About
TechShare Pro 2019
Thank you to everyone that joined us in person or via the livestream at TechShare Pro this year. Everybody that attended or was involved contributed to the success of the event. The materials from the conference including videos, slide decks, etc will be prepared and shared in the coming weeks. If you haven't already, please sign up to our mailing list to be notified when these become available.
Introducing our new podcast
The 'TechShare Procast' is our brand new podcast - including interviews with some of the speakers from the event. We'd love you to listen and share with your networks. Many of the speakers at TechShare Pro joined us for a chat at the event and so we will be sharing the accessibility developments from organisations in future episodes. Find out more about The TechShare Procast.
Watch the livestream
The conference was recorded on video and as a podcast. The livestream from the main conference sessions on both days is available now on AbilityNet's YouTube channel:
Gold Partners
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Supported By
TechShare Pro is an annual event that meets the needs of everyone in your digital eco-system - from decision-makers and business strategists to specialists such as designers, project managers, product owners, UX researchers and accessibility practitioners.
Whatever your role it will provide a roadmap for future development, allow you update your skills and help you deliver accessible and inclusive projects first time, every time.
TechShare Pro offers insights and skills to everyone involved in commissioning or delivering a digital project - helping you build accessibility and inclusion into every stage.
Building digital products and services that can be used by every customer offers a tangible competitive advantage and measurable return on investment.
New UK legislation requires higher standards of accessibility for the public sector - which will have a knock-on effect on the organisations which supply it.
There is a growing network of accessibility and inclusive design specialists in the UK - come and join the community.
Last year's event was hosted by Barclays in Canary Wharf and attended by 180 people. Check out the video highlights for a flavour of what to expect in future years.
Our goal is to deliver events that anyone can access.
We ensure buildings are fully wheelchair accessible, provide guided support for people with visual impairments, have live captioning for all activities and we are always looking for ways to manage our programmes to make them accessible and inclusive. At TechShare Pro 2019 venue accessibility information was provided by SociAbility and Slido was used to ensure audience participation was as inclusive as possible during question and answer sessions.
Venue
TechShare Pro 2019 took place at Google UK headquarters in Kings Cross, London.
8:30AM - Registration and Breakfast
Mark WalkerCaroline Casey is founder of The Valuable 500 campaign - a global movement to put disability on the business leadership agenda of 500 national and multinational, private sector organisations. Check out her inspiring session and additional content from her time at TechShare Pro 2019 below.
Caroline Casey
Founder - The Valuable 500
TechShare Pro session video:
Transcripts and additional content:
- Download session transcript
- View post session interview video
- Download post session interview transcript
- Listen to the post session interview podcast
- Blog: Caroline Casey does not believe in a la carte inclusion - speaking at TechShare Pro 2019
Watch the Valuable 500 DIVERSish campaign video:
- What is the best way to overcome the barriers created by people and organisations who do not consider accessibility and inclusive design when building digital services and products.
- Do we simply need to raise awareness of the business benefits of accessibility?
- Or do we need more effective legal frameworks to focus the minds of decision-makers.
- Our panel offered a perspective on this question from around the globe, including the US, Europe, Israel and Norway.
Chair: Eleanor Southwood
Chair - RNIB
Alejandro Moledo
Policy Co-ordinator - European Disability Forum
Malin Rygg
Head of Authority for Universal Design of ICT in Norway - Difi
Stuart Seaborn
Managing Director of Litigation - Disability Rights Advocates
Yuval Wagner
Founder and President - Access Israel Org
TechShare Pro session video:
Transcripts and additional content:
- Download session transcript
- Blog: The Carrots and Sticks of inclusive design
- Listen to the Tech ProCast interview with Eleanor Southwood and Malin Rigg
- Listen to the Tech ProCast interview with Malin Rigg and Stuart Seaborn
- View post session interview with Stuart Seaborn
- Download Stuart Seaborn interview transcript
11:00AM - Coffee break
The Big Hack is an ambitious programme being developed by Scope as a call to action for the tech industry to become more inclusive of disabled people. It includes a range of projects and new resources which aim to win the case and provide the practical tools for inclusive design. TechShare Pro provided an ideal platform to share some of the latest research findings about how disabled people are using tech as well as signposting a range of practical resources for the digital community.
