16/05 - 17/05/2023 - Online
On the 16th and 17th of May 2023 a learning workshop was organised by MuseIT in collaboration with the Centre for Disability Studies at the University of Leeds and the itDf (imagining technologies for Disability futures). The workshop took place on two half-days from 9:00 to 13:00.
The aim of the workshop was to share different perspectives on and understandings of inclusion, disability, accessibility and equal opportunities for all in the context of conducting technological research and development projects.
The first day was devoted to sharing understandings of issues related to Inclusion and Accessibility as applied in various technological projects. The session started with a talk by Anna Lawson – Professor of Law at the University of Leeds and Joint Director of the Centre for Disability Studies – on the legal framework and implications of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities for Design, Technology and Cultural Activities. She then also presented their Centre for Disability Studies and related work conducted in the centre and Leeds University.
Then the MuseIT was presented (Nasrine Olson) followed by presentation of previous and on-going research projects related to issues of inclusion such as SUITCEYES (Ray Holt), AMASS (Sofia Lindström), and itDf (Stuart Murray and Ray Holt). Each presentation was followed by a question-answer session and discussion by all present.
The second day included a talk by Sarah Woodin, a Senior Research Fellow, about existing models of disability and their consequences in many areas of social and cultural life, such as language, understanding of diversity in different cultures, conditions of life and more.
Professor of Design and Disability at DJCAD (College of Art and Design) at the University of Dundee Graham Pullin spoke of Mentor-led Design including topics such as Disability and Stance, Un/covering Disability, and the role of design in technological projects.
Szófia Somogyi-Rohonczy, part of the AMASS project and educator at the Ludwig Museum in Budapest, shared her experiences of working with young people with learning disabilities, some of them from the roma minority, and the importance of getting to know each individual participant when working in socially engaged arts. Femke Krijger, a holistic shiatsu therapist and (international) researcher on sensory (tactile) processing within acquired deafblind people, under the title of “How to discover the hidden knowledge of the obvious?”, spoke of her life experiences of deafblindness and what it meant for the knowledge production in her research and daily life, about the importance of curiosity and focus on what experiences are available to each person living with disabilities.
The workshop concluded with general discussions, with plans to continue the conversation and practical, hands-on exercises in a face-to-face meeting later on in October 2023.