We are a community-run organization that advocates for disability visibility in conference organizing within SIGCHI, with a focus on making conferences and the publication process more accessible. Our goal is to move the SIGCHI community forward to the point where accessibility is the default in conference organization and disabled researchers are able to comfortably participate in all SIGCHI activities.
This goal comes in many forms with open volunteer opportunities listed below. To get involved, simply contact us through email or our online contact form.
Surveys & Data Analysis
Achieving our goal of full conference accessibility requires us to measure the current state and plan for next steps. We use post-conference surveys to gather data about accessibility at a conference from the attendees / organizers and use detailed analysis to articulate reports and concrete suggestions for a future conference — all of which rely on volunteer expertise.
Mentoring
If you have experience serving as accessibility chairs at a conference, you could mentor the next generation of chairs. We routinely conduct workshops, mentoring, and offer 1:1 support to the accessibility chairs and student volunteers and are always looking for experts to join as facilitators or mentors.
Planning & Documentation
We make detailed reports on current state of the art in conference accessibility, our yearly progress, and planned next steps for transparency and communication with the SIGCHI EC and the community at large. Offering to lead a portion of the planning and documentation is one way to contribute to our efforts.
Communication
We use social media and blogs to communicate AccessSIGCHI news and events. If you’re interested in media publicity, we welcome your efforts!
Member at Large
If you’re worried about expertise or just don’t have enough time to contribute to the above efforts, you could also join our monthly meetup and offer support by just being there. Accessibility is a shared goal achieved through learning and doing; your advocacy for conference accessibility by practicing it, supporting it, or reporting if something is not done right can leave a long term impact in supporting disabled researchers.
AccessSIGCHI 