Inclusion and Exclusion in the Welfare Society
8-10 May 2019
In May 2019 Sarah Woodin from the University of Leeds attended the NNDR Conference in Copenhagen (http://www.nndr2019.org/ ) where she presented on aspects of the user studies work of the SUITCEYES project. NNDR is a multidisciplinary network and it is the major conference of disability researchers interested in cultural, societal and environmental dimensions of disability and marginalisation in this part of the world. Although the majority of those attending are from Nordic countries, this is a very international conference, with delegates present from many countries worldwide. The conference is held every two years, with a different country hosting each year.
The presentation, on “Artificial Intelligence, New Technology and People with Deafblindness: policy issues and implications” was part of the stream on “Universal design and emerging new digital technologies”. Six presentations were given over two sessions in this stream and about 20 people attended each of these. This format was a really useful way to make new contacts and to develop a picture of the research that is taking place in disability studies. Beyond this there were also opportunities to raise questions and engage in discussion with other researchers concerned with accessibility, the design of spaces and social inclusion. It was clear that new technology is not yet a mainstream concern in disability studies research, but we can expect this to change in the near future. There was a great deal of interest in SUITCEYES and in other projects where disabled people are taking a lead in developing relevant technology.
The next NNDR conference will take place in Iceland in 2021, with further details available here: http://nndr2021.is/
PowerPoint Presentation: Artificial Intelligence, New Technology and People with