[LINK] Fwd: Fwd: Digital Access Online Event: Celebrate 20 years of Digital Access

jwhit at internode.on.net jwhit at internode.on.net
Mon May 18 09:48:46 AEST 2020 

Sorry this isn't as pretty as the original I received. I've included
the link to the web version so it is clearer.
Vision Australia was a pioneer in many accessibility efforts. I worked
a contract for them back in the noughties when they were converting
from tape to CD to digital delivery.
Jan

 ----- Original Message -----
From: jwhit at janwhitaker.com
To: jwhit at internode.on.net
Cc: 
Sent: Sun, 17 May 2020 19:43:33 -0400
Subject: Fwd: Digital Access Online Event: Celebrate 20 years of
Digital Access

 View on the web:
 https://view.s10.exacttarget.com/?qs=8797e03ad0057ecf83b0a92e1885f2336f3386cd3ac04db227b5a1140daf78c0959bd179a78111b4ff88735ce7b483dfacf977f24ccd6dfcf5e6525521984f0e8905b89dc54e67c57e5d990c39c12274

 -------- Original Message --------
 Subject: Digital Access Online Event: Celebrate 20 years of Digital 
 Access
 Date: 2020-05-17 19:34
 From: "Vision Australia Digital Access" 

 To: 

 We're having a double celebration in conjunction with Global
 Accessibility Awareness Day!

 View web version here [1]

 IT'S OUR 20TH ANNIVERSARY AND WE'RE HAVING A DOUBLE CELEBRATION IN
 CONJUNCTION WITH GLOBAL ACCESSIBILITY AWARENESS DAY (GAAD)

 Cast your mind back…
 It's the year 2000 and we had all just survived Y2K. The bug that was
 meant to shut down the world, kind of ironic considering the current
 situation we are in…
 Y2K struck fear into the hearts of developers and software engineers
 globally, as well as the general public. There was hoarding of food,
 generators and fuel - petrol was 88.6c/litre (Wait… What?? #DejaVu)
 and as the clock struck midnight, we all waited with baited breath
and
 then…
 NOTHING!
 A collective sigh of disappointment rippled across the globe.
 No planes fell out of the sky, no nuclear power stations went into
 meltdown and the lights stayed on. Clearly the Four Horsemen of the
 Apocalypse were too busy partying like it was 1999…
 So was it all just a hoax? Was it all just hype? Or was it the
massive
 mitigation effort and countless hours, updating operating systems and
 application software?
 I'm inclined to go with hypothesis number three. Having an online
 presence is almost a requirement of any business these days. But 20
 years ago, when Mum would yell "Get off the internet! I need to use
the
 phone!!" things were very different. There were less than 18 million
 websites, compared to todays 1.74 billion and although the main
 Australian website accessibility law, the Disability Discrimination
Act
 was introduced in 1992, much of the content available online was not
 accessible to people with a disability. In 2001, 98% of websites
failed
 to meet the World Wide Web Consortium's (W3C's) Web Content
 Accessibility Guidelines 2.0.

 [1]
 https://cielo24.com/2016/12/australian-web-accessibility-laws-and-policies/
 [2]

 Back in the year 2000, as we all relished in the fact that our MSN
 Messenger chat logs hadn't been lost forever, Digital Access was
known
 as 'The Vision Australia Foundation Web Accessibility Consultancy
 Service' and excitement about the upcoming Sydney Olympic Games was
 beginning to reach fever pitch However, one man, Mr Bruce Maguire,
had
 his excitement turn very quickly to frustration.
 Bruce, like many others, wanted to purchase tickets and enjoy the
 athletic spectacle and atmosphere that the 24th Summer Olympiad
 promised. Unfortunately, the official Olympics ticket book and
website
 were not accessible to Bruce who is blind. After many attempts at
having
 the situation rectified, Bruce was left with no other option than to
 raise a complaint with the Human Rights Commission.
 This became a worldwide landmark case for digital accessibility, a
 16-month fight for Bruce, with a heavy personal toll and exposed
 underlying societal prejudice against People with Disability.

