Keynote speaker
Mac MacLachlan
Mac
MacLachlan is Director of the ALL (Assisting Living & Learning) Institute
at Maynooth University, Ireland. Mac has also held visiting professorships
at the universities of Stellenbosch, Olomouc and Harvard. He has worked as an
academic, clinician, organisational consultant and policy adviser in
Europe, Asia, Africa and South America; with government, civil society,
corporates and United Nations agencies.
Mac is currently Research & Innovation Coordinator for WHO’s
Global Cooperation on Assistive Technology (GATE) programme; and
Knowledge Management Lead for the United Nations’ Partnership for the
Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNPRPD). He is a Fellow of the
Psychological Society of Ireland and of the British Psychological Society; and
Member of the Royal Irish Academy. He is the recipient of a number of
awards, including the American Psychological Association’s International
Humanitarian Award (2014), the Royal Irish Academy’s Gold Medal for Social
Science (2017) and the British Psychological Society’s Award for Promoting
Equality of Opportunity (2018). He has particular interests in assistive technology
research, policy and systems.