Vint Cerf, Google’s Chief Internet Evangelist, to Deliver Keynote at the 9th M-Enabling Summit

ATLANTA (January 30, 2020) —

The organizers of the M-Enabling Summit are pleased to announce that Vinton “Vint” Cerf, Vice President and Chief Internet Evangelist for Google, will be delivering the opening keynote of the 2020 M-Enabling Summit on June 23, 2020.

Widely known as a "Father of the Internet," Vint Cerf is the co-designer of the TCP/IP protocols and the architecture of the Internet. President Bill Clinton presented the U.S. National Medal of Technology and President George W. Bush the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Cerf and his colleague, Robert E. Kahn, for founding and developing the Internet. Vint Cerf is also the recipient of the Turing Award, the Marconi Prize and a member in the National Academy of Engineering.

With a life-long dedication to promoting the Internet and its accessibility to persons with disabilities, Vint Cerf, as Google’s Chief Internet Evangelist, is well-known for his visionary predictions on the evolution of technology and its impact on society. His many advocacy engagements have included serving as a trustee of Gallaudet University, a member of the United Nations Broadband Commission, and founding President of the Internet Society. Cerf helped to establish ICANN, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers and served as its chairman for eight years. Prior to Google, Vint Cerf served as a Faculty member at Stanford University, and in different engineering and executive capacities at DARPA, IBM, the Corporation for National Research Initiatives and MCI.

Vint Cerf says that his experience of hearing loss reinforced his interest in developing the Internet: while at UCLA for his Ph.D., Vint Cerf got involved in the ARPANET project and took a personal interest in the idea of networked electronic mail, which was hugely attractive to him because it replaced uncertain voice calls with the clarity of text. With a firm belief that there is no excuse for making products that are not accessible, Vint Cerf remains a passionate advocate for digital accessibility.

“For all M-Enabling Summit participants, Vint Cerf’s personal story, global impact as co-inventor of the Internet and digital accessibility advocacy will be particularly inspiring,” said Axel Leblois, President of G3ict, co-organizer of the conference. "We look forward to Vint’s thought-provoking remarks on the current state of digital accessibility and how and why it could be improved upon."

The M-Enabling Summit conference, known for featuring high-level speaking panels, will be comprised of decision makers from industry, government, academia, and civil society organizations. Throughout the 3-day event, the upcoming edition will cover the latest accessibility innovations in dedicated thematic sessions, as well as technical training sessions, presented by the International Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP). The conference is accompanied by an exhibitor showcase, featuring 40+ companies with enhancing products and services for persons with disabilities, those with age-related disabilities and the accessibility market place at large.

The 9th edition of the M-Enabling Summit will be held on June 22-24, 2020 at the Renaissance Arlington Capital View Hotel, in Washington, D.C. For more information on registering for the M-Enabling Summit, please visit www.m-enabling.com.