Conclusion of the 2019 TDI Biennial Conference

by | Aug 19, 2019 | Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Industry-Related News, TDI Conference

Aerial view of Gallaudet's Chapel Hall and the US Capitol. Text reads: (TDI logo) 23rd TDI Biennial Conference "With Access, Everyone Wins!" August 15-17, 2019 at Gallaudet University Kellogg Conference & Hotel

TDI hosted its 23rd Biennial Conference at Kellogg Conference Center and Hotel on Gallaudet University. It was a record-setting event with over 300 people registered for the three-day event.

The Biennial Conference hosted speakers representing various parts of the industry sector and government.

White woman dark shoulder length hair standing behind a podium, right hand waving 'hi', left handing making 'H' handshape. On her far left is another white woman watching her (ASL Interpreter), smiling.
Jessica Rosenworcel introduces herself by fingerspelling “Hi my name is Jessica.”

On opening day, FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel presented the keynote address, followed by a town hall meeting with FCC officials from the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau and its Disability Rights Office.

White woman with dirty blonde hair, wearing dark blouse with three oversized button and dark slacks. On her left are three people seated, a male person of color in dark brown suit with left leg crossed/resting on right leg and hands clasped together. A white male, balding in dark suit hands clasped, and a white woman dark hair with maroon dress and dark jacket. Left leg is crossed on right and holding papers on her lap.
FCC Town Hall Meeting with Suzy Rosen Singleton, Eliot Greenwald, Theodore Marcus, and Debra Patkin

Later in the afternoon, Apple’s Sarah Herrlinger spoke about the power of designing with everyone in mind. Then CTIA’s Matt Gerst explained how wireless technology is advancing accessibility. After several breakout workshops, the first day concluded with the National Administrators of State Agencies for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (NASADHH) sharing opportunities for collaboration.

White woman with salt and pepper hair wearing dark shirt/pants. To her left, three people are seated. A white woman with left left crossed on right and hands crossed resting on lets. She's wearing a long dark green jacket over a dark shirt and pants with open toed shoes. A white male with dark combed back hair, wearing a dark suit and pink tie with his hands/fingers clasped together. A woman in the same pose as the male, she's white with shoulder lengthen hair dirty brown. Wearing a white and grey patterned long shirt with dark pants and open-toed shoes.
NASADHH panel: (L-R) Jan Withers (NC), Anne Urasky (MI), Steve Florio (MA), and Virginia Moore (KY).

Monica Desai of Facebook kicked off the second day with their belief that connecting everyone, benefits everyone. The rest of the day was filled with workshops covering various topics like emergency communications, relay services, TV and internet captioning, and electronic gaming. Attendees convened to conclude the day with a presentation from Deaf Wireless Canada and their telecommunication accessibly milestones.

The final day of the conference brought in many consumers to learn about the latest develops in products and services by Facebook’s Oculus & Portal, CSD’s Connect Direct, TDI’s uCaption, Sprint’s IP Relay app, and ZVRS’s OneVP. Additionally, there were several forums on autonomous vehicles, deaf commercial pilots, Gallaudet’s Technology Access Program, and captioning metrics. The final event of the day was a stakeholder engagement session hosted by MITRE and the FCC.

TDI greatly appreciated its Conference Sponsors for their continued support in shaping an accessible world. TDI’s Biennial Conference would not be possible without the support of these partners.

More details about the Conference programs and events are covered in the TDI World (vol. 50, issue 2), an electronic version of TDI World magazine is available.

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