TechNExt 2026 - Tech for Good Hub
Making accessibility a given - merging online and offline worlds for "truly" accessible events - Ellen Forster & Michelle O'Connor - Access Given
They are here to talk about accessibility both online and offline and talking about their conference and how to make accessibility changes. They gave a description of themselves for accessibility reasons which is something you should do.
The problem - They have been to events that are overwhelming, too loud, too fast and too bright and was exclusionary even though was marketed as accessible and inclusive and decided to run their own conference about digital accessibility and wanted to make the event accessible itself, and events they have been to accessibility has been an afterthought.
They believe that accessibility should be give, shouldn't be asked for, not just accommodated just be there. Nothing can be truly accessible but can make an effort to do this. They decided to do their own digital accessibility conference and approached people to speak, who were paid to come, and didn't pay themselves. They chose The Catalyst as it is one of the most accessible buildings in the North and chose to do a shorter day mid-week, as longer conferences may cause people to fade away by end of day, a single track without any decision paralysis which also meant cost saving benefits.
Online and offline together which was to bridge the gap as know access can be difficult with people with disabilities and people are jaded with online events, as even if don't like looking at faces much you do want to do it a bi as digital events often lack connectivity. The choice of colours and fonts was done with accessibility in mind and content written so it was easy to understand, they also picked a ticketing platform that was more accessible.
They did an accessibility guide, with clear expectations to reduce anxiety, covering veny, schedule and environment and available ahead of time and during the event as being informative is being accessible. They had a lot of complements for the guide and something they want to do for other events that can help cover everything possible. Subtle accessibility can help many caption are so commonly used as help people with hearing loss and others such as those with auditory processing difficulties, instantly accessible captions on phones to take notes and no extra equipment needed and transcripts automatically produced.
Slides and visual design - not too much information, high contrast and loads of contrast, images are decorative, don't convey messages with colours, use simple layouts, readable fonts where sans serif is best and make font size bigger than you think as people can be far away. Don't overload your slides with too much information. Sensory Aware space - normalise comfort breaks and have sensory aware space with a room with low lighting and soft seating, clear signage and reminds not to use room for meetings or phone calls and have water or sensory toys provided for use, participation shouldn't need to feel like a chore, if need to come in or leave just ask them to do so quietly.
They had to charge for tickets as couldn't pay for speakers or venue but they offered pay-it-forward tickets including asking companies and freelancers to pay for these, they were completely anonymous and no one knows other than them they received this, they went to an event where everyone who got scholarship tickets were asked to pose for a photo which was less than ideal, this kind of ticket removes financial barriers.
Open access recordings that are free to watch after the event, speakers can share widely to promote themselves, removes geographical barriers and extends the event's longevity, this can help refresh people's memories and this year's conference videos will be published soon. A mindset shift from fear to action, feat of getting it wrong is common so they don't do it so start small and grow sustainably, so can make small steps and if get it wrong they had feedback about positioning of captions, so can improve next time, doing something is better than doing nothing.
Choosing a venue, what to actually ask not just do you have a lift, ask about lighting, noise levels, quiet spaces, clear signage, hearing loops, seat height and width can be quite important for some people, accessibility is more than compliance. The theatre in the Catalyst has wide aisles and wheelchair users can sit next to people they are with.
Key takeaways are accessibility does not equal compliance, it is a collaborative situation, small changes matter and combine digital and physical and start now and improve later, consider simple things like not having tuna sandwiches for people with sensory issues. You have to start somewhere and have heard from speakers that they appreciate people trying and maybe making a mistake but are doing the best you can.
If running an event, they can help make it more accessible, including writing an accessible guide at accessgiven.co.uk.
If work for company if have brand guidelines about use of a certain font how to get around that? It could depend on the font and colour which is not accessible so be careful about use of the font and colour, you can make best use of font and colour but if do use green and red together don't use that to convey meaning, Another thing people have are fonts that are all capital letters which is hard to read, centred text is hard for dyslexic people, and for choices you can always ask for forgiveness to change things that people might not even notice to improve things, and if called out on it you can give a good reason for this.
Have they experience of working with education providers? They don't but have heard anecdotally that education providers aren't always up to speed on this sort of thing, you could ask someone to come into to speak to staff or students and give tips about how to do things, which can start a conversation going on how you can improve these things. It can be a large project to redo a website, but you can change the content, such as key articles and changing those to lead way to invest in larger changes. Pick something small that will make a big impact and use that to get buy in.
