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Accessible online events and conferences
1 August 2020
A new guide has been put together to support staff in providing an accessible event/conference experience for all participants, by avoiding creating unnecessary barriers for disabled attendees.
Fiona Ryland, Chief Operating Officer and Senior Disability Champion said,
"I am proud of how adaptable UCL colleagues have been over recent months, changing their ways of working to accommodate our new normal of remote working. Many of you will be gearing up to plan events and conferences in this new environment. We need to ensure we don’t unintentionally build in barriers in our practice that exclude disabled colleagues. This guidance will give you some tips on best practice to ensure a positive experience for all event attendees."
As staff become accustomed to working remotely for the time being, many will start planning events and conferences. However, many staff are still upskilling themselves in the use of technology. UCL must endeavour to provide disability accessible options when organising events and conferences and not forgot the legislative requirement to do so (Equality Act 2010).
Much of this will be as simple as applying a set of polite protocols, that do not require any technical know-how. Others will be ensuring staff use the flexible options available within the applications they are using. A combination of available technology and establishing the right culture will deliver the best results.
