For our 1st speaker, we are delighted to have managed to coax the amazing Julie Howell out of retirement to deliver one last talk on accessibility for us.
A veteran in the world of accessibility, Julie's talk promises to be stimulating and you can bet will get people debating! It's time to get fired up again about accessibility - together we can empower each other to start making positive changes .
Web Accessibility: Where have we been, where are we now, where are we going?
What was to become a nationwide campaign for web accessibility truly began in 1995, when RNIB (Royal National Institute of Blind People) became one of the first UK charities to establish a presence on the worldwide web. In the years that followed, RNIB led the way in campaigning for the right of disabled and older people to take full advantage of this exciting new medium. A huge amount was accomplished over the next ten years and by 2003 web accessibility was considered to be an essential aspect of good web design. But is the web as accessible today as it was in 2003? How can those who influence web design today build on the successes of the past? If the number of older and disabled people is growing, why is the number of accessible websites in decline? Did someone drop that ball, and who should pick it up and run with it now?
