Accessibility & Inclusive Learning Design Events in August 2026
A hot inclusive (education) summer is waiting for you!
In August, we are all out of the office but not offline. While I found no hybrid or in-person events, we have meetups, the Summer of Access, and an online course recommendation to keep us entertained. This month we have a strong education and learning design theme going on.
If you know of any other events in the online or offline accessibility and disability inclusion space, please email them to a11ynews@substack.com or submit the link via form to be included.
Online Events
Teach Access: Accessibility, Ethics, & AI
Wednesday, August 5th, 1:00 - 2:00 pm (ET)
The Teach Access Alumni Network is excited to host a moderated panel discussion about Accessibility, Ethics, & AI. Join the discussion along with Ariana Aboulafia, Disability Rights in Technology Policy Project at the Center for Democracy & Technology; Jutta Treviranus, Director of the Inclusive Design Research Centre (IDRC) and professor in the faculty of Design at OCAD University in Toronto; and Rolando Mendez, Director of Education, Teach Access. All three panelists recently contributed chapters to Digital Accessibility Ethics: Disability Inclusion in All Things Tech, published earlier this year.
U.S. Access Board: Accessible Voting in Tribal and Rural Communities: Strategies and Lessons for Polling Places
Thursday, August 6th, 2:30 PM - 4:00 PM (ET)
Join the United States Access Board and The Native American Disability Law Center (NADLC) for a collaborative webinar on polling place accessibility. The Native American Disability Law Center is a private nonprofit organization that advocates for the legal rights of Native Americans with disabilities. This webinar will cover NADLC’s report of polling place accessibility in Navajo Nation and Hopi Tribal elections, discuss community-led advocacy to affect changes in accessibility, and discuss strategies and lessons for self-advocates, families, and professionals to utilize in their work. Additional resources on polling place accessibility will be provided.
Registrants will be able to submit questions in advance during the registration process. Real-time captioning and sign language interpretation will be provided.
WordPress Accessibility Meetup: Creating a Digital Accessibility Program in Higher Education: Jesse Loesberg
Thursday, August 6th, 10:00 AM (Central)
At the University of California, digital accessibility has become an essential part of providing equitable access to information and services.
In this presentation, Jesse Loesberg will give you an inside look at how the library built and implemented a digital accessibility program following a Title II ADA lawsuit and a consent decree with the U.S. Department of Justice.
deque: Metrics that unite your team to achieve and sustain accessibility
Thursday, August 6th, 11:00 am—12:00 pm (ET), 15:00—16:00 (GMT)
When digital accessibility is a common goal shared across product owners, developers, designers, and leadership, the progress you can make is incredible. But how do you achieve that alignment? You measure.
WordPress Accessibility Meetup: Accessibility Testing: What Automated Tools Will NEVER Catch by Tanveer Khan
Tuesday, August 18th, 05:00 PM (CEST)
Automated accessibility testing tools have become essential parts of modern development workflows. While these tools are valuable for quickly identifying common accessibility issues, they only detect a portion of real-world accessibility barriers.
Accessible Web Development Training from Karl Groves
Wednesday, August 19th - Thursday, August 20th
8:00 AM – 4:00 PM (ET)
During this two-day training, master the technical skills of accessible web development — semantic HTML, ARIA, forms, keyboard navigation, images, media, color contrast, and more. Learn to build websites that work for everyone, including assistive technology users.
Digital Accessibility Experts Live: Lightning Talks
Thursday, August 27th, 4:00 PM (BST)
What we learned in our favourite projects of the last year that can help you.
You’ll hear first-hand stories from the field, across different sectors, teams and types of challenges, to inspire solutions where you work. If you’re interested in how accessibility plays out in practice (beyond theory, guidelines or best intentions) this session will give you a useful, real-world perspective.
Summer of Access
The Summer of Access webinar series is an Accessibility Learning & Design Community effort organized by L’Etoile Education to help educators, instructional designers, and Learning and Development professionals build accessible digital experiences. Sessions run July through August 2026.
We Built It Right, So Why Can’t Anyone Use It? by Angela Fowler
Tuesday, August 4th, 1:00 PM (ET) / 10:00 AM (PST)
Teams follow best practices, use modern tools, and even run automated accessibility checks—yet users still struggle. This session breaks down why that happens. Accessibility failures are rarely caused by a lack of effort. More often, they come from systems that were never designed to support real human use in the first place. Automated checkers only catch a fraction of real issues—they don't identify broken workflows, confusing navigation, or experiences that technically pass but fail in practice. Through real examples and live demonstrations, you'll learn how accessibility issues emerge from tools, training, and process gaps, and how to start recognizing these failures before your users do.
This PDF Looked Easy… Until I Opened the Tag Tree by Angelina Smith
Thursday, August 13th, 1:00 PM (ET) / 10:00 AM (PST)
Accurately estimating document accessibility effort is a critical skill. This session focuses on the early assessment process: identifying PDF red flags, understanding how source files impact the level of effort, and recognizing when a document may require significantly more work than its appearance suggests. You'll learn how to determine level of effort and weigh decisions before sinking time into the tag tree. Ideal for anyone who works with document accessibility, whether you're new to remediation or looking to sharpen your scoping skills.
Beyond Alt Text: Making Complex STEM Visualizations Accessible at Scale by Christin Monroe
Tuesday, August 18th, 1:00 PM (ET) / 10:00 AM (PST)
What does it actually take to make highly visual STEM content accessible? In this session, Christin will share lessons learned from writing alt text and accessibility notes figures in a biomolecular visualization textbook, e.g., molecular models, Venn diagrams, screenshots, and tables.
Grounded in real examples and before/after revisions, participants will explore when alt text is not enough (e.g., complex diagrams and 3D representations). How to handle screenshots, tables, and interactive tools. Designing with color, structure, and cognitive load in mind. Deciding when to describe, simplify, or mark visuals as decorative.
Accessible Clubbing Tip: Kultursommer Wien
The Kultursommer Wien is taking place all across Vienna from July 2nd to August 16th 2026. Many different venues offer amazing live music, cabarets, literature events, dance & performance, theater and much more. At one of these venues, the Northwest station in the 20th district, Beat the Silence is setting up an induction-loop. Through this technology, people with hearing aids will be able to enjoy the performances to their fullest. We are very excited for this summer and more than happy to contribute to its accessibility.