Accessibility Events in January

Happy New Year! Stay Inclusive!

online

Digital A11y Online Stammtisch #10

Dienstag 7. 16:00 - 17:30 CET

Ausnahmsweise findet der Stammtisch am Dienstag statt. Der Zoom Link bleibt wie immer derselbe.

Unser gemeinsames Ziel? Fachlicher und persönlicher Austausch zu Themen rund um digitale Barrierefreiheit zwischen Personen aus Development, User Experience / Design, sowie allen Interessierten.

Unser Format? Zum ersten Event im neuen Jahr kehren wir noch einmal zu unserem Lean Coffee Format zurück. Das heißt für euch: Bringt bitte alle eure Fragen rund um das Thema digitale Barrierefreiheit mit.

From Standards to Support: Understanding the Access Board’s Role in Accessibility

Thursday, 9th
2:30 PM - 4:00 PM Eastern Time Zone

Have you previously attended our webinars or reached out with questions and training about accessibility? You might be surprised to learn that some questions may be outside the scope of the U.S. Access Board’s Office of Information and Technical Services (OTIS).

Join us for this informative webinar where we’ll explore the U.S. Access Board’s crucial role in creating, training, and enforcing accessibility standards for everything from buildings and public spaces to transportation and information and communication technology. Plus, we’ll explain areas in which other federal agencies lead and enforce specific accessibility standards. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to understand the full landscape of accessibility!

Human generated real-time captioning provided along with video sign language interpreters. Participants can ask questions in advance during the registration process as well as ask questions during the live session.

Technica11y: Invisible Stigma in UX Research

Monday 20th. 17:00 - 18:00 CET

This will be the German version of my talk at Inclusive Design 24: Invisible Stigma in UX Research. Here’s what to expect:

Social desirability bias is a well-known fiend in the UX research field. But when doing research with persons with disabilities, there’s a new threat coming into play: Stigma. Stigma can affect participants’ self-reporting and research results. Participants with disabilities might be reluctant to disclose the extent of some barriers they encounter daily, out of subconscious fear of being stigmatized. And here’s the catch with invisible stigma: You may already encounter participants with invisible disabilities, who are trying their best to compensate and conceal them to fit in. 15% of the world population have a disability, then how likely is it, that you have never interviewed a user with a disability before? Get to know this enemy to unravel covert insights hidden in plain sight!

Digital "Blind Date": Wie man 2024 als blinde Person das Internet erlebt

Dienstag, 21. 18:30 - 20:30

Im ersten UX Graz Meetup 2025 tauchen wir gemeinsam mit Christian in die digitale Welt aus der Perspektive einer blinden Person ein.

Christian, der mit ca. 14 Jahren erblindete, wird uns Einblicke in seinen digitalen Alltag geben. Er teilt seine Erfahrungen, Herausforderungen und Barrieren, denen er im Internet begegnet. Zudem stellt er Best Practices, hilfreiche Tools und wertvolle Insights vor, die zu einer inklusiveren digitalen Umgebung beitragen können.

Ein großes Dankeschön an Martin Brugger-Hatzl, der dieses spannende Thema und den Speaker für uns organisiert hat! Martin wird gemeinsam mit Christian auch bei der anschließenden Q&A-Session für Fragen zur Verfügung stehen.

Getting Started with Designing for Web Accessibility by Google Developer Group Vienna

Thursday 23, 2025, 5:00 – 6:00 PM (GMT+1)

The Accessibility Webinar Series is the new format here at GDG Vienna. Hosted by Julia Undeutsch, every 4th Thursday of the month a new topic in the field of accessibility will be presented, which should help beginners and intermediate accessibility advocates to become more familiar with accessibility in design, development and testing.

At the end of the series, regular participants can look forward to a live event directly in Vienna, which will be held in autumn.

Events are held in English and last between 60-90 minutes. Afterwards, the speakers will be available for a Q&A. Questions can be asked in English or German. Questions can be asked about the respective presentation but also about accessibility in general.

Digital Accessibility Experts Live: Trends in Digital Accessibility 2025

Thursday 30th, 4 PM UK time

In the January webinar, accessibility thought leader Jonathan Hassell will review what we learned in 2024 in the world of accessibility and make predictions for how new technologies, devices, laws, and regulations will impact accessibility in the next 12 months.

