Putting the 'Open' In Open Source Events

In the open source world, the core tenet is that our code is open and accessible for anyone to use and work on. But when we hold events, physical accessibility is often overlooked. Communities benefit when everyone can participate, so in this talk, you'll learn how to help make events more accessible to people with mobility limitations. Events like local users' groups, hackathons, and even huge conferences can benefit from more attention to accessibility. This talk focuses on mobility limitations, as an example of the considerations needed for making events more accessible for other types of limitations, too.

In the United States, the Americans with Disabilities Act specifies features of accessible construction and design for public-use buildings. So, if you have your event in one of those, you're good, right? Not so fast. The ADA, and similar laws elsewhere, provide a minimal level of accessibility--one that was, at the time of its writing, a compromise between what people actually need and what businesses are willing to pay for. Regardless of the size of your event, or the venue you've chosen, there are details you can take care of as an event planner that will make things easier for your attendees, and make the event more open and welcoming!

In this talk, we'll explore a framework for thinking about accessibility for community events of every size, including pre-planning, determining attendee needs, working with outside vendors, and encouraging other attendees and the disabled themselves to participate in increasing accessibility. Using this framework, event organizers can make their events more pleasant and productive for everyone.

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