Web Adaptability for Inclusion Conference 2009:

Realising the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities

January 21 - 23 2009 at La Trobe University,

Bundoora, Victoria (near Melbourne), Australia.

Keynote Address 2009 - Brian Kelly

Title: From Web Accessibility 2.0 to Web Adaptability 1.0

The Abstract of Brian's talk is here

Length of talk: 45 minutes plus time for questions.

Brian is a leading international expert in accessibility with experience in the field since 1993, especially as it relates to the education sector. Brian will be talking about moving from a standards driven Web Accessibility world towards a user driven web Adaptability world and will look at issues in education, eLearning and making the experience accessible. The following links provide further information about Brian's talk at OZeWAI and Brian himself.

A biography of Brian and the abstract of his talk is at:
http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/web-focus/events/conferences/ozewai-2009/

Also a timeline of Brian's Web accessibility work is available at:
http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/web-focus/experiments/accessibility-timeline-20080706
And note there is a screencast with audio commentary also available.

And here he is presenting a paper we wrote recently:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6225623885632534881&hl=en

Keynote Address 2009 - Dr. Eva M. Méndez Rodríguez. Librarianship and Information Science Department, University Carlos III of Madrid. Spain.

Title: "I say accessibility when I want to say availability: misunderstandings of the accessibility in the other part of the world (EU and Spain)."

Length of talk: 45 minutes plus time for questions.

Eva Méndez is an Associate Professor in the Library and Information Science Department at the University Carlos III of Madrid (Spain), where she is the Director of the new Masters studies program in Digital Libraries, adapted to the Bologna Higher Education model in EU. She holds a Ph.D. (cum laude) in Information Science from the same University, awarded in the academic year 2001-02, for her dissertation on Metadata and Digital Libraries. During the academic year 2005-06 she was a Fulbright EU postdoctoral Research Scholar at the Metadata Research Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA. Her research focuses on metadata and web standards, digital information systems and services, accessibility and Semantic Web. Dr. Méndez has also served as an independent expert in the evaluation and review of European projects since 2006, both for the eContentPlus program and the ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) program.

Special Topics for 2009:

Worldwide, there have been significant steps towards a more inclusive online environment. New applications for improving the accessibility of content and services are adopting revised guidelines from W3C; new quality certification standards have been developed, and interactive accessibility services are emerging. The ISO committee has produced an inventory of needs, responses, and requires input from users and developers. Learn more about Web 2.0 and these developments at OZeWAI 2009.

The following topics are very relevant:

Who should attend OZeWAI?

We always try to plan for the participants we expect to join us. The following list is not exhaustive but should be indicative:

techies
We always like to support the techie folk. Adaptability depends upon the expertise of technical people and we are keen to ensure that OZeWAI is a good forum for exchange between members of this class.
exhibitors
Yes - we especially like our trade partners - we cannot solve the adaptability problems without the tools and expertise they offer and we would like to see more participation on the part of those who can offer solutions to those with the problems.
educators
A significant number of people working in the field of adaptability are also within the educational domain. This year we will continue the practice of having a stream of events designed especially for this community. We will be encouraging senior administrators, managers, designers and the technical teams to join us.
internationalisation and multi-lingual content developers and managers
Providing resources in multiple languages, and resources that are suitable for international use, is not as easy as it might be. experts and novices can work together on this topic.
symbolic language resource developers
Using the Web to distribute maths, science, music and other symbolically represented content in a standard way is essential if eveyone is to be able to access it.
 
information managers
A significant new group of professionals who are able to make a difference to the accessibility of resources using metadata are especially welcome at OZeWAI in 2006.
researchers
Adaptability is a lively field. There is some exciting research being done and the results are sometimes surprising. Papers that report this research are welcomed. Where papers have already been published elsewhere, presenters might like to submit a short paper to present their work in this forum.
managers
Just how critical is good management to adaptability? We appreciate that it is crucial but also that often managing the associated activities means working in a new domain for those responsible. This stream is designed to help managers and those responding to managers' concerns. Managers often want to know what they should know, what they should do, what they should expect others to do, and how much it will all cost.
users and ideas people!
Without both these, nothing would happen!
 

For up-to-date information about the conference, please join the OZeWAI mailing list. This list is used for announcements only. The names and addresses of those on the list are not available for any purposes other than OZeWAI information and postings.

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Programme Committee

All papers and other proposals are reviewed by the OZeWAI international review panel. They look for new, interesting and useful contributions in a range of forms that will be appealing and satisfying to OZeWAI participants. Full papers are refereed according to Australian DEST standards, with the authors not being told the identity of their referees.

Conference format

OZeWAI conferences offer hands-on workshops, plenary presentations, informal work sessions, research reports, and time for discussion. The venue is ideal for small group discussion and the program, with lunches and dinners included, will provide opportunities for participants to interact with presenters informally. La Trobe University has on-campus accommodation (see below).

Conference costs

We offer one, two or three full days with presentations, workshops, including hands-on workshops, a reception, a formal dinner and a wind-up cocktail - as well as lunches and coffee/tea etc.

Costs: $450 for full registration, $350 for student registration, and $200 for daily registration (incl GST.). These costs include all activities of the day of registration, even the reception, dinner, etc. Early birds will register for $25 less than their later friends.

Accommodation

Menzies College at La Trobe University offers specially priced, on-campus accommodation for OZeWAI participants.

Important dates for 2009

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