Sigridur Fossberg: Iceland
Anita Blom: Sweden
(In)accessibility in a Digital Age: Developing Sustainable Communication Technology for People Who Stutter
Learn about what Northern Europe is doing to promote accessibility to communication technology for all! Digitization may improve life for some people with disabilities, while digital assistants, answering services and GPS services can be particularly inaccessible for people who stutter. Increasing legislation at EU level hasn’t addressed this particular problem as of yet. This is why the Swedish stuttering association, Stamningsförbundet, the Icelandic Stuttering Association, Málbjörg, and FUNKA, a private, Swedish, accessibility consulting firm, started by disabled persons organisations, are joining forces to map, test and report on the issue. The goal of our project is to raise awareness and provide solutions.
SIGRIDUR FOSSBERG:
Sigridur Fossberg is a woman who stutters and the current chair of the Icelandic stuttering Association. She is involved in a transnational project aimed at educating youth workers about stuttering as well as empowering young people who stutter. Sigridur was one of the main organizers of the 13th world congress for people who stutter, which took place in 2019. That same year, she joined the International Stuttering Association’s board of directors. Sigridur is currently pursuing a masters degree in adult education.
ANITA BLOM:
Anita Blom, originally from the Netherlands, is a person who stutters and the previous chair of the Swedish Stuttering Assocation. She has worked for several decades to break down barriers and improve the lives of PWS around the world, leading camps for children and youth who stutter for the past 20 years. She has founded and led a consulting firm on stuttering and motivation, been a national and international keynote speaker on stuttering and served on the boards of stuttering associations both in Europe and internationally.
Australian Speak Easy Association 