Accessible Virtual Events

The following pages help organizers, presenters and participants plan for and conduct more inclusive meetings and webinars. A variety of considerations and actions are outlined for planning, preparing, conducting, providing accommodation, and follow-up for any virtual event. Some actions have cost implications and should be considered early in the planning stages to provide adequate time for budgeting and contracting.

Think of this as a continuous improvement model. Although this is a lengthy list of things to implement, you are encouraged to start with a few of the simplest actions, successfully implement them for each event, and then come back to the list and select more until all considerations and actions are being utilized. Implementing steps to make your events more inclusive not only benefits people with disabilities, but it will also improve the meeting experience for everyone.

Understanding Why

Virtual events, such as online meetings and webinars, have become a common way to conduct business and communicate with colleagues.

There are several reasons why it is important to make an event as inclusive as possible:

  • to provide an equal experience to all participants, presenters, or attendees
  • to reach a broader audience (even post-event audiences)
  • to encourage/improve attendance and active participation
  • to present information in a variety of ways for a diverse audience

Accessibility improves the experience for people with disabilities, and additionally benefits everyone else. In the virtual space, a growing audience means a growing set of needs for that audience. Be aware that people in attendance may not be able to:

  • see well or at all,
  • hear well or at all,
  • move well or at all,
  • speak well or at all, or
  • understand information presented in some way well or at all.

To be more inclusive, it is important to remember that your audience may be very diverse, and you should anticipate and respect their needs and be open to removing access barriers whenever possible. In many cases, unless you have asked registrants or meeting attendees if anyone has an accessibility need you may not know there is a need. The following pages can help you anticipate those needs and try to meet them regardless of whether you have or have not received a request from a participant.

Explore These Pages to Learn How to be More Inclusive

On the following pages, you will find information on incorporating accessibility into virtual meetings and webinars. The goal is to remove the guesswork and give you actionable items in each stage of planning and implementation and walk you through making sure everyone's needs are being met. Planning a more accessible virtual event can be broken down into these stages:

By following the guidance on these pages, you can make your virtual events more accessible. This will help you create a more inclusive environment and ensure that everyone can participate.