Interview |
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what we call ‘ assistive technology devices ’.
AI is valuable for in-person events . Seeing-eye dogs or service animals can be trained to get a drink . Imagine an AI-controlled robot that can get a drink , open it up , and lift it to the height the person needs . I think that could be a few years away , but it would be amazing to see a bunch of robots running around taking care of people . Right now , we have to use personal care assistants .
How does Cvent see its role in this process ? What are you and your colleagues saying when you speak to event organisers ? One thing I like is that we don ’ t just do software ; we also do big conferences . We learn by our own successes and mistakes . We try to let people know because we want planners to have a good experience , and because it reflects well on them .
We just launched the Big Book of Event Accessibility a few months ago at www . cvent . com / bigbook . It shows
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you how to create an accessible event . The ROI of this is clear – if you ’ re more inclusive , your business makes more money . So why would planners or businesses not want to do this ? We ’ re talking about over 100 million people in the European Union , so it just makes sense . |
“ I want to see those delegates with disabilities use our technology , to attend our events . I want to see a full representation of society .” |
I want to see those delegates with disabilities use our technology , to attend our events . I want to see a full representation of society .
As an American , do you think that the European Union is ahead of the curve , and what else would you add on the issue in general ? Europe has taken the lead a little bit . In the US we have the ADA – the Americans with Disabilities Act . That was great , but it existed before the internet , so it was really about physical accessibility . You had to make your bank accessible , federal buildings accessible , places where you went to buy clothes accessible . But where do we buy clothes now ? We buy them online . So the ADA is now a little bit behind .
We don ’ t have one yet for websites in general . The Department of Justice hasn ’ t updated the laws to reflect a hard stop . The EUdid , which is amazing . It ’ s an anti-discrimination law . So , the EU has taken the lead on digital accessibility .
For most events , people with disabilities don ’ t seem to come as much . It ’ s one of two things : either people with disabilities don ’ t want to come to your conference , or we ’ re not enabling them to come .
Maybe we ’ re not asking the right questions during registration , like : “ Do you require a sign language interpreter ?”, “ Will you be bringing a service animal ?”, “ Will you be accompanied by a personal care assistant ?” If we don ’ t ask , they ’ ll think : “ Well , I ’ m going to get there , and they ’ re not going to have a chair for the assistant to sit next to me . They ’ re not going to accommodate my physical needs .” So , they ’ re just not going to come .
We tend not to think about these things . Maybe if we do , people with disabilities will start coming to our conferences . n
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