Accessibility by Design: From Criteria to Social Trend

Hey all!

It is time! 🥳

“Accessibility by Design: From Criteria to Social Trend“ challenges the notion that accessible design means dull or one-size-fits-all. Instead, it can be bold, exciting, and undeniably attractive.

Join us as we explore how accessibility can spark creativity and lead to designs that are as inclusive as they are inspiring and enticing.

What to Expect:
🌟 Inspiring Speakers: Hear from inspiring speakers as they share fresh perspectives on accessible and attractive design. (More details to follow)
🤝 Connect & Network: Meet like-minded individuals passionate about innovation and accessibility.
🍹 Drinks & Networking: Enjoy casual conversations over drinks in a relaxed setting.

Our first speaker: Annet van Vulpen
Beyond hosting the event, Acato's Annet will present & share their in-house developed Accessibility checklist for designers, a practical tool designed to give you actionable steps toward building accessible products. And it doesn’t end at the event—this checklist will be made available to the community, ready for you to implement and adapt to your own initiatives. Expect real-life examples from Acato's design process - where attractive design and inclusion meet.

Our second speaker: Iris Bataille
Discover how to effectively include people with accessibility needs in your studies with insights from Iris Bataille, UX Researcher at Rabobank. Over the past year, Iris has been on a mission to enhance inclusivity in UX research at Rabobank. Partnering with Stichting Accessibility, she piloted the Code Inclusief Digitaal Ontwerpen (CIDO) initiative.

In this session, Iris will share her experiences and practical tips to help you make your own UX research more inclusive for accessibility target groups. Join us to learn from her journey and gain actionable strategies to implement in your work!

Our third speaker: Brian Bors
Accessibility Foundation's Brian Bors will introduce the topic of digital accessibility by briefly discussing the philosophical background of the new legislation coming in 2025. He will demonstrate various tools and methods that people who are hampered by barriers on inaccessible digital products use to interact with those products. Additionally, he will speak about the WCAG guidelines, which outline what to look out for while designing and developing accessible ICT products like websites and apps. Typically, Brian introduces the WCAG guidelines to designers and developers over the course of two full days. Let's see how far we can get in 20 minutes. 😉

In a later segment, Brian will conduct mini audits on live websites submitted by those brave enough to have their products scrutinized in front of the audience. Want to go home with some actionable insights or think your product is 100% accessible and Brian won't find anything? Put it to the test!

Full program:
🕕 Doors open @ 18.00 - Grab a drink and some salad
🚀 Start event @ 18:30 - Opening words
1️⃣ Session 1 @ 18:35 - Brian Bors - Accessibility Foundation
2️⃣ Session 2 @ 19:00 - Annet van Vulpen - Acato Digital Agency
⏯️ Short break @ 19:30 - Grab a drink, use the toilet etc
3️⃣ Session 3 @ 19:40 - Iris Bataille - Rabobank
4️⃣ Session 4 @ 20:10 - Live Accessibility Audit!
🍻 Drinks & Networking @ 20:30 till 22:00

Other stuff:
🔗 Join us on Slack!
🦋 We're on BlueSky
🏆 Main event sponsor: Acato
📧 Questions or Feedback? questions@puxu.community
📢 We are open for future collaborations & speaking engagements.

Details:
💶 Price: Free
📅 Date & Time: Thursday March 20th - 18:00 - 22:00
📍 Location: Acato Digital Creative Agency | Oudegracht 231 | Utrecht
🎟️ Limited to 50 spots!!
🇬🇧 Event will be in English