Craig Moss
Research Manager - Scope
James Taylor
Head of Policy and Campaigns - Scope
Anel Touchet
Senior Economist - Scope
TechShare Pro session video:
Transcript and additional content:
Artificial Intelligence is changing our world at an incredible rate, powering innovations such as speech and image recognition in ways which can transform the lives of disabled people.
However we are also seeing many examples of AI-powered services which create unintended barriers for disabled people, whether through poor design, lack of representative data or flaws in algorithms.
Our panel placed the needs of disabled people at the centre of the discussion, whilst looking at a range of social and technology issues which needed to be addressed.
Chair: Abi James
Accessibility and Usability Consultant - AbilityNet
Christopher Patnoe
Senior Programs Manager - Google Accessibility
Sarah Herrlinger
Director of Global Accessibility Policy & Initiatives - Apple
Reema Patel
Head of Public Engagement - Ada Lovelace Institute
Anja Thieme
Senior Researcher in Human-Computer Interaction - Microsoft
TechShare Pro session video:
Transcript and additional content:
1:00PM - Lunch
Haben is the first deafblind graduate of Harvard Law School, an advocate for people with disabilities and the first Lenovo Accessibility and Inclusion Advisor.
Haben travels the world teaching individuals and organizations how inclusion is an opportunity for innovation, which aligns perfectly with Lenovo’s vision of a world that delivers Smarter Technology for All and a digital future that is inclusive of everyone, everywhere.
Haben Girma
Accessibility and Inclusion Adviser - Lenovo
Paul Walsh
Chief Digital Officer - Lenovo
TechShare Pro session video:
Transcript and additional content:
Creating accessible immersive experiences for multi-media audiences is at the forefront of industry best practice.
Chair: Dr. Ben Shirley
Acoustic Research Centre - University of Salford
Rupert Brun
Broadcast Consultant - Fraunhofer
Larry Goldberg
Senior Director & Head of Accessibility - Verizon Media
J
amie Hindhaugh
Chief Operating Officer - BT Sport
Dr Chris Hughes
Computer Science Lecturer - University of Salford
TechShare Pro session video:
Transcript and additional content:
3:30PM - Coffee
Clara Aranda-Jan
Insights Manager, Mobile for Development - GSMA
TechShare Pro session video:
Transcript and additional content:
What lessons can we learn from others about how to win the case for accessibilty in your organisation? And what are the best tactics for achieving lasting change?
Chair: Christopher Lee
Managing Director - IAAP
Jenny Lay-Flurrie
Chief Accessibility Officer - Microsoft
Sarah Herrlinger
Director of Global Accessibility Policy & Initiatives - Apple
Christopher Patnoe
Senior Programs Manager - Google Accessibility
Paul Smyth
Head of Digital Accessibility - Barclays
TechShare Pro session video:
Transcript and additional content:
Si Tew from Digit Music captured the hearts of the Tech4Good judges this year in the Accessibility Award category with his Control One - a non-instrument alternative for severley disabled people to create music. The only product of its kind, it allows physically disabled people to create music without having to learn an entirely new physical skill. We're delighted that Si and a group of students are performing for us at TechShare Pro.
Si Tew
Creative Director - Digit Music
TechShare Pro performance video:
Additional content:
- Listen to the TechShare Procast interview with Simon
- View interview with Simon Tew
- View interview with Jessica Fisher - student using Digit Music technology
Today is all about embedding accessible design in your organisation - understanding how to make practical changes to your workflows, shifting culture and making inclusion part of Business As Usual.
With brands like Yahoo, HuffPost and TechCrunch, Verizon Media helps people stay informed and entertained, communicate and transact, while creating new ways for advertisers and partners to connect. They are committed to inclusion both in the accessibility of products and in media representation.
During this session, we learned about Verizon Media's experiential learning approach to accessibility and how they utilize their Accessibility Labs to increase awareness and understanding of the diverse needs of users. Samantha highlights how the Verizon Media Accessibility Team embeds accessibility across the company, both within the corporate culture and in their standard operating procedures.
Samantha Soloway
Accessibility Lab Manager - Verizon Media
TechShare Pro session video:
Transcript and additional content:
10:30AM - Break
Introduction
Dafydd Henke-Reed
Accessibility and Usability Consultant - AbilityNet
Twitter
LinkedIn
Game accessibility update
Ian Hamilton
Game Accessibility Specialist
BBC game accessibility research
Lauren Moore
Design Researcher, BBC Children's - BBC
Sony game accessibility research
Mark Friend
Principal User Researcher - Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe
Twitter
LinkedIn
TechShare Pro session video:
Transcript and additional content:
This workshop will provide an opportunity to share top tips about the workflows and requirements of creating accessible content. In particular we will focus on accessible social media and accessible video.