Gateshead Tech4Communities - Alessandra Mondin - Connected Voice, Jennifer Neely - Digital Poverty Alliance, Melissa Middleton - Gateshead Council, Wendy Marshall - Gateshead Council & Joanne Richardson - Gateshead Council
Alessandra manages a team to improve digital accessibility in Gateshead and spoke about Gateshead digital inclusive in health and social care as part of connected voice which and been supporting communities since 1929 and Gateshead Digital Inclusion in Health and Social Care project starred in 2023 working locally and nationally with Voluntary, Community, and Social Enterprise organisations with partnership across all stakeholders to tackle digital inclusion and accessibility not just single interventions but system changes. Gateshead and digital inclusion is similar issues at national level and main issues are digital poverty and accessibility not even for staff. Gateshead Tech4Communities Pilot where can find out more at digitalpovertyalliance.org/tech4communities
Alessandra spoke about pilot from Gateshead communities to Gateshead communities with collection drop-off points for donations, Gateshead Council's own decommissioned devices and decommissioned device donations from VCSE organisations. They have tries to build analytic support including leaflets and posters with support available including libraries and other places.
Jennifer from Digital Poverty Alliance spoke about digital poverty is not having access to the digital resources you need to use, being included is having the skills and devices needed to engage in digital world, they provide the program with Gateshead and around the UK, they have a few different ways of engaging. Digital poverty and accessibility has an presumption of access where families are expected to complete online forms which can be difficult to navigate on mobile, lost voices where individuals online may still struggle significantly to find adequate support, digital-only advice is where many government services rely on online resources and can have barriers to connection where need to reach those without internet access and some people don't want to use online resources even if they have the skills. They do device distribution where collect donated devices, are refurbished by certified company and then distribute them along with dongles and SIM cards at charities or food banks. Verification process is very open where people apply, and they nominate a verifier for this.
Jennifer mentioned their position is every child needs a laptop, half of applicants have no access to any device, and many applicants don't have broadband at home. They have learned about donation motivation where donors reported feeling more motivated knowing a device will be distributed in the local community, with a respectful interaction. Variability of quality where some devices are unusable, but the project has overall success in providing refurbished devices to those in need and have partnerships across Gateshead, managing donations where have interaction with doners and donations are vetted before being accepted. Recruitment of donors and recipients has little overlap but are able to provide devices for Gateshead recipients.
Alessandra has a question for Joanne to make sure people have access to resources that they have a huge digital team supporting people in the community. Alessandra asked about how digital donation works in practise to Wendy, people donate devices for connected infrastructure and Connected Voice reach out to residents and as Gateshead Council has coordinated delivery and drop-off and is aligned to broader services and community priorities. Alessandra spoke about a national type of infrastructure with a special local delivery with people who know the area very well and what works and what doesn't work.
Alessandra asked Melissa about access to devices, there are people out there who don't have access, it may be they don't have it at home but can take a ten minute walk to a library but without working together there are people out there who have no access to digital world, such as how do you do your accounts or relationships and you need to understand why devices are important that have an economic benefit to people. Alessandra asked Jennifer what does success look like, it is a change to people's lives and impact it can have on economic and educational goals and helping people connected in need in their own community and getting people to understand when the right time to donate a device, but they can be donated to others in need who are in digital poverty. Alessandra talked about the ripple effect and the awareness raising of and possibilities of a programme such as this to think about digital in general.
Question from audience was about knowing about device collection for an event would have been worth sharing, the other is about when people apply they need a verifier so how to combat people who are proud and don't want to admit they don't have access to these devices? Alessandra mentioned it does make a difference to people's lives and one thing about the Digital Poverty Alliance are not prescribing who has access to the scheme, so entry point could be from a GP, as didn't want to exclude anyone who are in work or are in poverty and may not be connected with any services and not understand there is something to support them. Jennifer mentioned the verification process is open, someone with an official email address, so is very broad, what you do with people who don't know they can get help or know they need help so often speak to people who say they don't have a device as they don't know how to use it but can't do one without the other, their advocacy work is as important as the delivery work. Joanne mentioned they have way more to go as partners and they can share more resources. Wendy mentioned people sit with devices at home and want to dispose of them but worry about this due to the data on this but the recycler will do wipes and if can't remove data they will destroy the drives so the partners can help with this.
Question about does anyone specialise working with disabled people which is an extra layer of digital inequality, do they have anyone for younger or older people and will there be people who know how a screen reader or braille reader work? Joanne mentioned they have skills that vary such as on a coding level but they are keen to provide as much support for inclusion, they rely on donations but if there are donations that can help support then these could be provided, but unless they are donated, they can't be supported. Alessandra talked about finding what the need is and hopefully provide this. There could be another layer to work with people with the soft skills and can work with the hardware. Jennifer mentioned that people can have device, connectivity and skills that can help but then can find the right the device for the right people and have worked with organisations to say if need assistive technologies, so need to make sure additional needs are addressed.
