Integrated video accessibility platform 3Play Media is hosting the ACCESS 2023 accessibility conference on April 27 and 28, highlighting the latest innovations, trends, and best practices within the industry.

This free, two-day virtual conference runs Thursday, April 27, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. EST through Friday, April 28, 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. EST. It brings together key experts, leaders, and professionals from a wide variety of associated fields to network, learn, and share important insights regarding accessibility. 

Known as one of North America’s premier digital accessibility and inclusion conferences, ACCESS 2023 features several keynote speakers and interactive sessions. 

Topics are organized into three main tracks:

• Advance: Accessibility Design & Technical Focus

• Adapt: Implementation & Application Highlights

• Aspire: Accessibility Advocacy Engagement & Discussions

Streaming platform Brightcove and language accessibility provider World in Sign are this year’s conference Visionary Keynote Sponsor and Language Access Sponsor, respectively. 

Accessibility & Inclusion Thought Leaders & Innovators

ACCESS 2023 spotlights issues such as artificial intelligence, accessibility and the current economy, technology usage for the mental health community, updates on The Communications and Video Technology Accessibility Act (CVTA), and more.

Keynote sessions commence on April 27 at 10:30 a.m. EST with Caroline Casey, founder of global business collective The Valuable 500. A disability inclusion rights activist, her address is titled “ESG and Disability: The Intersection of Strategy and Disability Inclusion.” 

Other scheduled keynotes include:

• Claudia Gordon, senior accessibility strategy partner at T-Mobile; Christopher Patnoe, head of accessibility & disability inclusion at Google; Kathy Martinez, vice president of global disability inclusion at Expedia Group; and Charlotte Dales, co-founder &  co-CEO at Inclusively - Titled “Accessibility in the Current Economic Environment,” this session highlights inclusive best practices during a recession and other financial challenges.  
  

• Theo Hildyard, VP of global demand generation & field marketing at Brightcove - Learn how to craft and implement inclusive and accessible marketing campaigns.

• Jeff Wissel, chief accessibility officer at Disability:IN - He invites attendees to ask him anything regarding challenges, recommendations, and more!

• Frances West, founder of Frances West & Co; Ted Drake, accessibility and inclusive design leader at Intuit; and Derek Featherstone, VP of accessibility & inclusive design at Salesforce - This session will examine the shift from mandatory compliance toward universal accessibility. 

Event track sessions represent some of the world’s most prolific digital accessibility and inclusion advocates, such as InclusionHub Founding Partners Fable, a leading accessibility testing platform powered by people with disabilities; and leading cloud-based CRM software provider Salesforce. 

Learn more about some of this year’s speakers:

• Roger Zimmerman, chief of research & development at 3Play Media; Samuel Proulx, accessibility evangelist at Fable; and Christopher Land, senior accessibility technical program manager at Oracle - This session explores how AI will affect the future of digital accessibility.

• Albert Kim, lead consultant for accessibility & inclusive design at AK Digital Accessibility Consulting - He shares his firsthand experience on the importance of creating inclusive and accessible digital products for those living with mental health disabilities. 

• Dave Dame, director of product accessibility at Microsoft - This session includes real-world best practices on creating inclusive and creative new products. 

• Lily Bond, SVP of marketing at 3Play Media; and Tessa Kettelberger, senior data scientist at 3Play Media - This session reviews 3Play Media’s automatic speech recognition (ASR) survey results, and the comparison between AI and human intervention.

Each session will feature live professional captioning and American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation. Access 2023 concludes with a special segment titled: “Comedians With Disabilities Act,” featuring disability advocates Nina G., Steve Danner, Mean Dave, and Michael Beers.

Learn more about the ACCESS 2023 Virtual Conference by checking out this year’s agenda and speaker roster. Free registration can be completed online. Contact 3Play Media for additional information. Event speaker Fable’s Accessibility Evangelist Sam Proulx is the host of The InclusionHub Podcast, which has featured several prominent disability and accessibility advocates across multiple episodes. Check out the podcast!