Accessibility Events in May
Happy European Diversity Month!
online
Digital A11y online Stammtisch #2
Monday, May 6th, 4-5 pm CEST
Every first Monday of the Month, Johannes Lehner hosts the Digital A11y Zoom round table. Join us through the LinkedIn event linked on the title or crash directly into the Zoom session starting at 4 pm CEST. Tiny disclaimer: We mostly talked in German during the call simply because we were exclusively German speakers thus far. But don’t worry, we can switch to English anytime needed!
What makes a customer ‘vulnerable’ and how to support them
Thursday, May 23, 4 pm CEST
In recent years the term ‘vulnerability’ is been increasingly used in regulated industries like banking and utilities.
Many people can have characteristics of vulnerability – due to poor health, disability, neurodiversity, anxiety, ageing or a mental health condition, a life event such as a new caring responsibility, or low resilience to financial shocks such as the cost of living crisis.
All need digital information provided about products and services to be easy to understand, and customer-service lines to understand their specific needs.
The link between vulnerability and accessibility is clear. But, if you want to enable people who are vulnerable to use your digital tools and services, you'll have to go beyond WCAG, which misses many of the things people who are neurodivergent, ageing, or have mental
health conditions or anxiety need.
AI, Accessibility and Users with Disabilities
Thursday May 16, 11:30 pm - May 17, 12:30 am (funky time in CEST, I know!)
Is artificial intelligence (AI) the solution that will fix inaccessible websites? Or does it cause more problems than it solves? Join WeCo's Global Accessibility Awareness Day event, moderated by Paul Daye (Lead Accessibility Analyst at Visa Inc), to learn how AI impacts the digital accessibility of people with disabilities in both positive and negative ways:
Accessibility overlays and widgets
AI-powered assistive technology
AI tools used to build accessibility into websites and digital products
hybrid
European Accessibility Summit 2024 (Brussels)
Tuesday May 7, 9:30 AM - 6:00 PM CEST
Microsoft Centre, Brussels & online
As in previous editions, this is a hybrid event, bringing together the disability movement, industry and policymakers to discuss all things accessibility.
This year in June there will be European Parliament Elections, with a whole new, or not so new, set of leaders for the EU in the next five years. We will assess what has been achieved in the last five years- and what remains to be done.
We will also have a panel looking at elections. How does digital accessibility, or inaccessibility, impact persons with disabilities voting and standing for election? Where are the barriers, and what are the solutions?
We have perhaps all heard about the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, which businesses trading in Europe will have to follow- will this improve accessibility and inclusion of persons with disabilities at work?
Finally, as usual, sprinkled throughout the day you can experience technology demonstrations and ask your questions to the experts.
in-Person
UX Research Masterclass: Deepening your qualitative interviewing skills for better products and services by Mirjam De Klepper
Tuesday May 14th, 9 am - 1 pm
Location: WeXelerate Tower in Vienna, Austria
As part of the UX Con Vienna all-year-round program, Mirjam is holding her next Masterclass on UX Research this month. Not just for assistive tech, but for roughly everything that is intended for human use, user research is a pretty solid idea! So although it’s not technically an accessibility event, this one would still be a personal recommendation. So if you are interested in specializing in UX research, Mirjam is the mentor for you!
OT World (Leipzig, Germany)
14-17. May, Leipziger Messe, Germany
This is something for the prosthetics and orthotics fans: OT world is a get-together for global medical aid specialists, engineers, manufacturers, and everyone around the sector.
Symposium / consensus workshop #1: P&O and mobility devices (London)
16 May 2024, 10 am to 5 pm
Location: Salford University (Media City Campus): Room 3.10 / 3.11, MediaCity B4, Orange Tower, Salford Quays, M50 2HE
Focus: repair of prosthetics and orthotics, and other mobility devices, including walking aids
In May and June 2024, the Global Disability Innovation Hub (#GDIHub)at UCL, along with The University of Salford, University of Strathclyde and Loughborough University, will come together as part of the EPSRC funded TIDAL N+ to explore the complexity of repair and maintenance of assistive products.
The workshop will consider under-represented groups within current repair strategies, and look at the barriers to optimising AT provision.
The climate crisis and concerns about environmental sustainability have led to a huge increase in recycling - but while recycling may recover raw materials used to produce a product, the considerable value added to products through design and manufacture is lost.
This major financial and environmental cost has focused attention on the importance of repairing existing products; however, current repair strategies present challenging issues for industry, commissioners, and users. Effective repair has to be connected to a wider system of production and regulation.
It is a complex issue, and no one actor can achieve what is needed. These workshops will consider the huge barrier to optimising the provision of assistive products. As well as mapping current provision, attendees will build a consensus for next steps. Those in attendance will become founding members of a new repair community as we look to build collaboration in this important and predominantly underexplored area.
16 May [Salford] prosthetics, orthotics, mobility devices
21 June [London] wheelchairs.
May 5: European Day of Inclusion
This day serves as a poignant reminder of the barriers individuals with disabilities still face in society. Despite legal frameworks like the UN CRPD (Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities) in place, access to education, employment, and - most importantly - a dignified life, are still… challenged to say the least.