 _"If people with disabilities complained about every barrier that we
 encounter we'd be spending the whole of our lives 24 hours 7 days a
week
 complaining because society has created disabling barriers and
they're
 all over the place."_
 Bruce Maguire

 You can learn more about Bruce's fight by watching Just The Ticket
[3],
 produced on behalf of the Human Rights Commission.
 Or if you would like to watch with the audio-described ticket it can
be
 accessed by choosing Audio Description - Just The Ticket [4].

 Today we would like to think, that as a collective, we are doing
 better. Much like mitigating Y2K, businesses are reducing their risks
by
 proactively considering accessibility from design, through to
 production.
 The digital world is a fast paced and ever-changing playing field and
 our approach and services have developed as a direct response. Some
 highlights of the past 20 years have been:

 * Development of the Web Accessibility Toolbar (WAT)
 * Development of the Document Accessibility Toolbar (DAT)
 * The largest ever study into the accessibility of PDF format (2010
and
 2013)
 * Contribution to the development of WCAG specifications
 * Government policies (NTS and DSS) guidance on position of the DDA
 with regards digital services

 We have moved from supporting informational websites to dynamic
 ecommerce platforms, eLearning and core government services. We now
 support our customers in the development of a whole range of digital
 products including apps, terminals, digital displays, enterprise
 software and Assistive Technologies.
 Something that sets us apart and something that we are very proud of,
is
 that we are not a profit driven enterprise. The heart of what we do
has
 always been centred around the needs of the end-user - all profits
from
 our fee-for-service engagements over the past 20 years are directed
back
 to support independent living services for people who are blind or
have
 low vision.
 We have come a long way, we have seen a lot of changes and hopefully
we
 have learned some lessons. But we are not done yet, and we, the
Digital
 Access Consulting Team look forward to continuing that journey with
you
 for the next 20 years.
 Join the Digital Access Team and special guest, Bruce Maguire,
talking
 about the changes we've seen over the past 20 years, and our
predictions
 for the future of Digital Accessibility.

 Online Event

 Looking Back, Looking Forward - 20 Years of Digital Access With
special
 guest: Bruce Maguire
 WHEN: 3:30pm-4:30pm (AEST)
 Thursday, May 21st, 2020
 Save your Seat [5] - Limited places available

 Thursday May 21st marks the 9th GLOBAL ACCESSIBILITY AWARENESS DAY. A
 day where designers, developers and content creators are asked to
shine
 a spotlight on digital accessibility and inclusion.
 Approximately one billion people, or 15% of the world's population
 experience some form of permanent disability. Persons with
disabilities
 are more likely to experience lower levels of education and
employment,
 poor health outcomes and higher poverty rates.
 But it is not necessarily their perceived limitations that cause the
 barriers. It is a mismatch between them and their surroundings. The
lack
 of available accommodations within the physical and digital
environments
 creates service gaps, discrimination and prejudice.
 But it doesn't have to be that way.
 We can probably all agree that accessibility is important, and we all
 want to do the right thing. Nobody is building with "exclusion" in
mind.
 But how often have you been involved in a project that is running
over
 time and over budget, and the first thing to be cut is Accessibility?
 I mean really, how important could it be?
 Recently we've probably all had a big taste of exclusion.
 We can't access parks, cafes or our favourite venues. We can't go and
 hang out with our friends and family, we can't go to the gym, play
sport
 or get our hair and nails done. In fact, many of us haven't really
been
 able to leave the house at all, and it has taken a toll on our mental
 health and general wellbeing.
 But isn't it great that we can still work from home, shop online or
stay
 in touch with our loved ones via Video Chat, Zoom, Skype and Social
 Media.
 And aren't we lucky, that at a time when many of us are feeling
 vulnerable and isolated that we CAN access those avenues to stay
 connected?
 For many people with disability though, this sense of exclusion and
 isolation isn't the temporary side effect of a global pandemic. It is
 their everyday experience.
 So, leading up to this 9th GAAD I ask that you take a moment and
reflect
 on how these restrictions have affected you and your daily life.
 What has changed for you?
 What did you previously take for granted that has been taken away
from
 you?
 What are you most looking forward to getting back, or getting back
to?
 And how would you feel, if you were never able to experience those
 things again?
 I also want to challenge you!
 When you sign up to our GAAD webinar we will send you daily
 accessibility challenges. I dare you to try these out in your own
time
 between now and May 21st. Then join us on Thursday May 21st and share
 your results and experiences.