Topics will evolve between now and then, but here's a flavor of what he'll cover:

• Vulnerable consumers - how accessibility can help

• The impact of the EAA in June 2025

• How will AI continue to impact accessibility

• From piecemeal to embedded accessibility - how organizations are winning from shifting their approach

hybrid

Anchoring Accessibility: Upcoming events to learn more about including access in your arts practices

January 13th in-person at Theatre Passe Muraille (16 Ryerson Ave, Toronto, ON M5T 2P3)

January 20th online via Zoom

For the past year, the Anchoring Accessibility team (Leslie Ting, Jessica Watkin, Macy Siu, Blythe Haynes) have been involved with a practice-based research project engaging artist groups in the theatre and performing arts space who are interested in cultivating accessibility practice into their creative process.

The project aims to:

• Develop a tool to support non-Disabled artists engaging with Disabled artists and audiences

• Support artists in thinking about accessibility in relation to their practice

• Develop a more relational and meaningful practice than what is currently common practice

The team's findings will be shared with folks at two upcoming events, one in-person and one online (you choose which options suits your needs best!).

If you'd like to attend either session, please email anchoring.accessibility@gmail.com to confirm your spot and request any access needs.

Test Busters Night Vienna: Catch ‘Em All: Hunting Accessibility Bugs Like a Champion!

Wednesday, January 22, 5:45 PM to 8:45 PM CET

Location: Dynatrace HQ Vienna & Zoom

As part of the Test Busters Night Vienna, I was once more allowed my shenanigans of comparing accessibility testing tools to Pokémon. What I have in store for this challenge:

• Picking the right starter tools for accessibility testing (your very own Bulbasaur).

• Combining automated and manual testing for unbeatable results.

• Leveling up your skills to become an Accessibility Champion.

But I am not the sole encounter of the Test Busters Night! Check out the other talks:

• Leveraging Vision Agents and LLMs for the Future of Test Automation by Jonas Menesklou

  In this talk, we explore how cutting-edge Vision Agents, powered by Vision Language Models (VLMs) and Large Language Models (LLMs), are transforming the landscape of test automation. Dive into real-world applications, learn how these technologies are breaking barriers in native app testing, and discover the immense potential they bring to automating complex UI scenarios across platforms.

• Agile Software Testing at Dynatrace by Maximilian Wallisch

  Maximilian will share how Dynatrace has embedded quality engineering within their globally distributed R&D organization. Learn how their team structure, operating procedures, and use of Dynatrace as internal adopters allow over 100 development teams to monitor and automate their testing pipelines effectively.

For In-Person attendance, fill out the form. See you there!

in-Person

[Wien] Innovation Afterhour: Be Different - Diversität als Innovationstreiber

Dienstag 14. 17:30 - 21:00

Location: WeXelerate, 1 Praterstraße 1020 Wien

Entdecke, wie Einzigartigkeit im Business den Unterschied macht und warum es heute wichtiger denn je ist, anders zu sein – „Be different“. Erlebe, wie Diversität zum Innovationstreiber wird und inspiriere dich für neue Wege und Ideen!

• Herausforderungen und Chancen in diversen Teams
  Was zeichnet diverse Teams aus, und warum gelten sie oft als besonders leistungsfähig? Wir sprechen darüber, warum Vielfalt nicht automatisch zum Erfolg führt und wo die größten Stolpersteine liegen. Unsere Speaker zeigen, wie Hindernisse durch gegenseitiges Verständnis und kreative Lösungsansätze überwunden werden können, um eine starke Teamdynamik zu entwickeln.

• Entscheidungen treffen und Funding sichern – Der Einfluss von Diversität
  Warum gelten diverse Teams bei Investor*innen als besonders überzeugend, oder auch nicht. Wie beeinflusst Vielfalt die Risikobewertung und wie Sie die Stärken Ihres Teams gezielt hervorheben können, um potenzielle Investoren*innen zu überzeugen. Unsere Speaker teilen Best Practices und Insights aus ihren eigenen Funding-Erfahrungen.

• Blick in die Zukunft
  Die Zukunft der Start-up- und Investorenlandschaft in Bezug auf Diversität steht im Fokus: Unsere beiden Speaker teilen ihre Visionen für eine vielfältigere Gründungswelt und geben praktische Tipps, wie Vielfalt gezielt gefördert werden kann. Freuen Sie sich auf inspirierende Learnings, wegweisende Trends und wertvolle Impulse für die nächste Gründer*innen-Generation.

Happy New Year! Stay inclusive!