Smart Cities @ m-Enabling 2019
By: James Thurston
Tags: Digital Transformation, Smart Cities, Accessibility, Digital Inclusion

The Smart Cities for All (SC4A) global initiative is launching its first annual Forum at the M-Enabling Summit June 17–19, 2019 in Washington, DC. The SC4A Forum will take place on June 18 and 19.

Today, cities worldwide are undergoing exciting and substantial digital transformations, but failing persons with disabilities and age-related disabilities. In its unique global study, Smart Cities for All confirmed that most Smart Cities are not accessible and are actually making the digital divide worse, not better. A lack of accessibility and digital inclusion negatively impacts the daily life of persons with disabilities across the broad range of services provided in and by cities, including transportation, e-Government services, employment, civic engagement, safety and justice, emergency response, voting and elections, financial services, independent living, and more.

But cities can be both smarter and more inclusive. The Smart Cities for All Forum will, for the first-time, showcase success stories, strategies, and solutions to make Smart Cities inclusive of seniors and persons with disabilities.

Hot Topics

The Smart Cities for All Forum @ m-Enabling will cover important accessibility issues facing cities and opportunities to improve inclusion, including:

How leading Smart Cities worldwide focus on inclusion of seniors and persons with disabilities The latest in inclusive Smart Cities apps and services Assessing a city’s level of inclusion with the Smart Cities for All Maturity Model New standards for indoor audio navigation Innovation in autonomous mobility: The sky is the limit!

Join the Experts

Confirmed speakers are leading the way in thinking about how Smart Cities can be more inclusive, including:

D. Darnell Smith, CIO, City of Raleigh Karen Tamley, Commissioner, Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities, City of Chicago Mike May, Executive Director — BVI Workforce Innovation Center at Envision, Inc. Craig Meador, President, APH Alexandra Blasgen, Manager Technology and Standards, CTA Megan Lawrence, Accessibility Technical Evangelist, Microsoft Roman Smith, Director of Social Innovation, AT&T Mohammed Yousuf, Office of Operations R&D, U.S. Department of Transportation Malcom Glenn, Head of Global Policy, Accessibility and Underserved Communities, Uber Victor Pineda, President, World Enabled Anil Lewis, Executive Director, NFB Jernigan Institute Aaron Bangor, Lead Accessible Technology Architect & Director, AT&T Henry Claypool, Policy Director, Community Living Policy Center, Univ. of California, San Francisco (UCSF)

Who Should Attend?

The Smart Cities for All Forum@m-Enabling will gather for the first-time decision-makers and stakeholders focused on technologies and solutions that make cities both smarter and more inclusive for persons with disabilities and age-related disabilities. Participants will include:

Smart City and local government CIOs Disability Commissioners and ADA Coordinators Executives responsible for Smart City programs Leaders of Organizations of Persons with Disabilities focused on urban environments U.S Access Board members U.S. Federal Government executives (e.g. Transportation, Housing and Urban Development) Locally elected officials Industry involved in providing technology systems Developers of applications and services for cities Standards Development Organizations with smart city work programs Academia leading research and analysis on Smart Cities Inclusive urban environments and accessibility professionals and experts.

Format

The Smart Cities for All Forum @M-Enabling will take place concurrently with the M-Enabling Summit on Tuesday, June 18, from 9:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. and Wednesday, June 19 from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. It will include:

Two joint plenary sessions, a keynote and lightning talks on the hottest topics related to digital accessibility including a discussion of the imperative for inclusive Smart Cities. Industry forecasts. Three panel discussions of 60 minutes each on June 18, followed by the FCC Chairman’s Awards for Advancement in Accessibility and a cocktail party; a session on June 19 followed by a Chief Accessibility Officers Roundtable and industry forecast by Gartner Research.

The M-Enabling Summit is the premier Global Conference and Showcase for empowering accessible technologies for seniors and persons with disabilities. It is known for featuring high-level speakers and panelists, and includes influencers from industry, government, civil society, and higher education.

To Register

The Smart Cities for All Forum @M-Enabling is part of the overall M-Enabling Summit. Registering for the Summit allows you to access all the Smart City sessions of the Forum, as well as all the other technology, inclusion, and accessibility sessions of the Summit. Register here.