Editorial by Eleanor Webster

Over the course of the Imagining technology for Disability futures symposium, held in Leeds in April 2024, I was often asked: “what is it you actually do?”

This didn’t come as much of a surprise to me: digital producing is a nebulous title and my job is the kind that most people don’t notice unless someone isn’t there to do it or is doing it badly. I’ve been digital producing for about three years now, and the process can be summarised as making technology work for people. I help with running online and hybrid events, which could be anything from opening and closing breakout rooms, to running a large two-day event such as the itDf symposium, where I helped plan the structure of the day, liaised with technical support staff, and created supplementary online materials. My job is to find the best way to connect people, using technology as a tool rather than a barrier.

 

Working online

When Stuart Murray first contacted me about the online itDf symposium in January that preceded the April in-person event, his primary concern was finding an online whiteboard platform. This was to be a space where contributors could meaningfully interact to present their research, share photos, videos and podcasts, and comment on each other’s work.

Almost every platform I came across had some version of a VPAT report- a document outlining potential accessibility barriers and what that site has done to mitigate them. I spent a lot of time combing through jargon-loaded, difficult-to-read tables to find the most important information. I’ve created a PDF of my findings here.

When it came to choosing a platform, ultimately I went with my gut. Miro is undoubtedly market leading when it comes to accessibility options, but it’s a tricky platform to use and very bandwidth heavy and depending on where people were calling from this limitationt could prove difficult. In the end, we decided on Padlet for its simplicity, accessibility and relative customisation.

Every individual is going to have their own access needs however, and sometimes these will clash. For example, some symposium participants found it easier to watch videos, rather than sift through lots of text. However, for those who are D/deaf and/or blind, videos are not the most accessible medium. Ultimately, we tried to put as much material as possible in multiple formats, including written notes, video recordings, and a transcript of each day’s proceedings.

 

An Ableist Medium

The January symposium took place online, over Zoom. In spite of its integrated tools, Zoom remains an unfriendly platform for blind users. I spent twenty minutes helping a blind artist join the call successfully, and I could feel his frustration at the limits of the visual platform. Another disabled participant struggled with the fine motor skills required for using a mobile phone, so could not “dial in” when she was unable to log on online. These are things often taken for granted when setting up online meetings, but in doing so we unwittingly exclude people.

One of the most fascinating discussions I had in the in-person symposium was with Russ and Riitta Lahtinen (who are contributors to this issue). Russ is Deafblind, and Riitta acts as his interpreter. What was novel to me was how she conveyed information to him. Haptic communication: drawing symbols on his back to show the layout of the room, the facial expressions of the person he was talking to, and much more.

 

The Symposium in Leeds

Perhaps unsurprisingly, then, the hybrid event in April was more positively received than the online event. One of the biggest successes in both events was the scheduling. In the organising, we spoke a lot about “disability time”: the idea that disabled bodies do not conform to conventional (capitalist) notions of timekeeping. Space must be given for people to articulate more slowly, be interpreting/interpreted, and rest is a necessity, not a luxury. We managed to fill the time with stimulating talks from people both online and in-person, whilst also giving plenty of time for breaks, and factoring in the possibility of running over. Time differences were negotiated gracefully, and participants both local and remote were able to present their ideas and receive feedback. There was lively discussion on everyone’s work, which continued throughout the two days and into the weekend on the asynchronous Padlet.

Some things we didn’t account for. The venue unexpectedly supplied us with a projector, leading many people to present PowerPoints. As we hadn’t anticipated this, we had failed to send out a style guide. As a result, the images and text used weren’t always accessible to all: images and videos weren’t always audio described; text was dominant, in black on white or very small font. As an organiser, this was frustrating; while no one could be blamed for their enthusiasm, we didn’t have the time and space to ensure that their work was truly accessible.

 

 

Key learnings

I came away from the symposium thinking about how to go beyond “access”. In the world of theatre, where I also work, accessibility artists are experimenting with ideas such as creative captioning, and having interpreters as part of performances. I wonder what access will mean in the coming years as our institutions slowly catch up to the needs of their disabled employees, customers and communities.

I’ve learned a lot from producing the itDf events. My key pieces of advice to anyone wanting to put on an accessible event would be:

• ask, don’t assume. It’s better to check with people what they need than try and guess what might be difficult or different for them.
• you’re not going to please everyone! Or at least, not all at the same time. There will always be a participant who struggles with a particular format (be it video, audio, written text, remote work or meeting face-to-face). The best way to include as many people as possible is to have information available in as many different formats as possible, so that everyone can access it in their own way.
• Disability time is for everyone. We all do our best work rested, with room for breaks, movement, conversations, joy. It’s time to move away from a capitalist model of continual growth and relentless work, and towards a mode which acknowledges that all of us are only human.