Organizers

Ombretta Gaggi (gaggi@math.unipd.it) is an associate professor of Computer Science at the Department of Mathematics “Tullio Levi-Civita”, University of Padua. 

She has been interested in Accessibility related research topics since 2008. From 2016 to 2020, she was involved in the steering committee of the International Conference on Smart Objects and Technologies for Social Good, in 2021 she served as General Chair of the ACM International Conference GoodIT 2021. She is currently the Chair of the Steering Committee of ACM GoodIt. She served as TPC Chair of the International Workshop on Accessible Devices and Services (ADS) (from 2018 to 2023) and as General Co-Chairs of the same workshop in 2024. She was Track Chair of Track 2- Networking solutions for social applications, multimedia, and games of the IEEE Consumer Communications &Networking Conference from 2023 to 2026. Her main research interests include ubiquitous computing, smartphone applications, web accessibility, and the use of technology to help people with disabilities. Her research has produced many applications and systems that can be used to train and/or assess children and people with disabilities. 

Silvia Mirri (silvia.mirri@unibo.it) is an associate professor of Computer Science at the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Bologna. 

She has been interested in Accessibility related research topics since 2002. In 2018, she served as Program and Local Chair of the International Conference on Smart Objects and Technologies for Social Good, being involved in the other editions of the conference as TPC member, as well as for the editions of the ACM International Conference on Information Technology for Social Good (from

2021). She proposed the workshop on Accessible Devices and Services (ADS) from 2016, within the IEEE CCNC conference. She is a member of the Advisory Committee of the Web4All conference since 2015, when she served as General Chair of the conference. 

Her main research interests include web accessibility, human-computer interaction, multimodal interface, and interaction in contexts with specific limitations and characteristics (such as automotive, smart buildings, etc). 

Michael Paciello (mpaciello@weable.com) is Chief Accessibility Officer at AudioEye, Inc., a digital accessibility corporation dedicated to ensuring web accessibility through AI and automation. 

Prior to joining AudioEye, Mike founded WebABLE/WebABLE.TV a digital marketing service & internet channel broadcast studio designed to deliver news about the disability and accessibility technology market. He co-founded and is Chairman of Open Access Technologies, a new startup dedicated to developing accessible and usable content. Mr. Paciello has served as an international leader, technologist, and lecturer in the areas of emerging technology, usability, technical & legal standards, and accessibility. Mike is the author of the first book on web accessibility and usability, “Web Accessibility for People with Disabilities” and, along with several colleagues, formed the International Committee for Accessible Document Design (ICADD). In 1997, Mr. Paciello received recognition from President William Clinton for his work in the creation of the World Wide Web Consortium’s (W3C) Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI). In 2006, he was appointed co-chair to the United States Federal Access Board’s Telecommunications and Electronic and Information Technology Advisory Committee (TEITAC). 

Catia Prandi (catia.prandi@unibo.it) is an associate professor at the University of Bologna and a Faculty fellow at the Interactive Technologies Institute (Portugal). 

She has conducted research in accessibility and e-learning. She now studies aspects of HCI in contexts such as smart cities/environment, focusing on social issues such as sustainability, biodiversity, accessibility, and social inclusion. In particular, she studies the use of methodologies such as citizen science, gamification, and game thinking, and data visualization to design technologies capable of increasing people's awareness, inclusion, and accessibility. She has authored over 130 publications and has been part of 25 research projects. She was the general chair of EAI GoodTech 2020, ACM SIGCAS GoodIT 2023, and ECSCW 2024. Additionally, she was involved in the organization of the last editions of the IEEE CCNC ADS workshop, which focused on accessibility devices and services.

Chiara Ceccarini (chiara.ceccarini6@unibo.it) is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Computer Science and Engineering of the University of Bologna (Italy). 

Her research focuses on Human-Computer Interaction and data visualization, with the goal of designing and evaluating interactive systems that raise awareness of socially relevant issues. Specifically, she explores innovative solutions for sustainability, understood through the lens of the SDGs, addressing the environmental, social, and economic dimensions. She has also carried out research in the field of accessibility and accessible tourism. 

Mirko Franco (mifranco@math.unipd.it) is a PhD candidate in Brain, Mind and Computer Science at the Department of Mathematics of the University of Padua. He received his B.Sc. (2019) and M.Sc. (2021) in Computer Science from the same institution. 

His research interests include trust and safety in online social platforms, web accessibility and mobile computing. He is a member of the Technical Program Committee of conferences such as IEEE CCNC, ACM GoodIT, ACM SAC, and AAAI ICWSM.