Session
Organizer 1: Private Sector, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)
Organizer 2: Private Sector, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)
Organizer 3: Private Sector, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)
Organizer 2: Private Sector, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)
Organizer 3: Private Sector, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)
Speaker 1: Ben Foster, Private Sector, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)
Speaker 2: Laura Hawkins, Private Sector, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)
Speaker 3: Chris Preston, Private Sector, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)
Speaker 2: Laura Hawkins, Private Sector, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)
Speaker 3: Chris Preston, Private Sector, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)
Format
Roundtable
Duration (minutes): 90
Format description: The roundtable format is ideal for our session because it fosters collaborative discussions and allows for diverse perspectives to be shared in an open and inclusive manner. This format encourages active participation from all attendees, creating an environment where ideas and solutions can be co-created. The room layout supports smaller group discussions, making it easier to explore complex issues like accessibility in phygital spaces, while ensuring that everyone has a chance to contribute. The duration allows ample time for brainstorming, scenario-based exercises, and ideation, ensuring a dynamic exchange of ideas and solutions. Ultimately, this format will help attendees engage more meaningfully, leading to valuable insights and potential future collaborations.
Duration (minutes): 90
Format description: The roundtable format is ideal for our session because it fosters collaborative discussions and allows for diverse perspectives to be shared in an open and inclusive manner. This format encourages active participation from all attendees, creating an environment where ideas and solutions can be co-created. The room layout supports smaller group discussions, making it easier to explore complex issues like accessibility in phygital spaces, while ensuring that everyone has a chance to contribute. The duration allows ample time for brainstorming, scenario-based exercises, and ideation, ensuring a dynamic exchange of ideas and solutions. Ultimately, this format will help attendees engage more meaningfully, leading to valuable insights and potential future collaborations.
Policy Question(s)
A. How do we define vulnerability and accessibility needs in the future, accounting for new types of vulnerabilities in phygital environments?
B. How do we cater to transient access needs in physical, digital and phygital environments?
C. How do we define roles and responsibilities to ensure digital access rights across industry, governments, communities and other stakeholders?
What will participants gain from attending this session? Participants in our session will gain a deeper understanding of the evolving phygital landscape, where physical and digital spaces intersect. They will learn how accessibility needs shift in this complex environment and explore the challenges and opportunities for inclusion. Through design thinking and future scenarios, attendees will gain valuable tools for identifying accessibility problems and co-creating solutions. They will also be introduced to practical examples of phygital spaces and emerging trends in accessibility. Participants will leave with new insights into vulnerability, barriers, and how to build more inclusive environments for diverse users. Additionally, the collaborative nature of the session will encourage the exchange of diverse perspectives, fostering potential future collaborations in addressing accessibility challenges.
Description:
Introduction We all know the world is changing, and at a rapid pace. As we move towards a complex state of hybrid digital and physical environments, there is a growing need to explore the landscapes from the viewpoints of users (people!). This Phygital landscape requires new approaches as the coming together of physical spaces with digital layers increases complexity in the experience for users – especially those with access needs in one or both environments. It is time to explore opportunities and challenges relating to ensuring appropriate access to these spaces. The workshop will bring together a variety of delegates with different experiences and knowledge to facilitate a collaborative session, identifying problem hypotheses surrounding accessibility in the phygital future. The workshop will: Utilise a design thinking approach to prioritise important trends and identify problem hypotheses Utilise future scenarios thinking to immerse delegates in future landscapes Encourage ideation through a number of activities including a card game Introduce delegates to the concept of phygital spaces, with examples of existing use-cases and growing trends in this area Explore the meaning of accessibility, vulnerability, impairments and barriers and how these change through time Focus on removing barriers and opening access in the phygital landscape Allow time for delegates to discuss future collaborations in this space About the Organisers HRE-UK (Honda R&D UK) have been using their dynamic future scenarios to integrate the design for all principles into their research. Our accessibility workstream is integrated into our scenario planning and focuses on collaboration. We are a research organisation based in the South of the UK with experience of running workshops for a range of delegates in the topics of future scenarios, innovation, accessibility and hypothesis generation. We also house the emerging technology lab, responsible for developing technical solutions to the identified problems.
Introduction We all know the world is changing, and at a rapid pace. As we move towards a complex state of hybrid digital and physical environments, there is a growing need to explore the landscapes from the viewpoints of users (people!). This Phygital landscape requires new approaches as the coming together of physical spaces with digital layers increases complexity in the experience for users – especially those with access needs in one or both environments. It is time to explore opportunities and challenges relating to ensuring appropriate access to these spaces. The workshop will bring together a variety of delegates with different experiences and knowledge to facilitate a collaborative session, identifying problem hypotheses surrounding accessibility in the phygital future. The workshop will: Utilise a design thinking approach to prioritise important trends and identify problem hypotheses Utilise future scenarios thinking to immerse delegates in future landscapes Encourage ideation through a number of activities including a card game Introduce delegates to the concept of phygital spaces, with examples of existing use-cases and growing trends in this area Explore the meaning of accessibility, vulnerability, impairments and barriers and how these change through time Focus on removing barriers and opening access in the phygital landscape Allow time for delegates to discuss future collaborations in this space About the Organisers HRE-UK (Honda R&D UK) have been using their dynamic future scenarios to integrate the design for all principles into their research. Our accessibility workstream is integrated into our scenario planning and focuses on collaboration. We are a research organisation based in the South of the UK with experience of running workshops for a range of delegates in the topics of future scenarios, innovation, accessibility and hypothesis generation. We also house the emerging technology lab, responsible for developing technical solutions to the identified problems.
Expected Outcomes
The expected outcomes of our session include a deeper collective understanding of accessibility challenges in phygital environments and actionable ideas for addressing these issues. Participants will collaborate to identify key barriers and propose solutions for more inclusive digital and physical spaces. We aim to produce a set of problem hypotheses and potential solutions for addressing accessibility gaps, which can feed into ongoing research and policy discussions. Additionally, we plan to document the session's findings and ideas, creating a workshop report or publication to share with a wider audience. The session will also serve as a platform for fostering future collaborations between attendees, with the possibility of follow-up events focused on refining and implementing the ideas generated. These outcomes will contribute to shaping a more inclusive phygital future.
Hybrid Format: As an organization, we have a strong background in hybrid working. To facilitate interaction between onsite and online speakers and attendees, one facilitator will focus on engaging online participants, while another will lead onsite interactions, ensuring smooth communication and continuous engagement. This dual approach will allow both groups to actively participate in discussions and activities. We will use MURAL as a complementary tool for real-time collaboration, enabling all participants to contribute ideas, brainstorm, and interact regardless of location. The session will be designed to encourage equal participation, with activities that integrate both online and onsite attendees seamlessly. The facilitators will work in tandem, managing Q&A and ensuring that both groups have an equal opportunity to share feedback and ideas, creating an inclusive and engaging experience for everyone.