ACED 2020, the Joint Conference of Asian Council on Ergonomics and Design (ACED) and South East Asian Network Societies (SEANES) 2020 was hosted by the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society of Philippines (HFESP). The theme of the conference – “Convergence: Creating Ergonomic Breakthroughs thru Partnership” aims to bring together academics, researchers and industry practitioners to network and share their expertise in the area of human factors and ergonomics in the Asia-Pacific region.
The conduct of international conferences was halted by the pandemic and it had been difficult to travel, but HFESP has transformed the challenge into a beautiful story – the first ever virtual
conference of ACED-SEANES.

Keynote speakers included Mr. Kenneth Cobonpue, a well-known and multi-awarded furniture designer. The International Ergonomics Association (IEA) was represented by its Vice President Prof. Jose Orlando Gomes. Also in the roster of keynote speakers were Prof. Birsen Donmez from the University of Toronto, Canada. Her research interests centered on understanding and improving human behavior and performance in multi-task and complex situations, using a wide range of analytic techniques; Prof. Stuart Marshall a Special Anaesthetist, Lead of Clinical Human Factors at the Australian Centre for Health and Innovation at the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne and Clinical Associate Professor of Medical Education at The University of Melbourne, Australia; and Jacob Chen, President of Foxconn, who discussed the practice of ergonomics at his company.