Towards Access for All - Inclusion through Multisensory Interactions

Basic human rights are fundamental for a sustainable and thriving society.

However, access to education, work, cultural experiences, and other societal resources remain limited for those who live with various forms of disabilities.

Further research is needed to identify and develop measures for improved inclusive practices, involving different research areas within engineering, designs and social science.Towards this we are planning a symposium with the aim to:Highlight social, cultural, economic, political, and societal issues of importance, and potential measures,Propose development of multisensory interactions as a means to enable people of all abilities to engage with the world around them based on personal needs and preferences,Promote improved practices, innovations, policies, designs, and infrastructures that would enable enriched experiences for all regardless of variations in abilities,Extend and strengthen a community of societal actors to collaboratively address lived/ experience-based needs through cutting edge research and innovations (whether social or technological),Extend the utility of research outcomes beyond scholarly publications.The symposium is intended to transcend the research community and involve various stakeholders.

It will include talks related to inclusion and involve a participatory co-creative exercise to demonstrate how, with simple means, it is possible to enable people of all abilities to participate in co-creative engagements. It will also include a participatory ideation workshop to explore ideas and define a path for future activities.

A follow-up evaluation workshop will also be held within a year.The symposium will be open to all and is expected to attract around 70-100 participants of mixed backgrounds (including researchers, people with disabilities, policymakers, professionals, national/ international associations, and agencies working with related issues, technologists, designers and general public).