Accessibility as the Foundation for Smarter Housing and Infrastructure - Robin Boyle - CGI, Melissa Middleton - Gateshead Council, Marc Russell - CGI, Andy - Environment Agency
A home doesn't really begin at the front door, when talk about smarter housing and infrastructure have to ask the bigger question what does it allow people to do? Accessibility is not a special design issue or something you check on the end but something you do as part of the process and Geographical Information Systems can help with.
Smart is not enough, a system can be technically correct but fail the person trying to use it, home can look great on plan but fail as it needs to be adapted, accessibility is not one thing it is social, economic, digital and more so if want smarter housing have to include all these aspects with right data and tools to interpret them. More homes also must mean better access as more homes along won't solve problem if they are disconnected, isolated from services people need or can be adapted, such as can people reach where they need and will this place work in changing local demand and it is in the life the building makes possible.
Almost every decision we make has a location signal, transport, utility but too often location signals are in separate systems, formats and mental models so there's an opportunity for tech community to make place visible at the point of use. When see world as rows in spreadsheet we can manage records but this does not show pattern of everyday life but when put things on a map can see where things are and where transport links connect people, data becomes different when grounded in place. Eight data conditions for inclusive decisions with standards, discover, trust, real time, APIs, quality, licensing and literacy for the technical layer and human layer have to move together to reframe data accessibility around the outcomes people experience to get from intention to delivery for accessibility.
Standards and interoperability, if every organisation describes things differently then spend time translating instead of interpreting so interoperability allows housing and building data to flow seamlessly across systems where data should be accessible, interoperable and reusable. For housing and infrastructure interoperability reduces friction and with standard can make joined up decisions.
Federated discovery allows organisation to find and use data from multiple sources, don't have to force everything into a giant database which is often right answer but data should stay close to source while being discoverable by others, to access data though common standards, federated discovery makes data accessible without stripping away control.
Trust and ethics, data fuels innovation only when it is trusted, whether it is complete and is of a quality and is up to date, if communities don't trust data they resit the process, bureaucracy can take data into confidence, trust depends heavily on quality as accessible data is only useful if complete and reliable, poor data has real consequences so data quality is not a back office concern it can shape many things so validation rules, standard templates and more matter as well as making sure it remains this way so have data that is clear enough and trusted enough for decisions being made.
Applying accessibility framework helps build more homes, with the goal to make a better decision earlier and more of the framework is put in place can make confident decisions. Accessibility needs to be an investment test so ask who can reach it, who can use it, who can understand it and who benefits over time. These are simple questions as they move accessibility up stream and if can't answer these clearly then the place is not yet smart.
From insight to action, start with one service and one route, baseline access, expose gaps, prioritise interventions using evidence to decide where investment will make biggest difference, publish services where publish documents or APIs and measure outcomes to track accessibility as well as asset delivery to ensure a community is more resilient. Two people can live at the same postcode and have different access, if want smarter housing then accessibility needs to be the foundation and smartest places won't be one with most data and tech but ones where people can live well and access opportunity
Panel
Panel of Andy, Melissa and Marc will have a chat about accessibility with first question about power of maps, how can maps and location see access barriers that would otherwise stay hidden? Marc mentioned assets flood risks as part of Environment Agency, but solution want to build that will enhance a community not just reduce risk of flooding. Mellisa mentioned they have a tool called Lion which can show routes and see gaps but it isn't perfect and sometimes things don't get update. Andy mentioned from a CGI perspective and is a visual person so when able to map things on top of things makes it easy to see what decisions would be made in one location than another.
Melissa is looking at making sure every house in Gateshead has a device but if not then have access within five minutes where can access a laptop and have support for this. Andy mentioned working with council to create community and if people can't travel it could be poster, magazine or look at what works for a particular place, it doesn't need to be a massive project it can start in a particular area.
Where do people struggle to benefit from services and infra that already exist? Marc mentioned in recent years understands more about getting around, planning in advance so when looking at a new development or retrofit to build in those accessibility aspects is really important.
Melissa mentioned places are already there so what can you do, such as Chopwell in Gateshead which has an aging population and don't have access to a community hub so know they have a community bus to take people to Tesco with a hub there to teach digital skills so often it is about preparing for changes so can put things in place.
Who should organisations ask before approving a scheme? Melissa mentioned should ask everyone, Marc mentioned project with workshops and a wealth of people and mapping stakeholders and main drivers and communicating with people Andy mentioned need to understand the challenges and needs of people.
Who can use and understand services and technology, so when it is available what stops people from using it, not, have a lot of work to standardise things so they look and work a certain way on government websites. Melissa mentioned a lot of things are needing digital services so before implement anything bring people along for journey and what things mean in real life regarding what is data, where is it being stored or if want to see it and helping them to understand this and bringing people along on the journey, needs to be adaptable. Marc mentioned accessibility needs to be independence, can have a hub to break down a fear of using things like apps with an education piece.
