Making conferences accessible requires all of our cooperation. On this page you can find information on how to request accommodations if you need them and steps that you can take to make sure the conference is accessible to your fellow attendees.
How can I connect to the disability community in SIGCHI?
- Attend the SIG ACCESS flagship conference, ASSETS
- Connect with AccessComputing as a mentor (contact Brianna Blaser)
- Join us!
Can you help me with non-conference related accessibility issues or career advice?
We want to see you be successful and we’ll do our best to help! We don’t have formal programs yet for non-conference-related things (mentoring, paper-writing, professional development, etc.), but we have a lot of personal and professional expertise in those areas in our group. If you reach out we’d be happy to give advice, help directly, or connect you to resources.
How can I make attending SIGCHI conferences more accessible to me?
- Contact the accessibility chair well in advance of the conference
- Reach out to the local arrangements chairs for advice on travel & transportation
- Reach out to peers for information and support
- Reach out to us for more advice
What are my options if I run into an unexpected accessibility barrier or problem at a conference?
- Contact the accessibility chair
- Contact a trusted member of the OC
- Contact a trusted senior member of the community
- Afterwards, if the issue wasn’t resolved to your satisfaction, contact SIGCHI CARES or contact us.
How can I make attending conferences more accessible as a member of the organizing committee?
- Set clear expectations for accessibility to community in advance and during the conference
- Make sure the accessibility chair is given the power to influence decisions and involve them throughout the process, especially early on
- Include accessibility in the budget
- Check out our guide for more info
How can I make attending conferences more accessible as a member of the community at large?
- Use the microphone when giving your talk
- Repeat questions into the microphone
- Make accessible presentations
- Make accessible PDFs
- Follow conference organizer instructions on accessibility
- Think about accessibility when organizing informal activities and social events
- Volunteer to serve on the OC as accessibility chair and/or volunteer to assist the accessibility chair
What kinds of things should I be thinking about when it comes to organizing an accessible conference?
- Making it easy to get to the conference
- Making it easy to get around the conference (including social events)
- Accommodating multiple kinds of access needs (physical, audio, visual, sensory, …)
- Making it easy to contact the accessibility chair both before and during the conference
- Providing on-the-ground assistance with unanticipated barriers
- Training SVs & organizers
- Check out our guides for a more complete and detailed list
AccessSIGCHI 