Adobe Systems/RNIB Web Accessibility Tour 2002

RNIB's Campaign for Good Web Design takes to the road this summer for a
9-date tour of Scotland, Wales and England.

What is the campaign about?

The invention and growth of the worldwide web has meant that many blind
and
partially sighted people are now able to enjoy a wealth of information
that
was previously unavailable to them, from news and local information to
timetables and online shopping and banking.  With the help of
synthesised
speech and braille display technology, people with little or no sight
can
use the internet with ease.

For these technologies to work properly, web pages must be coded
correctly.
Many sites are unusable by blind people simply because they are not
coded in
correct HTML (hypertext mark-up language), or rely on the use of
software
that has not been developed to be usable by people with disabilities.  

RNIB is campaigning throughout the UK to raise awareness of this issue.


- We are campaigning to encourage web designers to adopt the Web Content
Accessibility Guidelines of the Web Accessibility Initiative.  
- We are campaigning to encourage companies and organisations that have
a
web presence to ensure that their web sites are designed in accordance
with
the WAI guidelines.  
- We are campaigning to encourage access technology developers and
mainstream web technology developers to work together to ensure that the
web
is accessible to people with sight loss.

The events are free of charge.

Advance booking is essential.

Adobe Systems/RNIB Web Accessibility Tour 2002

19 July Dundee - West Park Centre, 319 Perth Road, Dundee

22 July Edinburgh - The Dome, 14 George Street, Edinburgh

23 July Newcastle - Ellison Building, City Campus, Ellison Place,
Northumbria University, Newcastle

29 July Norwich - Norwich School of Art & Design, Duke Street, Norwich

30 July Brighton - Bramber House, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton

31 July London - International Students House, Great Portland Street,
London
W1

12 August Manchester - Geoffrey Manton Building, Manchester Metropolitan
University, Rosamond Street West, Manchester

13 August Birmingham - Apollo Hotel, Hagley Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham

14 August Cardiff - Technocentre, Beignon Close, Ocean Way, Cardiff


To book a place, please email [log in to unmask] with the
following
information:

Your name
Your company name (if appropriate)
Your email address
The date you wish to attend
Your access requirements (eg if you require a sign language interpreter,
wheelchair access, etc.)


About the events

Every event on the tour starts at 2pm and finishes at 5pm.

Julie Howell, leader of RNIB's Campaign for Good Web Design will talk
about
the campaign's aims, direction and progress to date.  Julie welcomes
questions and comments about the campaign strategy and suggestions for
new
campaign resources and projects.

Joe Combs of Adobe Systems will describe what the company is doing to
make
the output of its various web creation tools accessible to people with
disabilities, with particular emphasis on how to create accessible PDF
files.

The sessions will be relaxed and informal, and you will be encouraged to
put
any questions or comments to Julie and Joe directly.  Whether you are a
hands-on web coder or designer or have little technical knowledge but an
interest in making the web accessible to people with disabilities the
events
will be useful to you.

If you are involved in any aspect of web creation or procurement, if you
work for any type of organisation that has a web site or if you are a
web
user and want to know more about accessible web design then you are most
welcome to come along.

Julie Howell
Campaigns Officer (Internet)
Royal National Institute of the Blind
[log in to unmask]

---
Kind regards
Julie Howell
Campaigns Officer (Internet)
Royal National Institute of the Blind
105 Judd Street, London WC1H 9NE
[log in to unmask]
Phone +44 (0)20 7391 2191

2 million people in the UK experience sight loss or blindness.
Poor design prevents many disabled people from getting the most from the
Web.

Support RNIB's campaign for better Web design!
http://www.rnib.org.uk/digital

Ask me for our campaign film on CD-Rom: 'Web sites that work'
Ask me for our campaign report: 'Get the message online'

For news and event announcements join the campaign mailing list:   
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RNIBCampaignforGoodWebDesign/join

Join us on tour this summer!
http://www.rnib.org.uk/digital/adobesyst.htm

Play Look Louder, our accessible Flash game!
http://lookloud.bluewave.com