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August 2023

Welcome to our August Newsletter

 

Welcome to our August newsletter
A photo of Chandra smiling, with short brown hair. Wearing a white shirt and a black necklace.
Hard to believe that it is August already...we hope that you are well and warm as you read this edition of our newsletter and that you enjoyed Matariki celebrations with your whanau.  The last couple of months have been cold and wet, but we have managed to keep busy welcoming several new clients.

While we absolutely love working with our existing and long term clients the challenges our new clients bring to the accessibility table are so rewarding and such an opportunity for us to hone our skill set as they start their journey with us. 

From Chandra and the team at Access Advisors
 

Upcoming Events

We have been busy organising a workshop in Auckland as a pre conference event to the Disability Inclusive Pathways Conference. This exciting event will help businesses explore the business case for digital accessibility. You will hear stories from Laila from Xero, Callum from DIA, Gillian from Victoria University of Wellington, Lauren from Hayes Consulting and of course Chandra. Tickets are available through Humanitix. You can just attend the workshop but need to choose either standard or member and then the pre-conference tickets.
Pre Conference event with Access advisors Supporting the business case for Digital accessibility
Join us for the Pre-Conference event led by Dr Chandra Harrison that will inspire you to unlock the value of digital accessibility in your organisation. Whether you are a senior leader, ICT professional, HR lead, or disability lead in your organisation, our event 'Supporting the case for Digital Accessibility" will assist you to connect with the benefits yourself, preparing you to bring your whole organisation on the journey. 
2023 Disability Inclusive Pathways conference logo
This year's conference theme, ''Collectively Stronger'' is about exploring the strength of disabled people, the value they bring to organisations, and breaking the narratives that have formed in society. As an attendee you will explore how we can all support and empower disabled and neurodiverse New Zealanders in their employment, and ways to foster our own organisational cultures of true belonging for disabled people in the workplace.
 

Access Advisors approved as AOG supplier
 
Amazing News! We are thrilled to announce that we are now officially approved suppliers for the New Zealand All of Government Marketplace for both User Insight - Research and Web Accessibility Services. And it looks like we might be the only specialist digital accessibility consultancy that is 100% Aotearoa owned and operated on the list. I am so proud of the team and we are all so excited at the prospect of working with more government clients.

Pae Hokohoko | Marketplace is the All of Government panel that makes procurement faster and easier for New Zealand Government agencies. Suppliers are pre-vetted and approved to offer specific services directly to government organisations who are part of Marketplace. We are listed as User Research Limited trading as Access Advisors (our official business name).
 
Chandra sitting in the front of a room training in person with one of our clients' team

Face to Face Training is Back

Another fabulous part of the last few months for me has been being able to do training and workshops kanohi ki te kanohi (face to face) again after so long. There is something special about the connection you get when you are in a room with people, being able to respond to their body language and questions that you just cannot get via video conferencing. 
At it's core our accessibility training focuses on human centred, inclusive and universal design while providing the prerequisite knowledge of access needs, assistive technology, and digital solutions.  We will point your team in the right direction and provide the tools for their accessibility journey.
We can tailor our training options to meet your requirements, Contact us to find out how we can help
 
The word blog spelt out in blue on keyboard tiles

Recent Blog posts from the Team

Accessibility Overlays – Making It Better OR Hiding The Problem? by A11y A11ison

To me the simplest definition of web accessibility is that EVERYONE should have the same opportunity to access information and services on a website no matter who they are.  If the person trying to access this information may happen to have a disability that is either permanent, situational, or temporary they must be able to anticipate an equitable type of experience as anyone else.   

Accessibility overlays have in recent times emerged as a potential solution to help websites with their accessibility.  Providers of these overlays claim that they detect and fix basic accessibility issues and often allow users with options to modify their experience while on the website. 
Read the full blog on our website
 

M-Enabling Summit - AI and Digital Transformation
We are thankful for support from InternetNZ for a grant for Chandra to attend the m-Enabling Conference in Washington DC this year. The theme for this year is ‘AI and Digital Transformation: New Paradigms for Accessibility and Inclusion Strategies.’ Chandra is the Country Representative for New Zealand for the G3ICT.
 
Internet NZ logo
 

Team Update
Most of the team have had Covid (again) since our last newsletter and several others have achieved some amazing milestones. Heidi bought her first house, Julius hit a significant birthday, Ross took what might be his first proper holiday with his grandkids ever, Katherine's daughter got engaged, Chandra got a formal ADHD diagnosis (and only she seemed surprised at that) and Kevin headed off to the Deafblind World Congress (more on that next time).
Heidi brought a house. Heidi pointing to a property brokers sign with a sold sticker on it
Julius and his 6 year old daughter Amber opening his birthday present from Access Advisors which was a gift pack of Garage Project beer
 
Kev's Top Tip - Choose Your Font Wisely
List of fonts taken from a new word document
Microsoft Office 365 has just updated it’s default font from Calibri to Aptos after a couple of years of research. Aptos is a sans serif font, one without all the sticky-out bits, which makes it easier to read for many people with print-disabilities.
Kev’s Top Tip then, is to spend time doing your research and choose your fonts wisely, just like Microsoft. Ideally, go for a sans serif font that gives good space for each character and between lines, and wherever possible go slightly larger. The font you choose makes a huge difference to how easily people can process your website. 
Contact us if you would like help
Kevin Prince - Senior Accessibility Consultant