Join us on 22 and 23 September 2026 to celebrate the sixth anniversary of the Web Accessibility Directive and the European Accessibility Act.
IAAP EU and the European Disability Forum (EDF) will host an online workshop on 22 September, followed by an online event on 23 September.
About this event
23 September marks an important milestone for digital accessibility in Europe. On this date, the Web Accessibility Directive (WAD) began to require public sector websites across the European Union to be accessible. The Directive was the EU’s first step towards a common approach to digital accessibility across Member States.
By marking this anniversary, IAAP and EDF are contributing to raising awareness, spreading knowledge, and sharing expertise in the field of accessibility.
The event will bring together experts, practitioners, and policymakers to reflect on progress, exchange experiences, and discuss future challenges.
22 September: Online interactive workshop 13.00 to 16.00
To take part, please select the workshop option in the main event registration form. We will send the joining link separately before the workshop.
The European Standard on accessibility requirements for information and communication technology (ICT) products and services, known as EN 301 549, supports the implementation of the European Accessibility Act. Experts recently updated the standard, and some changes also affect the Web Accessibility Directive. The new version is not yet published, but it is stable enough to support discussion and practical testing.
Many requirements in EN 301 549 do not appear in the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). As a result, guidance on how to understand and test these requirements is limited. Since 2023, a group of volunteers has met regularly to discuss these requirements and agree on common approaches to testing them. The group aims to share knowledge and help the accessibility community use the standard consistently. Their work has informed updates to the standard, but it has no legal status and is for information only.
This workshop will explore practical ways to test requirements that are new or significantly revised in the updated version of EN 301 549. If you are new to the standard, you can join a breakout session that explains how to use it. Other breakout sessions will explore technical topics in greater detail.
23 September: Online accessibility event 09.00-17.00
Welcome to an online event where accessibility experts, end user representatives, public and private sector, researchers, monitoring agencies, policy makers and other stakeholders from across the EU meet to share knowledge, be inspired and support each other.
The topics of the day include best practices, methods, tools and solutions to improve digital accessibility for all. The agenda consists of presentations, panel discussions and Q&A with the audience.
The event will be moderated by Susanna Laurin, G3ict and IAAP Representative to the EU.
Agenda and speakers
You can find more information on the event on IAAP’s website: