Join us for Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) 2026: Working Together to Create an Accessible Workplace (a11y Lab)

Contents

As part of the WERTE.IT project, a virtual, accessible model workplace was created. In this workshop, we’ll present the current status of the virtual, accessible model workspace as well as the idea of bringing it to life as a physical space. Since implementing it as a real workspace involves significant costs and effort, it’s essential to clarify questions about its future use in advance—questions we’d like to address together with you.

We’ll start with a joint brainstorming session on the equipment needed for an accessible model workspace (a11y Lab). The technically oriented question is:  
(1) How should the a11y Lab be set up in terms of hardware, software, peripherals, and location?

Following that, we will address the following socio-technical questions to integrate the a11y Lab into existing contexts and practices:

• (2) How can the a11y Lab be meaningfully integrated into teaching?
• (3) What benefits can students and faculty derive from the a11y Lab?

To address these questions, we’ll use the Disney Method, in which participants take on different perspectives (Critic, Realist, Dreamer) one after another.

Before the presenters conclude by summarizing the results once more, we’ll take another look together at other and future use cases for the a11y Lab, addressing the question: (4) What opportunities exist outside of teaching for the region surrounding the a11y Lab’s location and beyond?

Duration

The workshop will last 60 minutes. At the beginning, participants will be introduced to the topic through a keynote presentation. Subsequently, the questions listed above will be addressed collaboratively using various methods.

Target Audience

Our workshop is aimed at people with and without disabilities, students, faculty, and anyone interested in the topic of accessibility. These diverse perspectives are crucial for shaping the a11y Lab and its subsequent use in teaching and practice.

Online Platform Used

We’ll be using WebEx as the video platform for the workshop. During the workshop, we’ll share a Microsoft Word document with all participants via OneDrive, which everyone can access individually on their own computer. We’ll use this document to record the results of our discussions.