Re: Getting more people to a11y talks

[Dave Neary <dneary gnome org>]

Hi,

Bryen Yunashko wrote:
> My talks are about why a11y should matter to you even if you are not
> involved in a11y or need accessibility.  It's meant to raise awareness
> in the general mainstream and hopefully build up a new stream of
> contributions to a11y.

Me too!

> One thing I am wondering if I should come up with more provocative
> titles for my talks.

The title to the accessibility talk I have given in the past was
"Digital ramps and handrails" which is evocative and kind of equates
digital a11y to the kinds of things we're familiar with in real life
(and one of the examples I use of fringe benefits of physical
accessibility is ramps & kerb cuts being useful for moms & dads with
prams). I got respectable attendance at a few events with the talk, and
people definitely appreciated it.

Linking computer accessibility to things like the mobile internet,
opening computing to children, and automated testing of GUI apps is also
useful.

> In November, I will be giving a keynote on GNOME Accessibility at
> LatinoWare in Brazil and I'd really like to get the ball rolling in
> thinking about how to ensure maximum audience attendance at events
> like this and making this a truly worthwhile trip.
>
> So....> Ideas anyone?

Having it be a keynote is a good start :) And in Brazil too.

I don't really know what to suggest... certainly the title & talk
description will help - if you position your talk as entertaining &
applied, you'll get a good crowd. I think people see "accessibility" &
think "this isn't for me, I'm not handicapped" - in a similar way,
internationalisation talks don't tend to get many English speakers
attending - it's "for other people".

There's also a general feeling that when dealing with handicap that
there is a lot of political correctness - and not a little preaching.
And in general people don't really like to be preached to.

So maybe the trick is either (a) have a deceptive talk title which gets
people in, and win them over in the first 2 minutes, or (b) have a
provocative talk title that makes it clear that it *is* their problem -
"Why everyone needs assistive technology (even people who aren't blind,
deaf or disabled)", or "Will accessibility save the mobile internet?" -
I'm not saying those are ideal titles, but if you're trying to make a11y
relevant to a larger group, then you do need to be clear about how it's
relevant.

Hope that helps!
Dave.

-- 
Dave Neary
GNOME Foundation member
dneary gnome org