The University of Westminster has hosted the 2024 Accessibility Symposium, bringing together Westminster colleagues, students, external guests and dynamic speaker panels. The event focused on this year’s themes: the overlap between physical and digital accessibility and the impact of the incoming European Accessibility Act on Higher Education (HE).
The day was opened by an emotive speech from Dr Sal Jarvis, Deputy Vice Chancellor for Education and sponsor of the Digital Accessibility project at the University of Westminster. She spoke of how accessibility has impacted the lives of her and her loved ones, and how these experiences have driven her to ensure Westminster is an accessible place for all.
Dr Jarvis said: “The second Westminster Accessibility Symposium was a huge success! We had some amazing speakers and very lively panels followed by engaging workshops with colleagues from across the sector. A huge thank you to everyone for supporting this event! We look forward to the next one!”
The event not only facilitated important discussions but also kickstarted the creation of shared industry resources that could be used as practical tools. Through the passionate debate and thoughtful workshop contributions of all attendees during the symposium, the beginnings of some of the first sector wide resources to be shared by the recently formed Association of Learning Technologists Special Interest Group (ALT SIG) for Digital Accessibility were created.
These resources kickstarted by the 2024 Symposium will go live on the Make Things Accessible website which shows how the University of Westminster is helping to spearhead practical actions to build a more inclusive and accessible university experience for all.
George Rhodes, Team Lead of Digital Accessibility at the University of Westminster, chaired the panel and ran a workshop during the day. He said: “What stood out for me at the symposium was the passion with which people approached the debates. Differing voices sharing a diversity of opinions while still clearly moving together in a shared positive direction. A microcosm of the accessibility movement.”
The ALT SIG for Digital Accessibility is bringing experts from across HE together to move the accessibility agenda forwards. Among many guests were accessibility professionals from University College London (UCL), University of East London (UEL), City, University London, the University of Reading and the University of Nottingham.
This symposium directly contributes to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 10: Reduced Inequalities and 17: Partnerships for the Goals. Since 2019, the University of Westminster has used the SDGs holistically to frame strategic decisions to help students and colleagues fulfil their potential and contribute to a more sustainable, equitable and healthier society.
Find out more about the University of Westminster’s commitment to Digital Accessibility.
