Senator Edwards J. Markey ( D-Mass.) to Address the M-Enabling Summit on Further Steps to Promote Digital Accessibility for Seniors and Persons with Disabilities

BETHESDA, Maryland (March 29, 2016) —

The organizers of the 2016 M-Enabling Summit are pleased to announce that Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass) will deliver the Summit keynote on June 13 in Washington, D.C., outlining steps to further promote digital accessibility for seniors and persons with disabilities, including adopting rules specifying that accessibility obligations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) cover Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) on par with the built environment and transportation. 

Senator Markey is a national leader in technology and telecommunications and has promoted competition, choice and equal access for consumers during his entire tenure in Congress. Senator Markey authored several landmark legislations, such as the 1992 cable television regulation bill that opened cable up to competition from the satellite dish industry. He led the successful fight to make children’s educational television programming an explicit obligation of every licensee of the public airwaves. Senator Markey also led the first major rewrite of the nation’s communications laws, resulting in the ground-breaking law that contains the landmark “e-Rate” program that has provided more than $30 billion to date for Internet access in low-income schools and communities, helping to bring 21st century information tools to all.

In 2010, Senator Markey wrote the 21st Century Communication and Video Accessibility Act (CVAA), the most comprehensive law to ensure equality of access to ICT for individuals with disabilities since the ADA. The CVAA now plays an important role in driving innovation and competition in digital accessibility, a trend addressed by M-Enabling Summit participants from industry, advocacy groups and regulators in previous years and addressed again this year with a session on the “21st Century CVAA Score Card.”

In December 2015, Senator Markey led a group of eight other Senators in a letter to the Obama Administration calling for the prompt release of rules to clarify and support access to ICT under the ADA. This initiative has profound implications for persons with disabilities, for all public and private sector entities providing digital contents and web sites to the public, as well as for the ICT industry. Beyond web accessibility, for the academic sector, Senator Ed Markey advocates that campuses must be fully digitally accessible, one of the core topics of the M-Enabling Summit this year. 

Senator Markey’s keynote will be of special interest to Summit participants who will this year share innovations and experiences in implementing solutions under the theme “Accessible Technologies and Environments for All,” including empowering mobile technologies, and next-generation accessibility breakthroughs for senior citizens and persons of all abilities.
 
Supported by major disability and senior organizations, as well as industry associations and the private sector, this fifth edition of the Summit is expected to attract over six hundred participants from around 40 countries, underlining the global scope of new accessible technology opportunities for users and developers alike. More than 120 speakers, private sector leaders, apps developers, policy makers, mobile accessibility experts and disability advocates will share their knowledge and experience.   

Accessibility solutions will be highlighted in five major tracks: Cutting Edge Mobile Enabling Solutions; IoT and Smart Cities; Innovation; Inclusive Higher Education; and Scaling up Accessibility for Business and Government. View the complete agenda.
 
The M-Enabling Summit is co-organized by G3ict, the Global Initiative for Inclusive ICTs and E.J. Krause‎ & Associates, Inc., an exhibition and conference management company.    

Early bird registration ends on April 30. For more information on registering to attend the M-Enabling Summit, please visit www.m-enabling.com.