The Web Accessibility Initiative Communities of Practice project (WAI-CooP Project) invites everyone interested in web accessibility to take part in an open meeting.
Web accessibility experts are in short supply in most European countries. Join us to discuss how this is affecting the implementation of the EU Web Accessibility Directive and what can be done to improve supply of and access to digital accessibility expertise.
- What impact does the lack of expertise have on the implementation of the Web Directive?
- What challenges are the public and private sectors facing when looking for experts?
- What initiatives can increase access to web accessibility expertise?
- What solutions for the future, as demand for experts is set to increase?
The event is open to all and may be of interest to practitioners from public authorities or the private sector; organisations representing people with disabilities; researchers; product or service providers; training providers, NGOs, as well as policy makers.
This meeting will take place on Tuesday 11 October 2022 from 14:00 to 16:00 CET (Brussels time).
Agenda
14:00 – Welcome. Alejandro Moledo, Deputy Director, European Disability Forum
Introduction. June Lowery-Kingston, Head of Unit, Accessibility, Multilingualism and Safer Internet, European Commission.
14:20 – First panel: Access to web accessibility expertise: key concerns, impact, and challenges
Panelists:
- Elisabeth Aguilera, Chief Accessibility Officer, Employment Agency, Sweden
- Tanja Kleut, Web Accessibility Specialist, European Parliament
- Dónal Rice, Senior Standards and Monitoring Officer, National Disability Authority, Ireland
- Harri Puskar, Digital Accessibility Expert, Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority, Estonia
- Jamshid Kohandel, Project Manager, Directorate for Digital and Government information and communication systems, France
Followed by a moderated discussion with participants.
15:10 – Second panel: What initiatives and future solutions to improve access to web accessibility expertise?
Panelists:
- Armony Altinier, CEO Koena, France
- Carlos Duarte, Professor and Researcher, University of Lisbon
- Roberto Scano, ICT Accessibility Expert, Italy
- E.A. Draffan, Senior Research Assistant, University of Southampton
- Jakob Rosin, Chair, Estonian Blind Union
Followed by a moderated discussion with participants.
16:00 – Close
This meeting will take place on the Zoom teleconference system with real-time captioning in English and sign-language interpretation. It will not be recorded.
Background
The WAI-CooP Project, Communities of Practice, is a Coordination and Support Action project, co-funded by the European Commission (EC) under the Horizon 2020 programme (Grant Agreement 101004794). The project supports implementation of international standards for digital accessibility through:
- Establishing vendor-neutral overview on available training, tools, and resources internationally
- Analyzing technological advancements and coordinating with relevant research and development
- Providing opportunities for key stakeholders to share resources and to exchange best practices