This year’s European Accessibility Summit is set to happen on  17 November – in Brussels and online.

Organised by the European Disability Forum with the support of Microsoft, the Summit aims to bring together policy makers, industry, accessibility experts, and the disability movement to discuss the most critical topics related to accessibility in the EU right now.

Register for the European Accessibility Summit

Agenda

09:00 – 09:10: Introductory Remarks

• Catherine Naughton, Executive Director at European Disability Forum
• Neil Barnett, Chief Accessibility Officer at Microsoft

09:10-10:15: The European Accessibility Act: national implementation and enforcement

The European Accessibility Act began to apply in June 2025, meaning that many products and services should now be accessible to persons with disabilities. In this panel, we will explore how national public authorities have helped businesses prepare for its implementation, what they are doing to ensure compliance with the accessibility requirements, and the role of organisations of persons with disabilities in supporting implementation and enforcement.

Moderated by Susanna Laurin, Managing Director and Chair of Funka Foundation

Speakers:

• Ana Carla Pereira, Director for Equality and non-discrimination, European Commission
• Nikolaus Eckereder, Head of Department for the Market Surveillance Authority for Digital Accessibility, Austrian Social Ministry Service
• Wojciech Drzewiński, Head of Market Surveillance Division, Polish State Fund for Rehabilitation of Disabled Persons (PFRON)
• Wouter Bolier, Policy Officer, Ieder(in) (Netherlands)

10:15-10:50: Fireside chat on Inclusive Artificial Intelligence 

Artificial intelligence can be both a powerful tool for inclusion and a source of risk if it is not designed inclusively. This fireside chat will explore how to create AI solutions that promote accessibility, use representative data, and address potential discriminatory outcomes.

Speakers:

• Rylin Rodgers, Disability Policy Director, Microsoft
• Jesica Rivero, Project Manager, Fundacion ONCE

10:50 – 11:00: Keynote

• Emer Higgins, Irish Minister of State with Special Responsibility for Disability

11:0 – 11:30: Coffee Break

11:30-12:30: Audiovisual Media: ensuring accessibility across providers 

With the revision of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive foreseen for 2026, this panel will explore how broadcasters, streaming services, and video-sharing platforms can make audiovisual content more accessible to persons with disabilities. Speakers will discuss the impact of legislation, the specific characteristics of different media providers, and the latest trends in audiovisual accessibility.

Moderated by Jonathan Elebjörk Wahlström, European Disability Forum’s Executive Committee member

Speakers:

• Veronika Rot, Member of the Access Services Steering Group at the European Broadcasting Union.
• Peter Korn, Director of Accessibility, Amazon Devices & Services
• Marta Sanagustin, Head of Sector at the European Commission

12:30 – 13:30 Lunch

13:30 – 14:15: Electronic communications: removing barriers for end-users with disabilities

Electronic communications, such as telephone and internet services, are essential for full participation in society. The European Union seeks to ensure their accessibility through the European Accessibility Act (EAA) and the recently proposed Digital Networks Act (DNA). This panel will assess the progress made so far and explore how technological innovations can help remove the remaining barriers to accessible electronic communications.

Speakers

• Leonie Allen, Co-Chair, BEREC End Users Working Group
• Alexandre Bloxs, Policy Manager, European Union of the Deaf
• Benoît Vivier, Public Affairs Director, European Emergency Number Association (EENA)

Moderation by Daniel Casas, Senior Accessibility Officer, European Disability Forum

14:15 – 14:45: Coffee Break

14:45 – 15:30: Fireside chat on accessibility: Lessons Learned and Priorities Ahead

Jenny Lay-Flurrie, Vice President at Microsoft, and Inmaculada Placencia, Member of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, will discuss how technological developments have advanced accessibility for persons with disabilities. They will also reflect on the lessons learned and explore future priorities and opportunities for progress

Speakers:

• Inmaculada Placencia Porrero, Member of the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
•  Jenny Lay-Flurrie, Corporate Vice President, Trusted Technology Group, Microsoft

15:30 – 16:00: Assistive Technologies

Discover the latest innovations in assistive technologies and learn how they can empower persons with disabilities to participate more independently and fully in everyday life, education, employment, and digital environments.

