Global Accessibility Awareness Day: How to make virtual meetings and events more inclusive and accessible
By Ariel Wee, Advisor, Diversity Inclusion and Belonging
Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) – which falls on the third Thursday of May – highlights the need for more digital access and inclusion.
According to the GAAD Foundation, over one billion people worldwide live with disabilities. The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the prevalence of working from home arrangements, virtual meetings, webinars and “hybrid” events. These developments have resulted in many benefits and much added flexibility for everyone including people with disability. On the other hand, if we are not conscious about digital access and inclusion, we may unintentionally create barriers to accessibility in the global digital space. The Australian Human Rights Commission offers useful tips for hosting accessible and inclusive virtual meetings and events.
Before the meeting or event
- check the accessibility features of the platform (such as closed captions) to ensure that they can cater to a diverse range of participants
- ensure that you provide a telephone number for participants with no computer or internet access to dial-in.
- provide the contact details of someone who can assist with technical or access requirements before and during the meeting or event
- invite participants to note any accessibility requirements upon registration
- create presentations using larger fonts that are easy to read with good colour contrast, such as Verdana, Calibri, Tahoma and Arial
- avoid unnecessary jargon, cluttered slides or flashing animations
- circulate documents in advance to allow participants time to go through them
- any intention to record a meeting should be announced in advance for all participants to consider whether they give consent
Hosting the meeting or event – set rules such as
- implement any adjustments that have been requested
- announce to participants if the meeting or event is being recorded
- announce the name and particular agenda item for each speaker
- for participants who consent to be recorded, invite them to display their names on the screen and ask them to ensure that cameras are on faces so they are well-lit and not obstructed (those who do not consent can turn off their cameras and use a pseudonym if they wish)
- ask participants to mute their microphones to minimise background noise
- ask participants to state their names before speaking – this supports participants with low vision and/or blindness
- ask participants to let one person speak at a time – allow each speaker to finish their sentence and be patient
- have the host or moderator repeat or paraphrase any questions that may be unclear or difficult to hear
- read or describe all content displayed when audio-visual content is shared live
- allow for a 5-minute break every hour
After the meeting or event
- where appropriate, publish a transcript of the discussion or share a captioned copy of the recording
- follow up with participants who had provided accessibility requirements to get feedback and offer assistance as needed
Curtin’s Disability Access and Inclusion Plan encourages us to provide an accessible and inclusive experience for everyone. Being more intentional when we organise virtual meetings and events is a small but vital step we can take to support this commitment.
For more resources on accessibility and assistive technologies, please refer to