Conference: "Access and the City"

Conference proceedings will be available shortly

The CEUD and Dublin City Council are hosting a conference to mark the occasion of the European Observatory's General Assembly. The aim of the European Observatory is to improve the ”accessibility to urban environments and services, and creating new management models and that take into account the characteristics and interests of everyone that live in the municipalities.” The conference will explore themes of:

• Universal Urban Navigation
• Universal Transport Information
• Tourism for all: providing visitors with the information they need

This international conference will show case current best practices from cities, report on latest research findings and provide information on guidance and resources on making information in the urban landscape universally accessible.

Registration and ageNDA updates

21 November 2008: General Assembly for cities and collaborating organizations of the European Observatory and will include a visit to a best practice site and lunch (Observatory members only).

Agenda

Conference chairperson: Tom McGurk

• 8:30 – 9:15 Registration and coffee
• 9:15 – 9:45 Conference opening
  • Lord Mayor of Dublin, Eibhlin Byrne
  • Angela Kerins, Chairperson,National Disability Authority
  • Dr.Gerald Craddock, Chief Officer, Centre for Excellence in Universal Design,NDA
  • Ricard Gormá, Deputy Mayor Barcelona City Council / European Observatory Technical Secretariat
  • Minister Sean Power,T.D., Minister for State, Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources

• 9:45 – 10:15 Keynote speaker

  Professor Alan Newell,School of Computing, University of Dundee.

  InformationTechnology for Access or Inclusion - what do Users really want.

• 10:15 – 11:30 PLENARY SESSION 1: “Universal Urban Navigation”
  • Age-Friendly Cities & Information Ambience. Rodd Bond,Netwell Centre,Dundalk IT
  • ICING: communities talking to the city Eoin Kilfeather, Digital Media Centre,Dublin Institute of Technology
• 11:30 – 11:45 Coffee break / networking
• 11:45 – 13:00 PLENARY SESSION 2: “UniversalTransport Information”
  • 'PTaccess - PublicTransport Systems’ Accessibility for People with Disabilities Sarah Wixey, Principal Transport Planner, JMP.
  • The Staten Island Ferry’sTalking Kiosk initiative: a public-private collaboration for providing universally designed wayfinding systems in public transportation facilities. Steven Landau, President,Touch Graphics, Inc.
  • Universal Design Resources for ICT in the city Dónal Rice, Senior Design Advisor, ICT, Centre for Excellence in Universal Design.
• 13:00– 14:00 Lunch and networking
• 14:00 – 15:00 PLENARY SESSION 3: “Designing for the user”
• • Designing technology to work, for all of us. Clive Grinyer, Director of Customer Experience, IBSG, CISCO.
  • Intelligible transport information systems - a user’s perspective - an interactive theatrical presentation. Maggie Morgan, Producer/Director,MM Training
• 15.00– 15:15 Coffee and networking
• 15:15 – 16:45 PLENARY SESSION 4: “Tourism for all: providing visitors with the information they need”
  • Strategies and actions to enhance accessible tourism for all: experiences in Germany Kai Pagenkopf, NeumannConsult
  • Access Matters Peter Finnegan,Director of International Relations & Research, Dublin City Council
  • Improving and Promoting Accessibility of Heritage Sites in Ireland Mary Van Lieshout, Head of Research and Standards Development,National Disability
  • Improving accessibility within the hotel industry Magnus Bergalund, Disability Ombudsman, Scandic Hotels
• 16:45 – 17:15 Conference closing comment/rapporteur’s report with Professor Mark Dyer, Michael McNamara Chair in Construction Innovation,Director,TrinityHaus, McNamara Centre for Construction Innovation and Sustainability,Trinity College Dublin
• 17:15 Social event: Sky bar
• 19:00 Conference reception at Dublin City Hall, Dame Street, Dublin 2