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Accessible Europe: ICT 4 ALL
ICT Accessibility: The Key to Inclusive Communications

4-6 December 2019  |  Saint Julian's, Malta

Wednesday, 4 December 2019             

​10:00 - 10:45
Opening Ceremony Addresses
  • Hon. Anthony Agius Decelis, Parliamentary Secretary for Persons with Disability and Active Ageing, Government of Malta, Speech, Bio
  • Ms. Ruth Sciberras, CEO, Agenzija Sapport, Government of Malta, Presentation, Bio
  • ​Mr. Jaroslaw Ponder, Head of the ITU Office for Europe, ITU, B​io​​​​​
    ​​

​Welcome Remarks ​

  • Ms. Inmaculada Placencia-Porrero, Senior Expert, Disability and Inclusion Unit, DG for Employment, Social Affairs, and Inclusion, European Commission, Presentation, Bio​​
  • Mr. Alejandro Moledo, Policy Coordinator, European Disability Forum, Presentation, Bio​
  • Mr. Lászlo Lovaszy, Committee Member, UN CRPD, Presentation, Bio​

Key Note Address

  • Ms. Jutta Treviranus, Director, Inclusive Research Design Centre, Presentation​, Bio​

OCAD University

​11:15 - 12:15 Session 1: International, Europe region and European Union vision. Targets, actions and key resources to support in ICT Accessibility

Focus: The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on the accessibility of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs); ITU actions and challenges; European Commission actions and regional challenges; Implementation and Facilitation.

Moderator

  • Mr. Jaroslaw Ponder, Head of Regional Office for Europe, ITU, Presentation, Bio

Panelists

  • Ms. Daniela Bas, Director, Division for Inclusive Social Development, United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), Bio
  • Mr. Lászlo Lovaszy, Committee Member, UN CRPD, Presentation, Bio
  • Mrs. Roxana Widmer-Iliescu, Senior Programme Officer, Digital Inclusion Division for Telecommunication, ITU, Presentation, Bio
  • Ms. Inmaculada Placencia-Porrero, Senior Expert, Disability and Inclusion Unit, DG for Employment, Social Affairs, and Inclusion, European Commission, Presentation, Bio
  • Mr. Oliver Scicluna, Commissioner for the Rights of Persons with Disability, Malta, Presentation​, Bio

Panel discussion

​14:00 - 15:30Session 2: Enabling environment for Accessible Europe. The concrete role of Regulation and its enforcement

Focus: Practical examples of implementing EU legislation related to Accessibility with European Country Case Studies; Future EU regulatory landscape for ICT Accessibility.

Moderator and Setting the context on EU Accessibility Act

  • Ms. Inmaculada Placencia-Porrero, Senior Expert, Disability and Inclusion Unit, DG for Employment, Social Affairs, and Inclusion, European Commission, Presentation, Bio

Panelists

  • Therese Hourigan, End-User Working Group Co-Chair, BEREC, Presentation, Bio
  • Ms. Elena Munoz, Head of the Web Accessibility Observatory - Ministry of Territorial Policy and Civil Service, Spain, Presentation, Bio
  • Mr. Nikola Ivanovic, Advisor to the Director, Agency for Electronic Media, Montenegro, Presentation​, Bio
  • Dr. Joanna Spiteri, Chief Executive Officer, Broadcasting Authority, Malta, Presentation, Bio

Presentations and interactive discussion

​16:00 - 17:00Session 3: Artificial Intelligence for Accessibility

Focus: Innovative approaches, projects and implementation of Accessibility solutions that use AI, including concrete examples of innovative applications.

Moderator

  • Prof. Alexei Dingli, Associate Professor - Artificial Intelligence, Faculty of Information & Communication Technology, University of Malta, Presentation, Bio

Background & Setting the Context

Panelists

  • Mr. Klaus Höckner, Vice President, Hilfsgemeinschaft der Blinden und Sehschwachen Österreichs, Presentation, Bio
  • Mr. Alejandro Moledo, Policy Coordinator, European Disability Forum, Presentation​, Bio
  • Mr. Johan Keetalaar, Public Policy Manager, Facebook, Presentation, Bio
  •  Dr. Claudia Borg, Lecturer – Artificial Intelligence, Faculty of Information & Communication Technology, University of Malta, Presentation, Bio​

Presentations and interactive discussion

​17:00 - 18:00Session 4: Fostering European digital innovation ecosystem for assistive technologies

Focus: Examples of impactful emerging assistive technologies and their application across Europe, including concrete examples of successful digital Assistive technologies and services; Funding opportunities for Innovative products and services for PwDs.

