The inaugural axe-con, an open and inclusive digital accessibility virtual conference hosted by Deque Systems, launches March 10 to 11, 2021 with over 90 speakers from around the world.
Named for their axe-core project, an open source library and accessibility testing engine, the free two-day event features a variety of presentations, including case studies, accessibility compliance, best practices, and updates from technology leaders from around the world.
Axe-con focuses on building, testing, and maintaining accessible digital experiences.
The conference features multiple tracks with talks for:
- Developers
- Designers
- Business owners
- Accessibility professionals
- Anyone involved in the effort to make digital experiences accessible.
A few of the speakers include:
- Rachel Andrew, web developer and former editor of Smashing Magazine
- Dylan Barrell, Deque chief technology officer and author
- Vint Cerf, well known as the “Father of the Internet”
- Haben Girma, disability rights lawyer, author, speaker
- Val Head, speaker, author, and design advocate at Adobe
- Sarah Soueidan, user interface engineer and speaker
What You Need to Know
Axe-con kicks off at 9:00am Eastern Daylight Time on March 10, 2021, with three keynotes in the morning:
- The Future of Accessibility, Vint Cerf
- Difference Drives Innovation &Disability Inclusion Benefits All of Us, Haben Girma
- The State of Accessibility and axe Updates, Dylan Barrell
On March 10, at 1:00pm Eastern Time, the four-track sessions of development, design, organizational success with accessibility, and wildcard begin.
For the interactive sessions, attendees will find:
- Chat, Q&A, and polling
- Live captions
- Online networking and chat
If you are working on your International Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAPP) certification, attendance at axe-con sessions can be used toward IAAP continuing education credits.
Registration for axe-con is free, but required.
Note: the conference begins 9:00am Eastern Time both days. The last session on each day is 8:30pm Eastern Time.
About the Sessions
With over 90 sessions to attend, you’ll want to review the axe-con schedule ahead of time to plan which presentations to watch.
I already have multiple sessions happening at the same time. I’m hoping some of my fellow accessibility advocates and professionals are attending other sessions and taking notes.
A few of the sessions that caught my attention:
- How Color Contrast Got Their Attention
- Retrofitting for an Accessible Color Palette: Beyond the “Nice-to-Have” Improvement
- Treating Exclusion Like Pollution – Why We Should Be Using Sustainability Frameworks to Address
- Grid, Content Re-Ordering and Accessibility
Wrapping Up
A free virtual two-day conference, axe-con offers you and your team an excellent opportunity to learn about digital accessibility from well-respected experts.
In addition, you can network with other web professionals as well as people working in, or advocating for, digital accessibility.
I recommend the conference to everyone who works on the web.
