The University Research Institute of Applied Communication and the Laboratory of New Technologies in Communication, Education and the Mass Media of the University of Athens organise for the third time in a row the ‘Usability and Accessibility Days’, which this year will be celebrated in a two-day event at the Apollo Multicentre of the Piraeus Prefecture on the 10th and 11th of November 2010.

Communication is the theme for World Usability Day 2010, in all possible forms met by people in everyday life, in the Digital Era. An impressively rising number of products and services acquire some digital dimensions nowadays and we are called to deal with them. Very often, for example, in our effort to communicate properly with and through a (digital) machine the results are unsuccessful. In this light, the main aim of Usability & Accessibility Days is to spread the concepts, rules, guidelines and good practices of usability and accessibility in order to make life easier in the Digital Era.

The theme of "Communicating in the Digital Era" covers a comprehensive list of personal media, such as mobile phones and devices, online communication media, social media, digital media and audiovisual content in education, digital narration, intergenerational and intercultural communication. "Communicating in the Digital Era" means easy and effective communication: "Connection established…"

Usability, inseparable from Accessibility, are two elements that can determine whether a digital project or product is successful or not, surpassing any technological barriers that characterized the analog-to-digital conversion period. If we manage to make communication simple and prompt in the Digital Era, we will get over the awe caused by the complexity of new technologies and their applications, landing into a safe and rewarding new digital communication environment. In several ways, we will thrive on "making life easier"!

Usability & Accessibility Days address new scientists, students and teaching staff, ICT professionals and all those concerned with building a better and simpler digital world. During the event, a thorough discussion will take place regarding the current research trends in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) combined with sound examples of applied communication and best practices. Special features of this year’s event include:

• A thematic session organized by ACM Greek SIGCHI, on Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), examining some of the most important aspects of Usability in relation to Communication and their introduction in the Greek higher education curricula (Wednesday afternoon, November 10th 2010)
• A workshop on intergenerational communication and learning through interactive digital media and social games (Thursday morning, November 11th 2010)
• A thematic session on usability and accessibility of digital technologies in education, with the participation of users, manufacturers and researchers (Thursday afternoon, November 11th 2010).