• Ioana Tanase, AI and Accessibility Program Manager, Microsoft

16:00 – 16:10: Closing Remarks

In-person attendance by invitation only.

Register for the European Accessibility Summit

Meet the Speakers

Emer Higgins

Irish Minister of State with Special Responsibility for Disability

Emer Higgins is Minister of State attending Cabinet at the Department of Children, Disability and Equality with special responsibility for Disability. She was appointed to this role on 18 November 2025.

Before this, she served as Minister of State at the Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation with special responsibility for Public Procurement, Digitalisation and eGovernment.

She previously served as Minister of State with responsibility for Business, Employment and Retail.

She was elected Fine Gael TD for Dublin Mid-West in the 2020 General Election.

Deputy Higgins served as a Councillor of South Dublin County Council from 2011-2020, representing the communities of Palmerstown, Lucan, Clondalkin, Newcastle, Saggart and Rathcoole.

Previously, Deputy Higgins worked as Chief of Staff for PayPal’s Customer Service division in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), bringing over a decade of corporate expertise to the table working with both small and medium size businesses (SMEs) and multinational companies.

Catherine Naughton

Executive Director, European Disability Forum

Catherine Naughton is the Director of the European Disability Forum (EDF), a unique platform which brings together representative organisation of persons with disabilities from across Europe. She was the Vice President of the Social Platform from 2017 until 2023. Social Platform is the largest network of European rights- and value-based civil society organisations working in the social sector.

Catherine has an academic background in public health, and 25 years of experience in the field of disability- with a particular focus on inclusive development: the rights of persons with disabilities in low and middle income countries. She has worked in many countries, and at the EU and International level in promoting the inclusion of person with disabilities in mainstream development and humanitarian programmes.

Neil Barnett

Chief Accessibility Officer, Microsoft

Neil Barnett is Microsoft’s Chief Accessibility Officer, leading the company’s global strategy to make technology more accessible and inclusive for people with disabilities. With more than two decades at Microsoft, Neil has been instrumental in advancing accessibility as a core product standard, business priority, and shared responsibility across the company.

Neil is a recognized leader in disability inclusion and neurodiversity. He co-developed Microsoft’s Autism and Neurodiversity Hiring Program in 2015 and co-founded the Neurodiversity @ Work Employer Roundtable, a cross-industry coalition helping organizations design and scale inclusive hiring practices.

He has also led Microsoft’s global disability support efforts, serving millions of customers across consumer, enterprise, government, education, and nonprofit sectors. His work has helped pioneer more inclusive support experiences, including channels such as American Sign Language (ASL) and partnerships like Be My Eyes.

As Chief Accessibility Officer, Neil represents Microsoft externally on accessibility and works across the company to embed accessibility into how Microsoft designs, builds, and delivers trusted technology

Susanna Laurin

Managing Director and Chair of Funka Foundation, a Research and Innovation Centre focusing on end user involvement, disabilities, empowerment and accessibility.  She has been a thought leader in the field of digitalisation, inclusion and e-government for more than 25 years and she is a frequent international lecturer and debater.

Susanna is the Chair of the ETSI/CEN/CENELEC Joint Technical Body on eAccessibility, responsible for the development and update of the EN301549, to act as presumed conformance of the Web Accessibility Directive and the European Accessibility Act.

As an internationally acknowledged expert in EU accessibility policy and legislation, Susanna has led strategic assignments on behalf of the European Commission as well as EU member states governments during negotiations, transposition, implementation and enforcement of the EU laws. Her area of expertise covers digital accessibility, the built environment, transportation, procurement and user involvement. She has written or co-authored several white papers and published scientific reports. Recent assignments for the European Commission include studies on cognitive accessibility, multimodality and AI.

