Programme Workshops Rethinking Universal Accessibility: A broader approach considering the digital gap

Rethinking Universal Accessibility: A broader approach considering the digital gap

“Universal Accessibility” aims at including all people with disabilities in the target population for user-centered design. It is usually focused on the needs of people with disabilities, frequently including elderly people. Current advancements in Design for all may require complex equipment, advanced network environments, or computer training. Therefore, these products or services may fall out the reach of many people with disabilities because of economical, technological or formative restrictions. This is a frequent situation in countries where poverty is associated with barriers to obtain assistive technologies and services.

 

This Workshop aims at rethinking the concept of Universal Accessibility in order to find ways to include all excluded people with disabilities. The main objective of this workshop, organized on behalf of the IFIP WG 13.3 HCI and Disability for HCI, is to discuss the possibility of broadening the Universal Accessibility concept to include geopolitical and socio-economical circumstances. To this end, attendees will try to find agreed answers to questions such as: Can the Universal Accessibility concept be extended in order to include people with disabilities also affected by other barriers such as poverty, illiteracy, lack of access to advanced technology, etc.? Is it possible to create accessibility guidelines that also consider affordable devices, deprecated technology, cultural issues, or illiteracy?

 

More information about this workshop including a call for participation and post-publication plans can be found in: http://www.egokituz.org/WS/RethinkingUA/