“Accessibility: Transforming Users’ Experience” was the key theme of the 8th annual M-Enabling Summit held in Washington, DC June 17-19, 2019. The leading conference on digital accessibility, brought together over 640 participants from 25 countries which ranged from top industry executives, government officials, and community advocates. This year’s event was the largest attended edition to date, marking a 9% increase from the previous year.

The robust, all-inclusive conference focused on fostering next generation innovations that support independent living in an interconnected world for seniors and persons with disabilities. The program provided a platform that reinforced better accessibility in the digital space as a key component of inclusion and sustainable success.  Key topics included: Smart Cities Next Generation Solutions, Artificial Intelligence for User Interfaces, IoT and Robots for Smart Homes, Real World End User Experience, Accessible Media Platforms Entertainment, Self-Driving and Autonomous Mobility, Extended Reality, International Trends in Digital Accessibility, Artificial Intelligence for Web Accessibility, Baby Boomer Strategies, and Higher Education.

“We are very happy to see the M-Enabling Summit continuing to expand its participant outreach year after year. The issues discussed at the Summit are not only impactful, but also transformative. Digital accessibility continues to play a key role in tech innovation,” said Kara Krause, E.J. Krause & Associates, co-organizer of the M-Enabling Summit.

Further, the M-Enabling Summit offered a venue for companies to showcase their latest products and solutions. Over 45 exhibiting companies were onsite to display their latest innovations while more than 25 leading organizations sponsored the event. It was the ideal opportunity for attendees to network with accessibility professionals and organizations seeking to comply with accessibility requirements and to leverage accessible technologies offering better services and outreach for consumers.

Notable keynote remarks came from both the Chairman of the National Council on Disability, Neil Romano and U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Elaine Chao. Secretary Chao keynoted Tuesday afternoon’s plenary session, stressing that “improving access to transportation is a key factor in helping people with disabilities realize their full potential and access opportunity.” Adding that “increasing access to mobility, information, communications, and jobs will help all countries move toward a better, more inclusive future.”

The M-Enabling Summit was once again the host of the 2019 FCC Chairman’s Awards for Advancement in Accessibility (Chairman’s AAA). FCC Chairman Ajit Pai presented the awards recognizing outstanding private and public-sector ventures designed to advance accessibility for people with disabilities. He mentioned, “Enabling those with disabilities to use today’s technologies can help them realize their full potential.  When that happens, we all win.”

“More than ever, this 8^th M-Enabling Summit demonstrated how much innovation is driven by technology developments for persons with disabilities,” pointed out Axel Leblois, President of G3ict and co-organizer of the conference. “We had a truly amazing gathering of thought leaders from government, industry and academia who drive competition for innovation in accessibility and enabling technologies.”

SOURCE E.J. Krause & Associates, Inc.