Event Date : 24 Jun 2009
Have you heard about the brand new specification that's making the web more accessible to all? The IIA User Experience Working Group presents a half day seminar on the latest Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 from the W3C.
Overview
Version 2 of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines has been released. Integrating the WCAG 2.0 specification into your website can significantly improve your visitor's online experience for people with disabilities.
Whether you are new to Web Accessibility or a seasoned professional, this is a unique opportunity to experience inspirational talks by pioneers in the Irish accessibility field about WCAG 2.0.
Join your peers in learning about all aspects of the new WCAG 2.0 guidelines, including the impact of WCAG, advanced techniques and tips on successful integration and implementation.
Sponsors
We would like to thank our sponsors:
Who should attend?
This specialist accessibility seminar is essential for anyone involved with the content or development of a website: project managers, web designers, web developers, usability consultants, accessibility consultants, web site owners, web producers and user experience (UX) designers.
Agenda:
09.30: Registrations
Seminar Chair: Maura Horan, Trinity Web Design Office, Trinity College Dublin and IIA User Experience Working Group Chair
10.00: Transitioning from WCAG 1.0 to 2.0 - Joshue O'Connor, Senior Accessibility Consultant, NCBI Centre for Inclusive Technology (CFIT)
- Joshue O Connor's presentation will be on the new Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.0). These guidelines are effectively the standard for the creation of accessible content and the new guidelines mark a major positive step towards the development of a truly inclusive on-line environment. In his presentation Joshue will look at how the new guidelines differ from the first iteration (WCAG 1.0) and he will provide an overview of what WCAG 2.0 will mean, in practice, when creating accessible online content.
10.30: Legislation, Procurement & Digital Accessibility - Dónal Rice, Senior ICT Advisor, Centre for Excellence in Universal Design
- Dónal Rice's presentation will focus on the legislation that deals with web accessibility and the implications for the owners of private, business, egovernment and public sector websites. He will examine current obligations and changes in light of the new version of the WCAG. He will also give an overview of the likely impacts on web accessibility of current EU policy including the draft directive on equality in the provision of goods and services and other international policy and legislative measures such at the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
10.50: New UN Convention on the rights of people with disabilities and ICT accessibility implications - Alexis Donnelly, Lecturer, Computer Science Department, Trinity College Dublin
11.10: Questions & Answers
11.20: BREAK
11.50: KEYNOTE ADDRESS: PDF content and WCAG 2.0 compliance - Case Study - Charlie Pike, Director, TPG (Europe)
- The Paciello Group will provide an overview of how to achieve WCAG 2.0 compliance with PDF content. TPG will first discuss the background of the PDF format and examine how and where PDF is used and the impact of various production processes on accessibility. Then TPG will examine the Principles in the WCAG 2.0 guidelines and, in each case, show how PDF content can support them. A wide range of sample, real world documents will be used to demonstrate throughout. During the session TPG will also address the production process, looking at authoring tools such as Microsoft Word and Open Office and how processes can be created to optimise accessible PDF production and reduce the overall effort involved. Finally, TPG will present a Case Study showing how a global software company with hundreds of software products, developed processes to produce accessible PDFs from Microsoft Word for all of their technical documentation.
12.20: Strategies for publishing accessible content: Maximising CMS Accessibility - Rick Love, Web/GIS Team Leader, Mayo County Council
- Rick will discuss the common pitfalls and specific examples from several popular content management systems in use in Ireland today. He will also make some practical policy suggestions for improving the accessibility of documents and forms on your site.
12.50: Questions & Answers
13.00: CLOSE
Venue
This seminar is being held in the Glencree Suite, Fitzwilliam Hall.
Fitzwilliam Hall is on the corner of Fitzwilliam Place and Leeson Street - the entrance faces Leeson Street canal bridge. Some parking is available in the car park, book early to secure your spot - contact Fitzwilliam Hall directly on 01 669 4700 to book a space. Alternatively on-street, metered parking is available in the area.
