On the event of its 25th Anniversary EASPD is hosting the International Conference: ‘The future is now: Person Centred Technology to empower people and disability services.’ The conference will bring together key stakeholders to explore the most relevant technologies in the area of service provision for persons with disabilities and how to address the digital divide in the context of persons with disabilities. Hosted in Brussels, Belgium, the conference will take place on 13th – 14th October 2021.
In addition to the conference, EASPD members can also attend the Board meeting (for board members only on 14th October), Member Fora meetings (on the 13th and 15th October) and the General Assembly (15th October). EASPD also invites conference participants to its Gala Dinner, hosted in the European Parliament, on the evening of 13th October, and 25th Anniversary Party, hosted on the evening of 14th October.
Working language of the conference: English.
Real-time captioning: English.
Interpretation will be available in French and Dutch
Conference Venue: Thon EU Hotel, Rue de la Loi 75, 1040 Bruxelles
Registration for participants is now open here! Registration is mandatory for all participants.
The European Association of Service providers for Persons with Disabilities (EASPD) represents the interests of over 20,000 social care and support service providers for persons with disabilities across 41 countries.
The conference has been organised in partnership with the members of EASPD's Member Fora on Person Centred Technology. This Member Fora is a special working group on ICT and Assistive Technology, which was created to look at all the benefits that new technologies can bring to disabled people in areas such as communication, employment, commerce, learning, independence, safety and free time. It also follows up relevant EU policy objectives concerning Person Centred Technology/Assistive Technology and the existing barriers at EU level. The group collates information on what is being achieved across Europe in this field, to disseminate information, support projects and contribute to the development of EU Policy.
Rationale of the conference
The use of technology and the increasing digitalisation of our societies poses both opportunities and challenges to persons with disabilities and the social services who support them. Across the world innovative uses of Person-Centred Technology (PCT) as well as Assistive Technology (AT) are driving the provision of ICT-enabled services, which increase the participation of people with disabilities in society and improve their quality of life.
In many sectors the COVID-19 pandemic has increased the uptake of digital solutions; accelerated the transition towards digitalisation and driven innovation in the sector.
The current innovations of today are driving the future of support provision and the delivery of high-quality, person- centred disability services which promote the full implementation of the United Nations Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities. EASPD’s conference: ‘The future is now: Person Centred Technology to empower people and disability services,’ will bring together participants to explore the way forward for the use of technology in service provision for persons with disabilities.
The conference will:
- Share good practices and the direction of the digital transition in the area of service provision for persons with disabilities.
- Build on the impact of COVID-19 on moving online the services for persons with disabilities and present lessons learnt.
- Propose new ways to address the digital divide in the context of persons with disabilities.
- Present the most relevant technologies in area of service provision for persons with disabilities.
- Present the latest innovative European projects on technology.