Susanna is a co-founder, Representative to the EU and also Past Honorary Chair of IAAP, the International Association of Accessibility Professionals, as well as the Representative to the EU for the UN-initiative G3ict.

Ana Carla Pereira

Director for Equality and non-discrimination, European Commission

Ana Carla Pereira is Director for ‘Equality and non-discrimination’ in DG Justice and Consumers where she is responsible for policies combating discrimination on the grounds of sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age, or sexual orientation. Previously she served as Cabinet Expert and employment and social policy adviser to Nicolas Schmit, European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights. As Cabinet Expert, she steered flagship initiatives such as the minimum wage directive, the platform work directive or work on social dialogue. Prior to that, she was Head of Unit in Directorate General Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion at the European Commission, firstly being responsible for skills and qualifications policies and later on for social protection policies. She graduated in Economics at University of Coimbra (PT) and holds a MA in European Human Resources Studies from the College of Europe (BE). She speaks Portuguese as a mother tongue and is fluent in English, French and Italian.

Nikolaus Eckereder

Head of Department for the Market Surveillance Authority for Digital Accessibility, Austrian Social Ministry Service

Nikolaus Eckereder is the head of the Austrian market surveillance authority for the European Accessibility Act. His department was established in June 2024 following a project phase to prepare for the implementation of the European Accessibility Act. His department is responsible for market surveillance, technical inspections, and the conduct of administrative penalty proceedings in all of Austria. Due to his responsibility for administrative proceedings, he focuses on the legal perspective, particularly interpretation and legal enforcement. He is a guest lecturer at various courses and workshops on the European Accessibility Act, including at the University of Linz.

Wojciech Drzewiński

Head of the Polish Market Surveillance Authority

Wojciech Drzewiński is Head of the Market Surveillance Division at the Polish State Fund for Rehabilitation of Disabled Persons (PFRON), where he is responsible for implementing an effective market surveillance system in the field of accessibility. At PFRON, acting as the coordinating authority for accessibility market surveillance, he works to ensure that products and services comply with the requirements of the Polish Act on ensuring compliance with accessibility requirements for certain products and services.

He has more than 18 years of professional experience in information technology, telecommunications and digital accessibility. Previously, he served as Deputy Director of the Inspection Department at the Office of Electronic Communications (UKE), where he supervised the Central Technical Testing Laboratory, the Radiocommunications Inspection Division and the Interference Elimination Division. He was actively involved in the legislative process and in the implementation of the Polish legislation transposing the European Accessibility Act, combining strong technical expertise with a regulatory perspective.

He also served as Director of A11yLab, Poland’s only dedicated accessibility laboratory, operated by the Widzialni Foundation, where he led unique national-level research and testing of the accessibility of digital products. As Chief Technology Officer at Feyenally and as an IT project manager, he combined practical expertise in technological innovation with the principles of universal design.

He has also been affiliated with Wrocław University of Science and Technology, where for many years he has worked as a lecturer and research and teaching assistant at the Faculty of Information and Communication Technology. He managed several key university projects, including AZON and AZON 2.0, working with the Typhloinformatics Laboratory on the development of a knowledge repository accessible to persons with disabilities. He also managed the “Cybersecurity for the Economy of the Future” project and served as an expert responsible for the implementation of universal standards in the “University of New Opportunities” project. He is a co-author of a standard for tactile maps produced using 3D printing technology, designed to support blind and partially sighted people.

His experience gained across the public sector, business, academia and civil society enables him to bridge these different perspectives while pursuing a common goal: creating a fully inclusive digital and physical environment.