The venue offers complementary WiFi access to all delegates.
Questions?
Contact Irene with any queries.
About the Speakers
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Mr. Joshue O'Connor (Senior Accessibility Consultant)
NCBI Centre for Inclusive Technology (CFIT)
Joshue O Connor is Senior Accessibility Consultant with CFIT (Centre For Inclusive Technology).
CFIT is an integrated unit of the NCBI (National Council For The Blind of Ireland) and is a not-for-profit organisation that provides expert advice and services to public and private sector organisations. These services include user testing, accessibility auditing and training.
Josh is skilled in the design and development of accessible websites/applications and he has a deep understanding of the diversity of user requirements. When not running user tests, doing accessibility audits or advocating for accessibility and Web Standards he puts his spare cycles to writing and research. Josh has written several research papers on topics relating to accessibility and web development and his first book on creating accessible content with the open source CMS Joomla is now available.Joshue is also an active member of the W3C HTML 5 Working Group and the Protocols and Formats Working Group.
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Mr. Dónal Rice (Senior ICT Advisor)
Centre for Excellence in Universal Design, NDA
Dónal Rice in the Senior ICT Advisor for the NDA Centre for Excellence in Universal Design (CEUD) which was launched in October 2007. The CEUD is dedicated to the principle of universal access, enabling people in Ireland to participate in a society that takes account of human difference and to interact with their environment to the best of their ability. Dónal has responsibility for the NDA IT Accessibility Guidelines and formerly worked extensively with many public sector departments and agencies on the NDA's Excellence through Accessibility Awards.
Dónal holds a BA in Maths and English from University College Dublin, a post graduate diploma in IT from Dublin City University and is currently completing an MSc in Computing from Griffith College Dublin. -
Mr Alexis Donnelly (Lecturer, Computer Science Department)
Trinity College Dublin
Alexis Donnelly is a lecturer in the Computer Science Department, TCD.
He was an early advocate of web accessibility in Ireland, constructing one of the first web sites designed expressly for accessibility www.ahead.ie way back in 1996! He has acted as an adviser to a number of bodies on web accessibility (and other applications of universal design). These bodies include the Higher Education Authority (HEA), the Information Society Commission and the National Disability Authority (NDA). NDA Guidelines developed with his advice were subsequently independently evaluated as among the most user-friendly in the world.
He enjoys life with his wife and five-year-old son -- who reminds him how little he actually knows.
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Mr Charlie Pike (Director)
TPG (Europe)
Charlie is the Director of TPG (Europe) and manages the organisation's web-development team. He has been working in the field of web design accessibility for the past seven years. Previously he was director of IMS Ireland, an international technology consultancy. At IMS he managed large projects for Chase Manhattan Bank, Merck Plc and New York State Development Authority as well as numerous clients in Ireland. Charlie led the design team for i.Doc, a browser based document management tool used by a number of fortune 500 companies
In 2003 he set up Usable Design to build web sites that demonstrated how accessibility could be merged seamlessly into cutting edge design. Among the innovative sites created by Usable Design were the National Disability Authority, The European Year for People with Disabilities, Data and Records Management and several sites for New York University.
In 2005 Usable Design merged with The Paciello Group to form TPG (Europe). Charlie is a graduate of Trinity College, Dublin.
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Mr. Richard Love (Web & GIS Project Leader)
Mayo County Council
Richard Love is the Web and GIS Project Leader for Mayo County Council. Prior to joining Mayo County Council in 2001, he worked for two internet consulting firms and a taxation firm in Dallas, Texas. Mayo County Council won the 2007 eGovernment Award for Accessibility, the 2007 O2 Overall Ability Award for Accessibility and three NDA Excellence Through Accessibility designations for the Aras, Library Service and the Westport Leisure Centre.
Richard holds a Master’s degree in Political Science from Baylor University and an MBA from Dublin City University. He is also a member of the IIA’s User Experience Working Group.
