services so that they can also be useful to people with disabilities. This leads to the problem of how to educate mainstream designers about the desirability of adopting such an inclusive design approach, and how to make their systems accessible when this can mean very different things for users with different impairments.
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More info:

–> The agenda of the Conference “Accessible ICT: Priorities for Future Research on Accessible Information and Communication Technology Systems and Services”: www.cardiac-eu.org/about/conference.htm
–> Institution of Engineering and Technology: www.theiet.org