View Topic - Accessible Events

Learn how to plan welcoming, inclusive, accessible gatherings by addressing accessibility at every stage, from invitations and registration to venues, presentations, and activities. This guide outlines practical steps for removing barriers, providing accessible materials and communication, keeping participants’ requests confidential, and confirming that requested arrangements are in place. Planning ahead and following through creates a culture of respect, belonging, and equatable participation for People with Disabilities.

Online meetings can shut out Blind participants who use screen readers when hosts rely on shared screens and ask participants to read slides aloud in turn. This article shows hosts how to send accessible materials ahead of time, take turns speaking in ways every participant can use, and design one meeting that does not make anyone other, with questions for Community Builders to examine their own practice.

Side conversations in the chat during an online presentation talk over the speaker, and for Blind People who use screen readers the messages are spoken aloud over the presenter, which blocks access to the presentation. Research on task switching shows that following a speaker while reading a chat carries a real cost. Hosts can remove the barrier before the event by turning chat off, limiting who participants can chat with, and turning off private chat, then sending essential information ahead of time and repeating it aloud.