The session will be highly interactive - after an initial introduction by some of our ‘experts’ we’ll throwing the floor open to the audience to ask questions, as well as providing your own top tips.
Jack Niland
UX Designer and Researcher - Spacecraft (Jadu)
Amy Packwood
Senior Internal Communications & Engagement Advisor - BBC
Jane Black
Channel Manager, Document Accessibility - Crawford Technologies
Accessibility Insights Testing
James Baverstock
Senior Accessibility and Usability Consultant - AbilityNet
Michael Vermeersch
Digital Inclusion Lead - Microsoft
TechShare Pro session video:
Transcript and additional content:
- Download session transcript
- View interview with Amy Packwood, BBC
- Download Amy Packwood interview transcript
- View interview with Jack Niland, Jadu
- Download Jack Niland interview transcript
- View interview with Michael Vermeersch, Microsoft
- Download Michael Vermeersch interview transcript
- View Michael's session presentation
12:30PM - Break
Chair: Sonali Rai
Broadcast Relationships and Audio Description Manager - RNIB
Sarah Herrlinger
Director, Global Accessibility Policy & Initiatives - Apple
Jane Laurance
Head of Specialist Broadcast Services - ITV
Mariana Lopez
Senior Lecturer in Sound Production and Post Production, Dept. of Theatre, Film, TV and Interactive Media - University of York
Nigel Megitt
Executive Product Manager - BBC
Abhiram Moturi
Senior Product Manager - Technical Prime Video Accessibility and Core CX
TechShare Pro session video:
Transcript and additional content:
Abi James
Accessibility and Usability Consultant - AbilityNet
Alistair McNaught
Director - Alistair McNaught Consultancy
Aaron Prior
Industry Executive - Microsoft
George Rhodes
Accessibility Consultant
Paul Smyth
Head of Digital Accessibility - Barclays
TechShare Pro video session:
Transcript and additional content:
- Download session transcript
- Listen to the TechShare Procast interview with George Rhodes and Abi James
- View interview with George Rhodes
- Download transcript from interview with George Rhodes
- View interview with Abi James
- Download transcript from interview with Abi James
- Blog: Culture boosts compliance in HE and the Public Sector
1:45PM - Lunch
- How can innovative collaboration with major transport providers and airports help to bring about a deeper level of staff understanding and improved customer experience?
- What might an effective and sustainable navigation experience feel like for blind and partially sighted people? And what might be a genuinely scalable option for business?
- What kind of accommodations might a ride hailing service implement to ensure that it's accessible to people with disabilities?
- Why is the smart home particularly helpful from an accessibility perspective? And what recent innovations might assist in enabling greater inclusion?
Chair: Robin Spinks
Principal Manager, Digital Accessibility - RNIB
John Worsfold
Innovation and Technology Implementation Manager, Innovation through Partnership - RNIB
Marc Powell
Strategic Relationships, Innovation through Partnership - RNIB
Ekaterina Petkova
UKI Accessibility Operations Manager - Uber
TechShare Pro session video:
Transcript and additional content:
An Accessibility Champions Network is a great way to build your internal capability and change the culture of your organisation to make inclusive design business as usual.
So what is a champions network? How do you start building one? What are the options? How long does it take to build?
Christopher Patnoe
Senior Programs Manager - Google Accessibility
Emanuela Gorma
Senior Digital Accessibility Manager - Barclays
Casandra Marrero
Modern Communications Product Marketing Manager - Microsoft
Emma Pratt Richens
Senior Accessibility Specialist - BBC UX&D (User Experience & Design)
TechShare Pro session video:
Transcript and additional content:
3:30PM - Coffee
Jamie Knight
Dimitri Kanevsky
Research Scientist - Google
TechShare Pro session video:
Session transcript:
Arnav Sharma
Tech4Good Winner of Winners Award 2016
Mihika Sharma
Smart Stick - Tech4Good BT Young Pioneer Award Winner 2019
Livestream of TechShare Pro 2019
The livestream from the main conference sessions on both days are available to view for free below and on AbilityNet's YouTube channel.
Please note that some sessions may not be shared live because of the wishes of participants.
Day One: Weds 20 November
Day Two: Thursday 21 Nov