 Online Event Details

 Looking Back, Looking Forward - 20 Years of Digital Access With
special
 guest: Bruce Maguire
 WHEN: 3:30pm-4:30pm (AEST)
 Thursday, May 21st, 2020
 Save your Seat [5] - Limited places available

 FORWARD TO A FRIEND

 Know someone who'd be interested in this e-newsletter? They can
 subscribe [6] here.

 Vision Australia is a not-for-profit organisation.

 Vision Australia 454 Glenferrie Road Kooyong, VIC, 3144, AU

 ABN: 67 108 391 831 ACN: 108 391 831

 If you do not wish to receive this email in the future please
 unsubscribe [7] or update [8] your preference

 Having difficulty reading this email? View the web version here [9].

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

 Links:
 ------
 [1] 
 https://view.S10.exacttarget.com/?qs=8797e03ad0057ecf83b0a92e1885f2336f3386cd3ac04db227b5a1140daf78c0959bd179a78111b4ff88735ce7b483dfacf977f24ccd6dfcf5e6525521984f0e6147d5ebbe31ff66e58ca22c2134b53b
 [2] 
 https://cl.S10.exct.net/?qs=724c5344a00ab857aa36bb17e7e2dea821b0288ccd7971f73a9d921a9d0dccaaa43c5cf850f37926fc9974b5dd941c97229a7bbbe5668e96
 [3] 
 https://cl.S10.exct.net/?qs=724c5344a00ab857240991fd893bb3fc0e1ac6e678977cb6af8ec5569138bdbdc35a132870b2624eb90e4c6b41dabd24a6fec44427e90a8e
 [4] 
 https://cl.S10.exct.net/?qs=724c5344a00ab85703f25645c563eb4d0452c3a4c41ab8fefa22ee03dc661546605cd22f0299d33ce264ad6e45076692a4e6581805113050
 [5] 
 https://cl.S10.exct.net/?qs=724c5344a00ab857f6c623480fde5de2586c8e96a9a775a9295b14161865feb045bdfe8e3d65db5887c9097ae6fe5828e6f7b85af7f90235
 [6] 
 https://cl.S10.exct.net/?qs=724c5344a00ab85713e7e235414dfec8009667a85b0d0a5688ff66279b70ec27f38d01880c242ad8849a9c8be280d5980f67a19a5cdc341b
 [7] 
 https://cl.S10.exct.net/unsub_center.aspx?qs=d36f2c1fae409de407a3f97ff0257457563c237c7134baac5290ed0f6f6c4fbb5756cc09695afc23cd7e2fa187cbf7c5396f77ee72d853981e1f1338647ffdae12fc63065692ec3b
 [8] 
 https://cl.S10.exct.net/profile_center.aspx?qs=d36f2c1fae409de4f79810a757af5a0a4c134ca2119c7c16d3203948b51ccdd5462f99c27c6a24e36f80672adec9bfd2b2a320978040657785be9b35e4369c19
 [9] 
 https://view.S10.exacttarget.com/?qs=8797e03ad0057ecf83b0a92e1885f2336f3386cd3ac04db227b5a1140daf78c0959bd179a78111b4ff88735ce7b483dfacf977f24ccd6dfcf5e6525521984f0e8905b89dc54e67c57e5d990c39c12274
@janwhitaker.com>@visionaustralia.org>

More information about the Link mailing list