[DCAD] Feedback on Revised DCAD Accessibility Guidelines 2025

[Deirdre Williams]

Good afternoon DCAD.
First off - great job, congratulations to all of those who volunteered for
the editorial committee.
My comments:
1. Are we assuming a self-identifying group of persons with disabilities or
are we trying to imagine all possible challenges to access and trying to
remove them or at least mitigate them? Many people dislike
self-identification, and in some countries/organisations you cannot legally
ask for it. Did the editorial committee give this dilemma any thought?
2.Visible disabilities are self-revealing but cognitive, hearing and some
medically caused disabilities, to name only a few, are invisible. This
point needs to be made in the Guidelines to ensure that organisers and
volunteers are aware of it.
3. The mapping is a GREAT idea. The IGF in Istanbul took place in an
amazing building that had about 5 different levels and illogical (to me at
least) provision of lifts. I expect Judy remembers how we hurtled along, at
one stage through a kitchen and across something like a roof to move up and
down. Not all lifts will accommodate wheel chairs.
4. The local volunteers are a very helpful institution. Would it be
feasible to have a small cadre trained in how to lift properly to
facilitate bathroom breaks.
5. Language is a serious accessibility challenge for ALL participants who
do not speak the language of the IGF host country. This challenge is made
very much worse if the individual participant is also a person with a
disability.. The Guidelines should remind organisers of this, and it should
be mitigated as far as possible..
6. In terms of the overall presentation of the document, would there be any
gain from extracting those recommendations that are repeated under each
sub-heading and putting them together in a "General" section at the
beginning? The document has a lot of information very tightly packed
together.
Thanks again for all the hard work. It was encouraging to see so many
different voices around the time of the IGF in this space. We don't need to
wait for the IGF meeting to share ideas, projects, opinions ... properly
speaking the IGF is a year long rather than a once a year activity, so
let's keep talking.
Best wishes
De

On Sun, 16 Feb 2025 at 07:50, Muhammad Shabbir Awan via DCAD <
dcad at lists.igf-dcad.org> wrote:

>
>
>
>
> Dear DCAD Members,
>
>
>
> I hope this message finds you well. As part of our efforts to enhance
> inclusivity at IGF meetings, the *DCAD Accessibility Guidelines* for IGF
> have been updated. The revised guidelines are available at the following
> link:
>
> 👉 DCAD Accessibility Guidelines 2025
> <https://igf-dcad.org/accessibility-guidelines/>
>
>
>
> The guidelines can be downloaded as .pdf or word documents as well as are
> available as webpage.
>
>
>
> I highly encourage you to review these guidelines and share your valuable
> feedback. Your insights as accessibility advocates and experts are crucial
> in ensuring these guidelines comprehensively address the needs of all
> participants and reflect the best practices for accessibility.
>
>
>
> Please send your feedback to us no later than *24 February 2025, 23:59
> UTC*.
>
> You can email your comments to *info at igf-dcad.org <info at igf-dcad.org>*.
>
>
>
> Thank you for your continued support and dedication to making IGF meetings
> more inclusive and accessible for all.
>
>
>
> Warm regards,
>
> Dr. Muhammad Shabbir,
>
> Coordinator,
>
> IGF - Dynamic Coalition on Accessibility and Disability (DCAD),
>
> Twitter: https://twitter.com/MShabbirPhD/
>
>
> _______________________________________________
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>


-- 
“The fundamental cure for poverty is not money but knowledge" Sir William
Arthur Lewis, Nobel Prize Economics, 1979
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