What is it like to attend the Web For All Conference? Can’t make it to Montreal this year to take part? Elizabeth Neal from the American Foundation for the Blind shares her experiences from this year’s conference. The conference theme this year is “Education for All on the Web”.

Elizabeth makes remarks on Jutta Treviranus’ keynote: “[Jutta] argued that accessibility strategies must recognize that accessibility is relative—to individual requirements, goals, and context—not absolute. Therefore, we need regulations that are responsive and evolving, not static.”

Elizabeth also remarks on Michael Cooper’s talk about Web Accessibility for the 2020’s and the challenges that lay ahead.

Visit “Reflections of a First-Time Attendee at the Web For All Conference” at the American Foundation for the Blind’s website for the complete article.

In December 2013, the province of Manitoba passed legislation on the Accessibility for Manitobans Act which defines 5 new accessibility standards for the province. The first standard, customer service, must be met by 2017. But what comes after the law has been passed?

On March 15, IDRC director Jutta Treviranus visited the University of Manitoba to share experiences and best practices of Inclusive Design in a legislated landscape.

” ‘Since laws are not agile, our choices within the law are important.’ She emphasizes the importance of responsive, iterative solutions that focus on collaboration among diverse perspectives.”

Source: “Planning for accessibility Beyond the law“, University of Manitoba.

How we live and how we die are questions that need further exploration and discussion set within an inclusive framework that engages a broad spectrum of individuals and perspectives, particularly the perspectives of our most vulnerable populations which includes persons who experience disabilities or the effects of aging. Research is showing that many Canadians support assisted death. The controversy is situated within many contexts, predominately institutional spheres, where law and policy makers are subject to pressures from many different perspectives, including self-interest groups.

This leads to the heart of the question: who should decide when and how we die?

Please join OCAD Graduate Studies in Inclusive Design in “A Conversation on the Future of Physician Assisted Death”.

Registration required at : http://goo.gl/forms/4Mpp3ouvYe

Update: Panelist Bio’s – A Conversation on the Future of Physician Assisted Dying in Canada