Computers Helping People with Special Needs

Welcome to the proceedings of ICCHP 2008. We were proud to welcome participants from more than 40 countries from all con- nents to ICCHP. The International Programme Committee, encompassing 102 experts form all over the world, selected 150 full and 40 short papers out of 360 abstracts submitted to ICCHP. Our acceptance rate of about half of the submissions, demonstrates the scientific quality of the programme and in particular the proceedings you have in your hands. An impressive group of experts agreed to organize "Special Thematic Sessions" (STS) for ICCHP 2008. The existence of these STS sessions helped to bring the me- ing into sharper focus in several key areas of assistive technology. In turn, this deeper level of focus helped to bring together the state-of-the-art and mainstream technical, social, cultural and political developments. Our keynote speaker, Jim Fruchterman from BeneTech, USA highlighted the - portance of giving access to ICT and AT at a global level. In another keynote by H- old Thimbleby, Swansea University, UK, the role of user-centred design and usability engineering in assistive technology and accessibility was addressed. And finally, a combination keynote and panel discussion was reserved for WAI/WCAG2.0, which we expect to be the new reference point for Web accessibility from the summer of 2008 and beyond.