Creating Accessible Events/Social

Media

Dana Lavoie and Natalie Burnside

 Overview

 An Inclusive Mindset
 Considerations for an Accessible Event
 Considerations with Social Media
 Practice!
 Resources
(1) An Inclusive Mindset
Medical Model
 Having a disability is
negative.
 Disability resides in the
individual.
 The remedy for disability-
related problems is cure or
normalization of the
individual.
 The agent of remedy is the
professional who affects the
arrangements between the
individual and society.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9s3NZaLhcc4
Social Model
 Having a disability, in itself, may
be neutral.
 Disability arises from interactions
between the individual and society.
 The remedy for disability-related
problems is a change in the
interactions between the individual
and society.
 The agent of remedy can be the
individual, an advocate, or anyone
who affects the arrangements
between the individual and society.
Accomidation vs. Accessibility
 What are some of the barriers to attending
and/or participating in events that people
with disabilities might experience?
 5 types of barriers:
• Attitudinal
• Information and communication barriers
• Technology
• Organizational or structural
• Architectural and physical
(2) Tips for Accessible Event Planning
 When selecting a venue consider:
• Building entrance
• Meeting rooms
• Washrooms
• Dining Facilities
• Hallways, paths, elevators
• Getting there
 Identify Needs Early
• Involve persons with disabilities in planning
• Allow persons to identify needs through
registration and give useful details
• Incorporate accessibility planning into your event
budget
 Working with outside professionals
 To meet the needs of guests, you may need to work
with outside professionals, including:
• Personal support worker (PSW)
• American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter
• Real-time closed captionist
• Reverse interpreter, who communicates audience
engagement back to a presenter with a disability
 Planning the Agenda
• Consider timing between sessions
• Consider routes and ensure they are barrier-free
• Develop a schedule for professionals
 Helping Presenters Communicate Clearly
• Present key points in multiple ways, including visual,
auditory and tactile approaches.
• Present visual materials in a format that allows
everyone to follow. Consider developing a style
template for presenters, so that all slideshows use
high-contrast colours and large, easy-to-read type.
 Helping Presenters Communicate Clearly
• If any presenters will be using video materials, try
to arrange for captioning of the videos ahead of
time.
• When projectors or video screens are not in use,
turn them off. This reduces background noise and
helps focus audience’s attention on the speaker
 Helping Presenters Communicate Clearly
• Have all presenters use a microphone to help them
be heard in case they trail off. For questions from
the audience, have people speak into a portable
microphone. If a question is not spoken into a
microphone, ask the presenter to repeat the
question into the microphone before answering.
 Helping Presenters Communicate Clearly
• Presenters should speak clearly at a normal pace.
Encourage them to include pauses after presenting
complex points or visual elements to people to
catch up.
• Identify each speaker. Have only one person
speak at a time, so that audience members can
follow along easily. During a discussion, it is
important for speakers to re-identify themselves.
 Helping Presenters Communicate Clearly
• Presenters should always provide a direct and
clear view of their mouths and faces.
• Arrange to have any presentation materials or
handouts made available ahead of time in
accessible or easily convertible formats, so that
people with visual or hearing disabilities can
convert the information into the format they
require.
 Planning for Emergencies
• Ensure that venues have an evacuation plan for
persons with disabilities. The event planner, as well
as staff and volunteers, should be familiar with the
plan.
(3) Considerations with Social
Media
Accessible Social media

 Social Media is a useful tool for both

instruction and promotion
 Social Media platforms such as Facebook,
Instagram and YouTube are not
completely accessible on their own- have
to manually make them accessible
Photos, Video, and Audio
 Automatic alternative text (alt): a feature that uses object
recognition technology to create a description of a photo for
those who use screen readers
 Provide a caption for any photo you post
 If the photo/video/audio is on your website you can provide a
link back to the webpage that hosts a copy of the photo,
video, or audio with full caption/transcript
 Have good colour contrast between the background, avatar,
and bio information
 Twitter
 Allows for all text
 Instagram
 Important to describe image/video
 Facebook
 Uses Automatic alternative text

 Have to describe image

Example- What NOT to do
Example- What TO do
(3) Resources
http://www.accessiblecampus.ca/reference-library/accessible-event-conference-
planning/

Facilitating Accessible Meetings

Tips for facilitating meetings that support the full participation of all guests.
Selecting Accessible Venues
Tips for selecting accessible venues that support the full participation of all guests.
Tips for Speakers and Presenters
Tips for speakers and presenters that support the full participation of all guests.
A Planning Guide for Accessible Conferences
A guide to organizing inclusive and accessible events.
A Checklist for Planning Accessible Events
A checklist on organizing inclusive and accessible events.