For many companies in Portugal, 2025 will mark the date on which the new law on accessibility applied to the private sector will come into force. Resulting from a European legislative initiative, the European Accessibility Act, this will be a challenge for products and services, with a view to creating a more inclusive reality. In Portugal, for some time now, there have been some companies that have been making very sustained progress in this area. Transforming products and services, creating new ways of working as a team and even redefining many of their internal policies. In this conversation, we will seek to highlight concrete examples of activities and initiatives from two companies that are completely essential to the lives of consumers in Portugal: Sonae MC (owner of Continente) and IKEA.
Event Type: In Person Events
Open house with display of assistive technology
Welcome to learn more about digital accessibility and assistive technology – for free! Thursday 15 May at 13-17, the Funka Foundation invites you to an exciting and educational open house where people with different disabilities show how they use assistive technology. How do blind people use the web? How can I best help a dyslexic person? Will my website work for someone who controls their computer by voice alone? What is most important for people with low vision? Our open house will answer all your questions:
- Meet users with disabilities who will show and tell you what works and doesn’t work for them
- See how assistive technology works in real life
- You meet our experts who can put your experience into perspective
- You will learn what you as a developer, website owner, UX designer, graphic designer or web author can do to fulfil the legal requirements for accessibility – and ensure that digital services work for everyone!
It’s an open house so you can come and go as you please. In order for us to know how much coffee to make, it is great if you want to sign up! Free registration: https://survey.alchemer.eu/s3/90836567/Stiftelsen-Funka-GAAD-15-maj-2025
Public sector services need to work for everyone. Unlike private sector businesses, public organisations cannot exclude anyone or focus on a narrow user group. German accessibility law, the Basic Law – also known as Grundgesetz – and EU legislation demand this. Various public sector organisations have been building significant capacity and capability in-house. In the May edition of the ‘Öffentliches Gestalten’ meetup, we want to hear from representatives of several German public sector organisations about their efforts to design and develop the most inclusive products and services:
- Danny Koppenhagen, Deutsche Bahn/DB Systel
- Marion Couesnon , DigitalServices des Bundes
- Susanne Henatschel, DigitalServices des Bundes
The federal government’s DigitalService is hosting the meetup at its Kreuzberg office’s top floor with rooftop access. All presentations will be given in English. Questions in the later discussion part can be raised either in English or German. The event is jointly organised and hosted by CityLAB Berlin and DigitalService.
Join us on Friday, May 16th for Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) —a day dedicated to sparking conversations, expanding knowledge, and driving action around digital access and inclusion. Designing with everyone in mind is so important, and this meetup is an opportunity to connect with others, learn, and contribute to a more inclusive digital world. Join us in the back Garden on Friday, May 16 at noon, at New Holland Brewing in Battle Creek, MI. Come for lunch, and great conversations.
We invite you to the Poznań celebration of GAAD – World Accessibility Awareness Day.
Agenda:
From 14:00 – Neurodiversity Exhibition
17:30 – 18:00 – Joanna Pawlik & Kamila Pierunek – UAM GO Case study
18:00 – 18:30 – Networking
18:30 – 19:00 – Małgorzata Podolec – Research with blind users at Allegro
19:00 – 19:15 – Break
19:15 – 19:45 – Piotr Piątek – Digital path to accessibility and efficiency: social innovation PrehApp
Name: Chhatarpur Accessibility Awareness Day
Date: 2nd May 2025
Time: Morning (starting at 9:00 AM)
Venue: Police Line, Chhatarpur, Madhya Pradesh
Organized by: Chhatarpur Local Guides
Event Lead: Ranu5g
Main Objective: To increase accessibility information for Chhatarpur on Google Maps and make it a model for modernization among Class 3 cities in India.
Hello everyone! Today we have gathered here at Police Line, Chhatarpur for a very important mission – Chhatarpur Accessibility Awareness Day. This event is an opportunity for all of us Chhatarpur Local Guides to make our city even more accessible on Google Maps. Today’s objective is to make people aware that whenever we review a place, we must also write about its accessibility features – like wheelchair ramps, accessible toilets, elevators, parking spaces, or sensory support like Braille menu and sign language support. This will not only help in building an inclusive city, but will also help a Class 3 city like Chhatarpur to be recognised as a modern city on the Indian map. If Chhatarpur comes on top in terms of accessibility and modernization, it will be the result of our hard work. Today is the beginning of a new thought, a new direction and a change.
In celebration of Global Accessibility Awareness Day on 15 May, 2025, join us for a practical, hands-on workshop “Designing for Everyone – Digital Accessibility in Action” led by Dr. Chandra Harrison, Managing Director of Access Advisors. Dr. Chandra Harrison is a seasoned user researcher, author, lecturer, and accessibility advocate based in Christchurch, NZ. She brings both deep professional expertise and lived experience with ADHD and chronic health conditions to her work—and to this workshop. This 2-hour session is designed to equip you with accessibility know-how you can apply across digital product design. Whether you’re a designer, developer, or curious creator, you’ll leave with knowledge and skills to build more inclusive experiences for everyone.
What you’ll learn:
✅ How to integrate accessibility into your design process from the start
✅ What screen readers are, how they work, and how to design for them
✅ How to use keyboard navigation in testing and interaction design
✅ How to choose accessible colour palettes?
✅ How to create clear layout structures with headings and hierarchy ✅ How to design visual elements with inclusive alternatives
👉🏽 Note: You will be going through activities, so bring a mobile phone, tablet or laptop to participate!
🦻🏽 If you have hearing needs, please let us know so that we can accommodate them.
Details:
📅 Date: Thursday, 15 May 2025
⏰ Time: 5:30 – 8:00pm
📍 Location: Potentia, near Britomart, Auckland, NZ
💸 Tickets: $60 NZD
🍽 Thank you to our venue and nibbles sponsor for networking, Potentia NZ — Share your good times with @uxauckland @haunanipao @access-advisors-nz @access_advisors_nz #UXAuckland #UXAwesome #UXAccessibility Here’s our social things – https://linktr.ee/uxauckland
Live conference aimed at rising awareness and competences, supported by examples of good practices and practical advices. Topics will focus on digital accessibility, on accessible environment and accessible culture on example of Museum. Accessibility professionals from Slovenia, users with disabilities and local communities are just few who will actively participate and transfer their knowledge and experience. The event will also present cross border activities to support all who want to improve the accessibility of their web solutions. The conference is organised by Institute for Digital Accessibility A11Y.s, Municipality of Nova Gorica, Association of the blind and visually impaired Novagorica, NSIOS and European resource centre on accessibility Accessible EU.
UC tech leaders will share practical accessibility skills, explain the importance of digital accessibility and answer audience questions. Then Lucy Greco, UC Berkeley, and Jill Wolters, UCSF, will talk about Lucy’s work as a disabled staff member at the UC. Event highlights include: Accessibility and the Legal Landscape featuring Trevor Finneman, Principal Counsel, UC Office of the President, Accessibility Dos and Don’ts featuring Eric Mayes, User Interface Developer, UC Santa Barbara, and Using Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Accessibility Work featuring Lucy Greco, Accessibility Evangelist, UC Berkeley. Don’t miss this amazing opportunity to have a great time while learning about digital accessibility and connecting with peers throughout UC.
Our May event is talking place Tuesday 13 May at Greenwich University with a special Accessibility event to coincide with Global Accessibility Awareness Day happen on 15 May. Speakers to be announced soon. Tickets free. All talks will be recorded and publish shortly after the event.