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October 26-27, 2006
Hard-Wiring Inclusion
Conference
Online workshops Fall 2005.

HARD-WIRING INCLUSION
A Conference about Building an Accessible ICT World
October 26-27, 2006, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Detailed Program

Thursday October 26, 2006

9:00 to 10:15 am

Opening Panel Discussion:
Hardwiring inclusion: What key issues and challenges need to be addressed to bring accessibility and inclusion to ICT?

Moderator:
  • Roger B. Jones, World Accessibility
Panelists:
  • Steve Jacobs, IDEAL Group Inc.
  • Mary Frances Laughton, Assistive Devices Industry Office, Industry Canada (unable to attend)
  • Kier Martin, Council of Canadians with Disabilities and Canadian Association of Independent Living Centres
  • Joan Wolforth, Office for Students with Disabilities, McGill University
This panel was composed of a representative from each of the Dis-IT Research Alliance's non-academic stakeholder groups (people with disabilities, industry, government, and service providers). They discussed current priority issues concerning access to ICT, and the relevance of Dis-IT's research to those issues.


10:30 to 12:00 noon

Presentations:
Findings from research conducted by the Disability and Information Technologies (Dis-IT) Research Alliance
  • Retail and Public Services : Gary Birch (Neil Squire Society) and other team members
  • eLearning : Catherine Fichten (Dawson College) and other team members
  • Workplaces : Aldred Neufeldt (University of Calgary) and other team members
  • eDemocracy : Deborah Stienstra (University of Manitoba) and other team members


1:30 to 2:45 pm

Panel Discussion:
Is there common ground between bottom lines and human rights?

Moderator:
  • Cathy Moore, Canadian National Institute for the Blind
Panelists:
  • David Dougall, Research in Motion
  • Phyllis Gordon, ARCH Disability Law Centre
  • Steve Jacobs, IDEAL Group Inc.
  • Kathy Marshall, St. John's Independent Living Resource Centre
Profit is the key factor that motivates industry, which often regards products and services accessible to people with disabilities as being inconsistent with profitability. The disability community regards access to information, communications, and technology as a human right. This panel discussed those perspectives and explored the space between them: is it an insurmountable gap, or is there common ground between bottom lines and human rights?


3:00 to 4:30 pm

Presentations:
Engaging communities in accessible ICT
  • Deborah Stienstra and Christine Kelly (University of Manitoba)
  • Jennison Asuncion (Adaptech Research Network), Catherine Fichten (Dawson College), Chris Gaulin (Adaptech Research Network), Maureen Hewlett (Canadian Association of Disability Service Providers in Post-Secondary Education), and Joan Wolforth (McGill University)
These presentations showcased how a variety of communities have been engaged in Dis-IT's research.


Friday October 27, 2006

9:00 to 10:30 am

Panel Discussion: Creating a climate for accessible ICT: Telecommunications as a case study

Moderator:
  • Jim Tobias, Inclusive Technologies
Panelists:
  • Bill Abbott, Bell Canada
  • Gary Birch, Neil Squire Society
  • Lana Kerzner, ARCH Disability Law Centre
  • Henry Vlug, Canadian Association of the Deaf
In February 2006, the Canadian Radio-television and Communications Commission (CRTC) ordered Bell Canada and other major Canadian telecommunications companies to spend over $30 million improving the accessibility of their products and services. This panel discussed the effectiveness of government regulation as well as a variety of other approaches to providing greater access to telecommunications and other ICTs.


10:45 to 11:30 am

Workshops:
Stakeholder group action workshops

Participants from each of the Dis-IT Research Alliance's stakeholder groups (people with disabilities, industry, government, service providers) gathered in small groups to brainstorm ways they can use Dis-IT and other research about accessible technology to mobilize action for change.


11:30 to Noon

Small groups report back to larger group


1:30 to 2:45 pm

Panel Discussion:
Moving forward: Mobilizing knowledge for accessible/inclusive ICT

Moderator:
  • Jennison Asuncion, Adaptech Research Network
Panelists:
  • Claire Atherton, University of Manitoba
  • Laurie Beachell, Council of Canadians with Disabilities
  • Gary Birch, Neil Squire Society
  • Dave Brown, Human Resources and Social Development Canada
  • Dave Dougall, Research In Motion
  • Deborah Stienstra, University of Manitoba
This panel discussed concrete ways of sustaining the momentum the conference and Dis-IT's research has created.


2:45 to 3:00 pm

Closing remarks
  • Deborah Stienstra, Research Co-Director, Dis-IT Research Alliance
  • Gary Annable, Community Co-Director, Dis-IT Research Alliance

Page modified: July 17 2007 09:26:55