February 2010

Panel Discussion on a Georgia Statewide Effort on Accessible Technologies
Speaker(s): Panel chaired by Bill Curtis-Davidson and Arthur R. Murphy
Location: Center for the Visually Impaired: 739 West Peachtree Street, N.W., Atlanta, Georgia 30308

Resources and Media from the Program:
Making inclusive travel and tourism a reality in Georgia

1. GAIT Initiative Collaborative Website
2. Georgia Inclusive T&T Concept Paper in Microsoft® Word® format
3. Georgia Inclusive T&T Concept Paper in Adobe® PDF® format
4. Open Doors Organization (ODO) Website
5. Easy Access Chicago
6. Center for the Visually Impaired
7. Georgia Tech Sonification Lab

CHI*Atlanta Past Chair Bill Curtis-Davidson and CHI*Atlanta member Arthur R. Murphy are co-chairing a statewide effort called the "Georgia Alliance for Accessible Technologies" (GAAT), currently an initiative of the United Nations' Global Initiative for Inclusive Information & Communication Technologies (G3ict). G3ict is a non-profit agency headquartered in Atlanta, and GAAT is intended to serve as a model for regional public-private partnerships on the topic of ICT accessibility. Over 60 Georgia-based companies, research and academic institutions, NGOs and public sector organizations have been involved in GAAT, and the initiative is exploring six “digital accessibility” thematic areas: Culture & Human Rights, Education, Employment, Healthcare & Rehabilitation, Technology, and Travel & Tourism (T&T).

In 2010, the GAAT Initiative plans to become an independent non-profit organization, and Bill and Arthur will describe some projects GAAT is pursuing this year in its focus area of inclusive travel, transportation and tourism. The GAAT Initiative has prepared a "Georgia Inclusive Travel & Tourism" concept paper, that Bill and Arthur will preview: http://sites.google.com/site/gaallianceaccessibletech/Home/themes/travel-tourism/georgia-inclusive-t-t-documents/G3ict_GAAT_TTConceptPaper_20091211FINAL.pdf?attredirects=0

Three GAAT participants will also participate in this panel-style discussion to describe various aspects of their research and development in the focus area. CHI*Atlanta has been a participant in the GAAT Initiative, and Bill and Arthur will welcome questions and encourage interest on the part of CHI*Atlanta members who may want to support this important effort!

Speakers:
1. Bill Curtis-Davidson, GAAT Co-Chair; Past Chair, CHI*Atlanta; and Business Development Executive, IBM Human Ability & Accessibility Center (http://www.ibm.com/able/)
2. Arthur R. Murphy, GAAT Co-Chair, and Owner, Aeolian Solutions, LLC Aeolian Solutions (http://aeoliansolutions.com/)
3. Anisio Correia (Panelist), Vice President for Programs at the Center for the Visually Impaired - Georgia (http://www.cviga.org/)
4. Daver Malik (Panelist), Research & Development Coordinator, Information Services, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (http://www.atlanta-airport.com/)
5. Bruce Walker, Ph..D. (Panelist), Associate Professor, School of Psychology and the School of Interactive Computing, Georgia Tech; and Director, GT Sonification Lab (http://sonify.psych.gatech.edu/)

Location / Directions / Parking:
The Center for the Visually Impaired has graciously agreed to host this exciting CHI*Atlanta program.

The Center for the Visually Impaired (CVI) is Georgia's largest comprehensive, fully accredited, private facility providing rehabilitation services for individuals of all ages who are blind or visually impaired. Since 1962, the Center has grown to serve as a model of innovative services for people who have a wide range of vision impairments from low vision to total blindness. The mission of the Center for the Visually Impaired is to empower people impacted by vision loss to live with independence and dignity.

CVI is conveniently located in Midtown Atlanta at: 739 West Peachtree Street, N.W., Atlanta, Georgia 30308 (404-875-9011). Free Parking is available in the CVI parking lot on the east side our building. As an alternative, there is fee-based parking available in several locations close to CVI: the AT&T parking deck, on the northeast corner of 4th and West Peachtree Streets, accessible to the public from West Peachtree Street. An open-air parking lot is accessible from Peachtree Street at 4th Street.

Directions are online at: http://cviga.org/directions/index.shtml