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“Every person with a disability has the right to have access to appropriate and affordable assistive technologies” according to Evert-Jan Hoogerwerf, Secretary General of the Association for the Advancement of Assistive Technology in Europe, who was in Cyprus recently to prepare for the Association’s biannual conference this autumn.
The September conference by one of technology sector’s most interdisciplinary fields will bring experts from across the world to Cyprus to network and collaborate with the ultimate aim of promoting the advancement of access to technology based assistive solutions for all.
Removing the barriers to participation and inclusion of all is one of AAATE key goals. Set up in 1995 its core mission is to promote an inclusive society where assistive and accessible mainstream technologies and universally designed products and services level differences between people allowing everyone the opportunity to live the lives they desire. This involves research into accessibility barriers and innovative solutions, technological development, market shaping, policy development, but also establishing a culture of socially responsive and responsible research.
AAATE operates as an interdisciplinary collaborative platform uniting organisations and individuals working in the field and it does so by studying and researching assistive technology, offering training and engaging in dialogue with policy makers, service providers and end users so that new and useful technologies reach those that are in need of it.
The Cyprus conference, AAATE’s 18th and the first for two years since Paris in 2023, is being held in collaboration with European University Cyprus which has strong connections with the assistive technology field and the Association itself of which it is an institutional member.
Katerina Mavrou, Associate Professor in Inclusive Education & Assistive Technology at the University’s Department of Education, now in charge of the organisation had served as president of AAATE between in 2020-21. Our vision, asserts professor Mavrou, is to empower people with disabilities and give them a voice – from the elderly to those with temporary disabilities – the idea being to provide a human rights approach to anyone who needs to use assistive technology.
It is, Hoogerwerf interjects, a right enshrined in the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and addressed by the European Commission through its Accessibility Directive as well as WHO and UNICEF, adding that not only is it morally right to help people with disabilities but that “society can’t afford people with disabilities not to participate in the labour market”.
Hoogerwerf, who besides being the Secretary General of AAATE operates an Assistive Technology Centre in Bologna, talks of ecosystems where products that are developed in the markets actually reach the people that are most in need of them. Professor Mavrou stresses the significance of the involvement of end users themselves who through their own associations and representatives are substantively involved in informing the work of AAATE to ensure equal opportunities and participation for everyone.
AAATE’s Cyprus conference will have what Hoogerwerf describes as a research area – where academic studies, for example, into user acceptance, will be presented; an “educational area” where professionals working with people with disabilities can learn about new developments; a “policy area” where stakeholders talk to each other so as to facilitate advancements and an ‘innovation area’ where new products and services will be exhibited.
AAATE’s call to action to academia and the tech sector to participate in the conference is reflective of its own core human-centeredness: “Don’t keep your knowledge, work, expertise and experience for yourself and your team! Join us in contributing to the advancement of assistive technology in Europe and beyond, and in empowering the participation of all through the use of technology.”
In the introduction of the 2023 conference proceedings academics Dominique Archambault and Georgios Kouroupetroglou wrote: “Caring about others and the future is part of what makes us human, and it can be argued that improving the lives of people with disabilities improves the lives of all human beings. Most of what we do as a society for people with disabilities also improves life for others, and if we consider a person’s entire life, a disability of some kind will affect almost everybody at some point.”
With technological advancements moving so rapidly from digital tools to mobility support and with a growing awareness and sensitivity for the needs of people with disabilities, the conference is expected to draw hundreds of academics and stakeholders from across the world and help re-energize AAATE’s growing global alliance. In fact, says professor Mavrou, in the last five years the conference managed to secure declarations and positions internationally that have had a considerable impact on overall policy making world-wide and helped trigger the establishment of Global Alliance of Assistive Technology Organisations (GAATO).
The conference’s theme this year is “Technology for Inclusion and Participation for All: Recent Achievements and Future Directions” and Mr Hoogerwerf stressed that the Association is grateful to European University Cyprus’ for hosting it and for the dedication and support it has shown towards the organization.
The conference will start in Cyprus on 10-12 September 2025.
For more information: https://aaate2025.eu/
