[Linux-aus] Accessibility and conferences (Re: grr)

[Michael Cordover]

On 22 October 2013 08:33, Mary Gardiner <mary at puzzling.org> wrote:

> One possible approach to such things is to work through accessibility
> checklists in advance of the event and to publish the results (including
> things you won't or can't do) on the event webpage.
>

I think this could be extremely useful for all the reasons Mary lists but
it also has real benefits for event organisers: it provides an easy place
for organisational memory about accessibility and a starting point for
other conferences (run by LA subcommittees or otherwise).


> The yearly SFF con Wiscon has a team of volunteers who work year-round on
> accessibility.
>

This is the other thing that I've found very useful in the past. Where I
used to work (local government organising festivals) we had a volunteer
access advisory committee. We could go to that group two or three times
during the planning phase to run through our plans and ask for advice on
how to do better. (For the record the most important thing, consistently,
was good communication about accessibility.)

Of course, that's a lot easier when you have a team of six full time staff
and a catering budget. I expect LCA won't have that luxury. However, it
might be something that some people are interested in working on.
Alternatively there might be existing resources that can be used. I think
it's worth approaching the community development department of the host's
local government as a starting point to see if they have resources that can
help.

Anyway, just an extra 2c in the discussion, for what it's worth.

Michael
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