Moderator

  • Mr. Stanley Debono, Chief Executive Officer, Foundation for ICT Accessibility (FITA), Malta, Presentation, Bio
Setting the Context

• Ms. Teuta Bakalli, MITA (Malta Information Technology Agency) Innovation Hub, Malta, Presentation, Bio

Panelists

  • Ms. Gudrun Stock, Deputy Head of Unit, Accessibility, Multilingualism, and Safer Internet, European Commission, Presentation, Bio
  • Mr. Dominique Archambault, Board Member, AAATE, Presentation, Bio
  • Mr. Renzo Andrich, President, EASTIN, Presentation, Bio
  • Mr. Christoph Jo Muller, Board President, BEH - Bundesfachverband Elektronische Hilfsmittel e.V., Presentation​​, Bio

Presentations and interactive discussion

​18:00 - 19:00
Social Event: Awards Ceremony for Regional Competition on Innovative Digital Solutions Competition for an Accessible Europe and Reception

Focus: Pitching session for Nominate Candidates and Awards

Chaired by

  • Mr. Jaroslaw Ponder, Head of ITU Office for Europe, ITU​

Pitching by Nominated Solutions​

GiveVision, Waymap, BeMyEyes, IrisGo​, Brain Control, VR Therapies, POSTHCARD, NITICS​ , Signly​, Rogervoice, ShowMeText​, Mirrorable, Access Earth, CuARdian Angel. More information on Nominated Projects available here

Announcement of Winners​

             Thursday, 5 December 2019    

​09:00 - 10:00Session 5: Accessibility in Education

Focus: Examples of ICT accessibility projects in learning and education; accessible books and accessible publishing.

Moderator

  • Ms. Inmaculada Placencia-Porrero, Senior Expert, Disability and Inclusion Unit, DG for Employment, Social Affairs, and Inclusion, European Commission, Bio​
Setting the Context
  • Mr. Ricardo Garcia, ITU Consultant, ITU, Presentatioin, Bio

Panelists

  • Mr. David Zanoletty, Chief of Accessible Technology Department, Fundación ONCE, Presentation, Bio
  • Mr. Svatoslav Ondra, Professor, Masaryk University, Presentation, Bio
  • Ms. Cristina Mussinelli, President, Fondazione LIA, Presentation, Bio
  • Ms. Sharon Borg, Bio​ & Ms. May Agius, Bio, Senior Assistive Technology Consultants, Access to Communication and Technology Unit (ACTU), Aġenzija Sapport, Malta, Presentation

Presentations and interactive discussion

​10:00 - 11:00Session 6: Advancing Implementation of Web Accessibility Across Europe

Focus: Practical examples from Governments and Private sector in providing accessible websites. Stock taking, best practices and challenges.

Moderator

  • Mrs. Roxana Widmer-Iliescu, Senior Programme Officer, Digital Inclusion Division for Telecommunication, ITU, Presentation​, Bio

Panelists

  • Ms. Gudrun Stock, Deputy Head of Unit, Accessibility, Multilingualism, and Safer Internet, European Commission, Presentation, Bio
  • Mr. Shadi Abou-Zahra, Accessibility Strategy and Technology Specialist, Web Accessibility Initiative, World Wide Web Consortium, Presentation, Bio 
  • Mr. Joseph Seychell, Manager – ICT and Technologies, Malta Communications Authority, Presentation, Bio
  • Mr. Stein Erik Skotkjerra, Head of Accessibility Relations, Siteimprove, Presentation, Bio​
  • Mr. Ricardo Garcia, ITU Consultant, ITU, Presentation

Presentations and interactive discussion

​11:30 - 12:30Session 7: Future of Accessible Audiovisual media services, TV and video programming

Focus: Broadcasters, Content producers; Emerging technologies; Consumers perspective; Implementation in Europe.

Moderator

  • Mr. David Wood, Co-Chair IRG-AVA - Intersector Rapporteur Group Audiovisual Media Accessibility, ITU, Presentation, Bio

Background & Setting the Context

Panelists

  • Mr. Andy Quested, Chair ITU-R Working Party 6C, BBC, Presentation, Bio
  • Mr. Gion Linder, Head of SWISS TXT AG & Chairman of the EBU Access Services Experts, EBU, Presentation, Bio
  • Dr. Bernard Busuttil, Director – Investigations, Compliance & Enforcement, Commission for the Rights of Persons with Disability (CRPD), Malta, Presentation, Bio​​​
  • Ms. Pilar Orero, Professor, University of Barcelona, Presentation​, Bio​

Presentations and interactive discussion

​13:30 - 14:30Session 8: Universal Design, Procurement and Standards

Focus: National strategies on universal design regulation and use cases on procurement; use of standards in this context.

