View Topic - Accessible Events

This guide is a planning reference for Bahá’í gatherings that People with Disabilities can attend and take part in fully. It brings together two kinds of guidance: the Bahá’í Writings and the messages of the Universal House of Justice, and official disability guidance from the ADA National Network, the U.S. Access Board, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative, and Cornell University. Sources are linked throughout, so you can read the original guidance for yourself.

Devotionals, study circles, children’s classes, Feasts, Holy Day celebrations, conferences, and online meetings are all gatherings. Whatever its size, each one is a chance to remove barriers so that each person can take part fully. Use the headings below to go straight to the stage of planning you are working on.

The on-line meeting has become a common way of getting together virtually. Since the Pandemic of 2020 it has become even more prominent.  This has made it possible for many of us to continue to meet and conduct business and have our gatherings and even reach out to larger numbers of people across vast distances.

As you plan your virtual or on-line event, also be sure to see: Tips and Suggestions for how to Plan for a Welcoming and Inclusive Accessible Event or Gathering. This will help with more information regarding the overall event planning process for Accessibility in general. There are many recources included.

There are different types of on-line meeting of conference apps and utilities that are commonly used.  Some are more accessible than others.

Side conversations in an online meeting’s chat interrupt the speaker and undermine participants’ ability to follow the presentation. For People with Disabilities using a screen reader that announces incoming messages, every side conversation is read aloud over the speaker’s voice. They are forced to listen to two competing streams of speech, losing essential information while unrelated chatter keeps interrupting. This creates an accessibility barrier that excludes people from the discussion. Organizers and participants share responsibility for keeping chat focused on the presentation and protecting People with Disabilities’ equal access to the information and conversation.