The theme of Cyber Summit 2019 was: “Mission: Accessible”.
Accessibility is a broad term, with different meanings to different people. For a developer, it means having access to the code and API behind digital tools and services in order to create and innovate. For rural citizens, it’s about having the opportunity to participate in the modern digital economy. For students, it’s about having the digital literacy skills to take on the challenges of an AI and automated workforce. And for people with visual, hearing, motor, or cognitive challenges, it means having the ability to use the same tools and services as everyone else.
Cyber Summit 2019 explored the different issues of modern “accessibility,” and what solutions exist to put all Canadians on a level playing field.
About the Cyber Summit
The Cyber Summit is a gathering of Western Canada's public, education and start-up technology leaders. The conference features workshops and discussions around the latest digital issues and solutions, and how they impact Canadians.
Keynote Speakers
Anne Connelly
Faculty, Singularity University
Anne Connelly is passionate about harnessing blockchain and decentralized technology to transform the lives of people in developing countries. Anne is Faculty at Singularity University at NASA Ames in Silicon Valley & SingularityU Canada, teaching global leaders how exponential technologies can solve problems that impact over a billion people.
She has been an active part of the global blockchain community since 2012, working with and advising notable companies including Jaxx, Ledger Labs, Bunz, and is currently the Vice Chair of the board of Blockchain Canada.
She previously worked with Doctors Without Borders Canada in Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and currently serves on their board of directors. She was honoured as one of CBC’s 12 Young Leaders Changing Canada and one of the Fifty Most Inspirational Women in Technology in Canada.
Elise Roy
Inclusice Design Strategist
Elise Roy is a Deaf, inclusive design strategist who helps companies analyze products and services from the vantage point of people with disabilities. She believes that the unique experiences of people with disabilities help us uncover hidden needs, wherein lie the most profound solutions for everyone.
Roy draws on her 15+ years of working with the disability community, and her diverse career path as a lawyer who worked on the United Nations Disability Convention, a marketing manager who worked on the 2008 election campaign ads, and an industrial and user experience designer to shape solutions for her clients. Her TEDx talk, “When We Design for Disability, We All Benefit”, has over 1.3 million views.
Her company, Elise Roy & Associates has attracted clients that include Fortune 500 Companies such as Marriott, Google, and Fannie Mae. She has led design teams for apps such as Google’s Live Caption, hotel rooms, appliances, and financial services and products.
Organizers