Wouter Bolier

Accessibility Policy Officer at Ieder(in)

Rylin Rodgers

Disability Policy Director, Microsoft

Rylin Rodgers is Director of Global Disability Policy at Microsoft, where she leads the company’s engagement on disability policy across technology, employment, health, and economic security. She works with policymakers, disability advocates, and international organizations to advance inclusive policies that expand opportunity and close gaps in employment and participation for disabled people. Prior to Microsoft, Rylin served as Director of Public Policy at the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD), leading federal advocacy on disability and health policy. A recognized speaker and author, her work is informed by both professional expertise and lived experience as a disabled woman and parent of disabled children.

Jesica Rivero

Project Manager, Fundacion ONCE

Jesica Rivero is a Telecommunications Engineer and PhD in Computer Science and Technology from the Carlos III University of Madrid.

In her doctorate, she focused on the application of bio-inspired algorithms for finding paths in large graphs.

After its completion, she began her contact with accessibility thanks to her work as project manager at ILUNION Accessibility, and later leader of the R&D&i team in that organization, seeing herself involved in projects to improve older people’s, image processing projects, natural language processing, or assistance robotics projects.

Currently, she is project manager in the R&D&i Department of Fundación ONCE.

Jonathan Elebjörk Wahlström

Executive Committee member, European Disability Forum

Jonathan Elebjörk Wahlström is a Swedish lawyer and disability advocate specializing in the intersection of legal frameworks and international disability policy. With extensive experience across Swedish, European, and global settings, and a passion for human rights, taxation law, and EU law, he has developed a sophisticated understanding of non-profit governance and governmental structures. He is currently working as Secretary General of the Swedish organisation for young hard of hearing people.

Veronika Rot

Accessibility Specialist at RTV Slovenija, Member of the Access Services Steering Group at the European Broadcasting Union.

Veronika Rot is an accessibility specialist at RTV Slovenija, where she works in Access Services as a journalist and editor of the disability-focused portal Dostopno.si and the Easy-to-Understand news portal Enostavno.info. She is a member of the EBU Access Services Steering Group and coordinated the ENACT project on Easy-to-Understand News, focusing on media accessibility, inclusive journalism and the development of accessible content for diverse audiences. Her professional interests include media accessibility, inclusive journalism and Easy-to-Understand language in the media.

Marta Sanagustin

Head of Sector for Audiovisual Media Services at the European Commission

Marta Sanagustin is Head of Sector for Audiovisual Media Services in DG CONNECT at the European Commission, dealing with the implementation of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD) and the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA). She is closely involved in the work related to the evaluation and review of AVMSD. The audiovisual and media regulation includes notably rules to preserve cultural diversity, promote accessibility, protect children and consumers, and safeguard media pluralism. The EMFA is a crucial piece of EU legislation that puts in place a new set of rules to protect media pluralism and independence in the EU and provides safeguards against political interference in editorial decisions and against surveillance of journalists.

Before her current post, Marta already dealt with audiovisual matters, working in the copyright field and in particular in the copyright reform. Her previous experience in the Commissions includes positions in digital policies, notably telecommunication, legal affairs, interinstitutional issues, and research.

Peter Korn

Director of Accessibility, Amazon Devices & Services

A veteran in the accessibility field with over 34 years of experience, Peter leads accessibility across Amazon’s Devices & Services business, including Alexa, Kindle, Fire TV, and Fire tablet.  He led development of the VoiceView screen reader for Fire TV, Fire tablets, and Kindle devices; magnification, the innovative Text Banner assistive technology, hearing aid connectivity, Dialogue Boost, and Adaptive Display for Fire TV; and extra-large fonts and adjustable Display Size on Fire tablets, as well as Switch Access for people with motor impairments.  He initiated the first access features for voice interfaces: Alexa Captioning and Tap to Alexa, as well as Show and Tell for Alexa.  He facilitated key improvements to React Native accessibility, technology used by hundreds of applications that can all now be far more accessible. He collaborated with Prime Video, helping bring over 8,300 audio described titles and hundreds of thousands of closed captioned titles to the Prime Video catalog. And he helped develop the accessibility features of Amazon Hub Locker – the first delivery and return kiosk that is self-voicing, and accessible to people who are blind or low vision, as well as for people who need an accessible locker height (within ADA reach ranges). Taken all together, tens of millions of people today use the accessibility features built into hundreds of millions of Amazon devices.

