Embedded Files
Designing an Accessible Application Process:
Affirm access from the start. Your application process should reflect your event’s commitment to equity, leadership by lived experience, and barrier-free participation.
Key Practices:
Use plain, direct language. Avoid jargon, acronyms, or overly academic phrasing.
Offer multiple formats for responses. Allow applicants to choose written, video, audio, ASL, or visual formats.
Provide support options for submitting applications, such as:
A call-in dictation line (where applicants can dictate responses to a support person)
PDF versions of the application for those who prefer offline entry
Ensure the form is accessible, including:
Full screen reader compatibility
Logical tab order
Clear field labels
Descriptive error messages
Include a clear access contact on the application for support or clarification.
Shift the focus from ‘completing a form’ to inviting participation. The goal is not to test literacy or technology skill; it’s to open doors.
Presenter Selection:
Presenter Selection:
Lead with equity. Prioritize content expertise, lived experience, and community connection over traditional presentation styles or language conventions.
Key Practices:
Prioritize disabled, Deaf, and neurodivergent speakers, artists, and thought leaders.
For programs focused on disability or accessibility: design your program to be disability-led, not disability-themed.
Offer flexible presentation formats, including in-person, remote, pre-recorded, or assisted co-presentations (especially for those with energy limits or health access needs).
Train selection committee members on:
Recognizing the value of lived experience.
De-centering grammar, spelling, and conventional formatting as criteria.
Affirming non-traditional communication and storytelling forms.
Acknowledge and prioritize self-identified experience: If an applicant shares their lived experience, respect its weight as expertise; not a disclosure to be scrutinized.
Supporting Presenters Before and During the Event:
Equitable support creates thriving spaces. Your presenters should feel respected, prepared, and supported; never like an afterthought.
Key practices:
Pay your presenters:
Offer stipends or artist fees. Where this isn’t possible, provide free registration, travel/accommodation support, or care partner attendance passes.
Respect access needs of everyone, including:
Interpreters, care partners, or support workers.
Rest or preparation time.
Alternate ways to deliver content (e.g. pre-recorded, co-facilitated, assisted presentations).
Provide a detailed Event Welcome Pack that includes:
What to expect at each stage of the event.
Maps, images, and sensory descriptions of the venue.
Key dates for tech checks, materials, or slides.
A clear breakdown of which access supports are already arranged, and how to request others.
Intro to staff who can help with technology, access, or wellbeing.
Offer Access Statement templates for speakers to express their own needs (see Access Statements for more information). Let presenters know:
Who will see their statement.
How it will be used to support them.
How to update it later if needs change.
Build in time for feedback, debrief, and ongoing reflection. This isn't just about gathering feedback; it's about showing respect and continuously improving access.
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse