RIYADH: The National Symposium on Informatics (NSI) is an event held each other year by the College of Information and Computer Sciences at King Saud University, Saudi Arabia. The 4th symposium will take place from 23 to 25of April 2013 and is titled ‘Technologies for Special Needs’. It aims to draw the attention of the Saudi and global scientific society and raise awareness among researchers in related fields to target users with disabilities; whether in taking accessibility standards into account or for developing specific products that serves these users directly.
The main themes of the symposium will be regarding the use of information technology to help persons with disabilities, new technologies and development for persons with disabilities in different areas such as education and health, and best practices in teaching. Furthermore, the Symposium will highlight the latest research in the field of computers and information technology for persons with disabilities such as hearing, sight and other sensory and motor disabilities, memory, learning and cognitive disabilities and individuals with multiple disabilities.
The symposium offers an outstanding lineup of keynote speakers and sessions by distinguished researchers and activists in the field; including Professor Mohamed Jemni, a researcher at the Laboratory of Technologies of Information and Communication and Electrical Engineering at the University of Tunis and an active member of the Global Initiative for Inclusive ICTs (G3ICT) and Mr. Shadi Abu-Zahra, an Activity Lead of the World Wide Web Consortium’s Web Accessibility Initiative International Program Office. Additionally, the symposium will offer attendees many workshops with various related topics ranging from web accessibility conformance to learning the Saudi Arabian Sign Language offered by many experts in the field. In conjunction to the symposium, an exhibition will be held to showcase several advancements and technologies targeted for persons with disabilities by many of the industries big names.
