OZeWAI newsletter

Australian Accessibility Conference
9-11 December 2020, online

What an event!

As we reflect on an extraordinary three days we shared in this Conference, we have to thank the many people who helped to make it such a success.

You

First – thank you! No matter how much time, planning and effort goes into planning an event like this, it’s all pretty pointless without the people attending. And with 150+ people registering and an average 30 people per session, this was one of – if not THE most popular conference we’ve ever run.

Every presentation had an active, interested and engaged audience that turned each session into much more than just a “talk”. Several speakers remarked on how involved the attendees were, how appreciated it made them feel as they presented and discussed their ideas.

So, to all who attended even a few sessions – and the surprisingly many who attended most or all of the presentations – thank you!

Presenters

Thanks also go to our amazing lineup of speakers. Without you, there would also have been no conference. Let’s just remind ourselves who we’re talking about.

• Léonie Watson
• Shadi Abou-Zahra
• John Allsopp
• Amanda Mace
• Andrew Arch
• Andrew Downie
• Ashlea McKay
• Bell Omuboye
• Brooke Jamieson
• Daniel Montalvo
• Dax Castro
• Doug Schepers
• Gerry Neustatl
• Greg Alchin
• Jenny Lay-Flurrie
• Julie Grundy
• Julie Phillips
• Liddy Nevile
• Manisha Amin
• Neil King
• Pauline Wright
• Ron Au
• Sarah Pulis
• Scott Nixon
• Violet Sheridan
• Yuma Decaux

We truly appreciate the trouble you all went to in putting together your presentations, recording them in sometimes awkward circumstances and then being on hand live to chat with attendees while your presentations were on.

Considering some of you were located in very unfriendly time zones, you went above and beyond the call of duty and turned a conference into something special. We thank you.

Sponsors

Thank you also to our wonderful sponsors, without whom, again, there would have been no conference. Shout-outs to:

• Synergy Group Australia
• Web Key IT
• Centre for Accessibility
• Web Directions
• Microsoft

Organisers and Volunteers

Lastly, we want to thank the OZeWAI Committee members, our marvellous volunteers and the people who made things happen in the background:

John Allsopp, Bri Norton, Ricky Onsman, Julie Grundy, Natalie Collins, Gerry Neustatl, Amanda Mace, Liddy Nevile, Peter Batchelor, Russ Weakley, Genni Hennessy, Monique Norton, the Australian High Commission on Solomon Islands, DFAT, Women in IT Solomon Islands (WITSI), People with Disabilities Solomon Islands (PWDSI), Brian Diamond, Grace Williams, Louise Scott, Tamara Priddle, Kim Jerrim, Rosalie Nongebatu, Alex Norton, Qoriniasi Bale Jr (Jr), Alice Aote'e, Christina Kuper and Davis Ladofoa.

Door Prize Winners

Congratulations to Paul Hagon, Penny Dugan and Jabis Ngibutai who are the winners of the Xbox Adaptive Controllers (which have played a big part in the rise of accessible gaming, and which also work with any Windows PC) proudly sponsored by Scott Hollier and the Centre for Accessibility.

Presentation Videos

The conference presentation videos have been uploaded to the OZeWAI YouTube channel as the OZeWAI December 2020 Playlist, revisit again or share the presentations with friends and colleagues.

What next?

Thank you to outgoing Committee members and welcome to new and returning members. After a well-earned festive season break, the OZeWAI Committee will reconvene in early 2021.

We wish you all a peaceful, happy and loving end of year – however you choose to celebrate it and we’ll look forward to continuing to champion accessibility into next year and beyond.

Forum

Come and join us at the Forum to keep up the discussions started during the Conference. The Forum, this newsletter, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn are all excellent ways to keep up and keep in touch with OZeWAI.

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