Daniel Casas

Senior Accessibility Policy Officer

Daniel Casas is Senior Accessibility Policy Officer at the European Disability Forum, an umbrella organisation that defends the interests of over 100 million persons with disabilities in Europe. His work at EDF focuses on accessibility and freedom of movement, covering areas and policies such as transport, the built environment, accessibility of goods and services and digital technologies. Daniel holds a bachelor’s degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics (Spain) and a master’s degree in European Integration (Belgium).

Leonie Allen

Co-Chair, BEREC End Users Working Group

Leonie Allen is the Head of Retail Policy at the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg). Leonie is a senior manager and economist with over 25 years’ experience in consumer protection, electronic communications regulation and competition policy.

Leonie leads on electronic communications and premium rate end-user policy, oversees activities of the Consumer Policy team who principally ensure consumer measures are appropriate and that markets work effectively for consumers. She also contributes to external networks/forums and engages at European and national level contributing to policy and legislative developments in respect to electronic communications and the digital ecosystem.

Alexandre Bloxs

Policy Manager, European Union of the Deaf

Alexandre Bloxs is a deaf lawyer from Belgium, currently serving as Executive Member of the European Disability Forum (EDF) and Policy Manager for the European Union of the Deaf (EUD). He also contributes to the academic field as a teaching assistant at UCLouvain-Saint Louis Bruxelles University, where he teaches in the advanced Master’s programme in Human Rights.

In addition to his role at EDF and EUD, Alexandre is the President of the French-Belgian Federation of the Deaf (FFSB) and has a rich history of involvement in disability rights, EU affairs, and human rights at the national, regional and global levels. His previous roles include serving as the Human Rights Officer for the World Federation of the Deaf (WFD), an Accredited Parliamentary Assistant at the European Parliament, and a Policy Assistant at the European Disability Forum (EDF).

Benoît Vivier

Public Affairs Director, European Emergency Number Association

Benoit Vivier is Public Affairs Director at the European Emergency Number Association (EENA), where he has worked since 2015. In his role, he leads EENA’s engagement with key stakeholders and contributes to the organisation’s work on EU legislation and policy files related to emergency communications. His areas of focus include emergency caller location, public warning systems, accessibility for people with disabilities and the broader regulatory framework affecting emergency services in Europe. Benoit works closely with public authorities, emergency services, industry representatives, and EU institutions to support the development of more effective and accessible emergency communications. He speaks French, English, Spanish, and Swedish. Benoit holds a degree in International Relations from Sciences Po Lille and a degree in European Administrative and Political Studies from the College of Europe.

Inmaculada Placencia Porrero

Member of the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

Inmaculada Placencia Porrero is an expert on accessibility and disability policies. She was a Senior Expert on Disability at the European Commission, where she retired from in September this year 2026. There she lead the work on the rights of persons with disabilities, with a focus on accessibility and assistive technologies since 1991. In June 2024 she was elected as a member of the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities where she acts as an independent expert promoting the rights of persons with disabilities globally in order to continue to uphold their human rights and fundamental freedoms.

Jenny Lay-Flurrie

Corporate Vice President and Head of Microsoft’s Trusted Technology Group

Ioana Tanase

AI and Accessibility Program Manager, Microsoft 

Ioana was 32 when she found out she is dyslexic. At that time, she didn’t understand dyslexia, but a lot of things were suddenly making sense – including why her typos are a bit of Schrodinger’s cat (she can’t spot them, but everyone else can). Ioana works at the intersection of AI and accessibility, making sure AI models are representative of people with disabilities.