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The history of GAATO

Updated: Nov 17, 2020




The seeds for GAATO were laid in 2000, when 4 organisations (AAATE, ARATA, RESNA, RESJA) decided to join forces to better move the agenda on assistive technology (AT) forward with the signing of the Tokushima Agreement on 26th August. The signatories were presidents Christian Bühler (AAATE), Barry Seeger (ARATA), Osamu Sueda (RESJA) and Mary Binion (RESNA) and the original document is now held by Renzo Andrich who received it during his tenure as AAATE president.


In 2016, two more organisations, namely RESKO and TREATS, joined. In 2019 the EASTIN network, ATIA, AATA and BATA also joined the Alliance.


All these organisations are motivated by the wish 'to advance the field of assistive technology (AT) and rehabilitation engineering (RE) to benefit people with disabilities and functional limitations of all ages' – as per GAATO’s mission statement. As well as the need to coordinate on a global level for a coherent approach and way forward – which led to this first official general assembly and the wish to become more structured as alliance.



The GAATO Timeline

The first General Assembly of GAATO (formerly IAATO, the International Alliance of Assistive Technology Organizations) met during the AAATE Conference in Bologna, Italy in August 2019. More information.


GAATO TIMELINE

(Acronyms: IAATO - International Alliance of AT Organizations; GAATO - Global Alliance of Assistive Technology Organizations)


“The strength of this alliance lies in the huge amount of competence in its ranks and also that it is neither part of government nor industry. Instead it is a third party that can be the connecting piece between policy and high-level initiatives like WHO’s GATE and ATScale with the people on the ground who work with people with disabilities and older users and everyone who potentially needs assistive technology”, said Evert-Jan Hoogerwerf, Co-Chair of GAATO in 2019.


Why is there a need for GAATO?

AT is  increasingly an issue of global concern and despite existing solutions there are still many people that could benefit but lack access to AT. Additionally, AT is an area where we can learn from our mutual experience and work together on standards, training, good practice and policies. Furthermore, there does not exist yet a unified global platform to represent the AT sector and coordinate with governments and international bodies such as the WHO and UN.

Areas where GAATO intends to make a difference include policy, research, innovation and development.


The second General Assembly is planned for March 2021.

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