Maynooth University Department of Psychology staff to attend the World Health Organisation’s "GREAT Summit", Geneva, 3-4 August 2017.
Prof Mac MacLachlan and Dr Deirdre Desmond have been invited to attend the Summit; with Professor MacLachlan acting as Co-Facilitator for the meeting.
More than one hundred and fifty of the world’s top researchers, innovators, and educators will come together in Geneva on 3-4 August, 2017 for the inaugural Global Research, Innovation, and Education in Assistive Technology (GREAT) Summit.
An estimated one billion people are currently in need of assistive technology, a number that is projected to double by 2050. Lack of access to assistive technology represents a significant barrier for persons with disabilities, older people as well as people with noncommunicable disease. Assistive technology is a critical and cost-effective support mechanism often enabling full participation in daily life.
The WHO Global Cooperation on Assistive Technology (GATE) seeks to address this gap, working towards a world where everyone in need has access to high quality, affordable assistive technology to lead a healthy and productive life. The GREAT Summit is intended to further the GATE priority research agenda, working in the four critical areas of Policy, Products, Provision and Personnel. This global Summit aims to establish research collaborations, accelerate innovative education and certification, and showcase groundbreaking developments in assistive technology. The GREAT Summit will be transformative in its global collaboration opportunities, progressing access to assistive technology for all those in need.
For more information regarding the GREAT Summit, please visit http://www.who.int/phi/implementation/assistive_technology/great_summit/en/