Moderator

  • Mr. Simao Campos, Counsellor, ITU-T SG16, ITU, Presentation, Bio

Background & Setting Context

Panelists

  • Mr. Roberto Scano, UNINFO ICT Accessibility Expert, Presentation, Bio
  • Ms. Mia Ahlgren, Policy Officer, Swedish Disabilities Rights Federation, Presentation, Bio
  • Mr. Joel Snyder, Director of Audio Description Project, American Council of the Blind, Presentation​, Bio

Presentations and interactive discussion

​14:30 - 15:30Session 9: Telecom relay services: Practical experiences, challenges and opportunities in Europe

Focus: Telecommunications relay services are essential telecom services that enable persons who have hearing or speech disabilities and who otherwise would be unable to engage in voice telecommunications, to make voice telephone calls to other persons, using four common types of relay services: text relay; video relay; captioned telephone service relay; and speech-to-speech relay.

Moderator

  • Ms. Andrea Saks, JCA-AHF Chairman, ITU, Presentation, Bio

Background & Setting Context

Panelists

  • Mrs. Therese Hourigan, End-User Working Group Co-Chair, BEREC, Presentation, Bio
  • Mr. Masahito Kawamori, ITU-T Q26/16 Rapporteur, Keio University, Presentation​, Bio 
  • Mr. Mark Wheatley, President, European Union of the Deaf, Presentation, Bio​
  • Mr. Michael Debattista, 112mt app Focus Group, Commission for the Rights of Persons with Disability (CRPD), Malta, Presentation​, Bio​

Presentations and interactive discussion

​16:00 - 17:00Session 10: Knowledge Development for ICT Accessibility

Focus: Participants will be offered a high-level recap session taking stock of the key topics and relevant discussion points of the conference. The session will facilitate the preparation of those participants wishing to take the test for Certification to be held the following day.

Coordinator

  • Mrs. Roxana Widmer-Iliescu, Senior Programme Officer, Digital Inclusion Division for Telecommunication, ITU, Presentation​, Bio
​17:00 - 18:00

Session 11: Partnership for Accessible Europe

Focus: Existing and new partnerships to address current gaps and challenges in making Europe more accessible; Identification of concrete regional, sub-regional and national projects advancing implementation of the ITU Regional Initiative; Setting up of Twinning  Programmes; Discussion on other actions planned or proposed for 2020-2022. This session will set the framework for discussing new partnerships in the Project Laboratory to be held the following day.

Moderator

  • Mr. Jaroslaw Ponder, Head of Regional Office for Europe, ITU, Bio​

    Panelists
  • Mr. Nawar Alawa, Regional Advisor on Technology, ESCWA, Presentation, Bio
  • Mr. Michael Fembek, Director, Zero project, Presentation, Bio​
  • Ms. Francesca Cesa Bianchi, Vice President for Institutional Relations, G3ict, Presentation, Bio
  • Ms. Sabine Lobnig, Deputy Director of Communications & Regulations, Mobile & Wireless Forum​, Presentation​, Bio
  • Mr. Jorge Fernandes, Head of ACCESS Unit, Department for the Information Society, Presentation

​18:00 - 18:30Main Conclusion and Closing of the Forum Part of Accessible Europe

High-Level Intervention

  • Helena Dalli, Commissioner-designate for Equality, European Commission, Presentation, Bio​

Concluding Remarks

  • Hon. Anthony Agius Decelis, Parliamentary Secretary for Persons with Disability and Active Ageing, Government of Malta, Presentation, Bio​
  • Jaroslaw Ponder, Head of Regional Office for Europe, ITU, Bio

 Friday, 6 December 2019

​9:00 - 10:00Knowledge Development for ICT Accessibility: ITU Certification

Focus: Participants are offered the opportunity to obtain ITU Certification based on short test requiring to prove the knowledge acquired over the course of Accessible Europe event. Successful candidates will receive the certificate in electronic version after the event.

10:15 - 11:30 PROJECT LABORATORY of the ITU Regional Initiative for Europe on Accessibility, Affordability, and Skills Development for All to Ensure Digital Inclusion and Sustainable Development

Focus: In follow up to Session 11, this session will provide the open space for in depth discussion on the initiative coordinated by ITU on: “Strengthening the ICT-centric Innovation Ecosystem for Accessible Europe" and other concrete partnership projects in the Europe region. 

  • Mr. Jaroslaw Ponder, Head of the ITU Office for Europe, ITU, Presentation
​11:30 - 12:45 BILATERAL MEETINGS WITH STAKEHOLDERS

Note: Stakeholders are kindly requested to express their interest in holding bilateral meetings by sending e-mail to EURregion@itu.int  

​12:45 - 13:00Closing of Accessible Europe Event