Access For All

Designer and developers, as well as people with disabilities and older people that will be the main users and beneficiaries of the VERITAS system, are invited to dedicated User Forums where best practices and knowledge can be exchanged. These forums will take place in coincidence with the project’s conferences, where all interested parties will be able to join the debate. Members of the User Forum will also have the opportunity to apply for participation in testing of VERITAS services, and will be able to participate in project conferences at a reduced fee. Equally, all User Forum members will be provided with the project’s 6-monthly newsletter. To become part of the User Forum, please complete the registration form. Additionally, after submitting the form, you can also access their online User Forum.

The Spanish Presidency of the European Union has attempted to clarify that the planned Equal Treatment Directive does not force manufacturers to only make goods that are accessible to people with disabilities.
Many goods, such as mobile phones or digital television devices, are not easily usable by people with visual impairments. Some disability rights campaigners had claimed that a previous draft of the Directive would force manufacturers to change the way goods are made.
But the Presidency has published amendments to the draft Directive that make it clear that the planned law does not change the legal landscape for manufacturers.
“This Directive shall not apply to the design and manufacture of goods,” said an amendment to Article 4 of the proposed Directive tabled by the EU Presidency.
The European Blind Union and the UK’s RNIB had claimed that the previous draft of the Directive did mandate a change in the law through Article 3, clause 1 (d), which prohibits discrimination in relation to “access to and supply of goods and other services which are available to the public, including housing”.
Source: Based on OUT-LAW article.

The IADIS Interfaces and Human Computer Interaction (IHCI) 2010 conference will take place in Freiburg, Germany, on 28–30 July 2010. It is part of the IADIS Multi Conference on Computer Science and Information Systems (MCCSIS 2010) which takes place in Freiburg on 26–31 July 2010. The event aims to address the main issues of concern within Interface Culture and Design with a particular emphasis on the affective aspects of design, development and implementation of interfaces and the generational implications for design of human and technology interaction. This conference aims to explore and discuss innovative studies of technology and its application in interfaces and welcomes research in progress, case studies, practical demonstrations and workshops in addition to the traditional submission categories.
The conference will comprise of invited talks and oral presentations. Topics related to Interfaces and Human Computer Interaction are of interest. These include, but are not limited to the following areas:
- Affective User-centred analysis, design and evaluation
- The value of Affective Interfaces/ Systems/Application/ Interaction
- Generational differences and technology design
- Measurement of success of emotional technology/interfaces
- Supporting user populations from difference generations
- Supporting user populations with Physical Disabilities
- Supporting user populations with Intellectual Disabilities
- Creativity Support Systems
- Emotional Design issues/methods/experiences for novel interfaces including tangible, mixed reality interfaces and multi-modal interfaces
- Emotional Design issues/methods/experiences for mobile and ubiquitous computing
- Usability
- User studies and fieldwork
- Methodological implications of emotional user studies.
- Participatory design and cooperative design techniques
- Ethical issues in emotional design
- HCI education and design education
- Eliciting User Requirements

Important Dates:
- Submission Deadline: 19 February 2010
- Notification to Authors: 19 March 2010
- Final Camera-Ready Submission and Early Registration: Until 12 April 2010
- Late Registration: After 12 April 2010

More information on the website: www.ihci-conf.org

The 7th European conference “Design, by all – Challenges of design promotion in Europe” will be organised in Paris on 11-12 January 2010 at the Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie, 37 Avenue Corentin Carriou, 75020 Paris, France.
Its programme offers unique insights on :
- the use of design approaches towards communities, including services and social design;
- how are living labs and other user-centred approaches paving the way to new businesses and social inclusion;
- with an synthesis of more than 300 entries to the three editions of the Design Management Europe Award, where else could you get an overview of the various contributions of design to business strategy;
- the new design strategies that some businesses are implementing in response to economical and environmental challenges;
- and, last but not least, what can be expected to come out of the European Commission’s consultation on “Design as a driver of user-centred innovation”.

Register, using this link.

The international conference “Needs of Accessibility and Design for All in Tourism for All” will take place in Lousã (Portugal) on 19 and 20 November 2009.

If interested, contact tourismforall@gmail.com by 10 November.

EuCAN (European Concept for Accessibility Network) is open to any person whose professional activity is related to accessibility or design for all.
EuCAN is an open network running on a purely volunteer basis and not benefitting from any funding.
The main purpose of the network is to support interdisciplinary exchange of knowledge and to create publications aiming at a harmonised approach to accessibility at European level.

More information can be found on www.eca.lu.