Melissa mentioned they have a lot of co-creation events and before make a decision to digitise a system you have listened and before you launch it you speak to people again, check your work and make amendments and have element of co-creation and exploration and then make sure the finished product is finished in everyone's opinion. Andy mentioned that make sure things represent all types of people and Marc mentioned don't be too solution focused. Marc mentioned have discussions about data uncertainty as are a data-based business where they have chain from raw data to something but each stage uncertainty can increase and are spending public money so making decision is important and reducing uncertainty is important.
From Idea to 1,500+ Building an Inclusive Community that works - Kimberley Graham - Sage, Rachel Pattinson - Enigma Interactive, Jen Wood - Newcastle University, Kathryn Wharton - KWL Marketing & Jo Larby - Leighton
Panel discussion, Kimberley Graham from Sage chaired the panel, who manages the security awareness panel and Sage was founded and based in the North East and very much embracing AI and proud to support the Women in Tech North East group. Rachel Pattinson is business development manager at Enigma Interactive, Jen Wood who manage large scale research grants at Newcastle University, Katheryn Wharton who manages Women in Tech and work with tech companies on marketing strategy and Jo Larby works for Leighton and supports and co-organised Women in Tech North East.
Kimberley asked about how it started, Kathryne mentioned the idea came about in April 2022 as had came into tech sector and couldn't find a community where they didn't belong and hosted first event in June and met Kimberley and got support from Newcastle University and they had good attendance the first time and have put on quarterly events since and decided to form a CIC. Rachel mentioned before they were a voluntary network without a formal structure so needed think about sustainability and governance and considered many different options but didn't want to be a organisation for profit or a charity so became a social enterprise back in 2024 which meant could get a bank account and built governance and strong funder partners, a CIC is a community interest company which is regulated by the CIC regulator so have to report to HMRC and Companies House as well, felt they were serving a business and skills opportunity as there is a commercial aspect of all of this.
Kimberley asked about inclusion and building an inclusive community, Jen mentioned there is no barrier such as needing to code or in a tech role which helped and trust speakers to speak openly and candidly and things may be nervous about talking and have something quite unique and accidental where it feels really supportive and speakers feel quite safe. Recognising they aren't perfect and always listening and hard to attain perfection. Jo was asked about inclusivity where having different formats keeps it fresh and name badges where this helps with networking and can approach people and be interested in what they stand for.
Kimberley asked about anything for those wanting to build a community what to learn? Katheryn mentioned a massive mistake on first event which was hosting event in pub in a bar but heard from an organisation for members who wanted to come along and didn't feel comfortable coming into a bar, they didn't do beer and pizza but all of there events since have been in a professional setting so don't want a barrier but people can still go for drinks, when doing events ask for that feedback afterwards. Rachael mentioned about being careful with time and energies and everything they commit to is thought out, it is all vert intentional where they can add value. Jo mentioned speaking about investing in marginalised groups and think about events such as if after work people have to consider childcare. Kimberley mentioned companies need to put their money where their mouth is, there's different ways to support, Katheryn mentioned they brought in a partnership scheme which helped not only with events but behind the scenes operations, and everyone has been great to work with.
Kimberley asked about any proud moment? Jo mentioned it is seeing the energy in the room at events and transferring to LinkedIn and can see the connection and real human side of it and see this continue to grow - celebrating peoples successes. Racheal mentioned it would be great to capture impact more systematically and some people mentioned they didn't want to come as thought it was too techy or they have had people who have reconnected, and when couldn't contribute in the way they wanted to there was endless support. Katheryn mentioned it is the development of the partnerships from individuals coming to events, cheerleading, then speaking then host and partnering with an organisation and when reflect on meetups people have got jobs, mentors or even got work or made friends that are more intangible moments and feels like a community and not just another networking group. Rachel shared about looking forward to hosting more events in different venues and will have new board members and advisory board and are looking for more partners in 2027.
Kimberley asked if were going to setup an event what would you do? Katheryn would be focused on the data to prove impact they made which would have made getting funding easier and could show why people should invest. Jen mentioned it would have been great to have loads of money, it hasn't stifled growth as it has been manageable but there is a limit on this but the partnerships are helping. Racheal mentioned if starting a community test that idea and then begin, Rachael spoke to her boss and ask about running and event.
Question is about looking at from the academic perspective related to inspiring women in tech they have research that shows this and if there anything in academic world can do that can help? Katheryn mentioned you need to get to children before secondary school, they have no plans due to capacity but there are amazing organisations already doing this, but to try to solve the problem get in early and be role models and go along to career days. Jen mentioned there is not only a problem getting women in tech but also those who are leaving so can hopefully keep them in these roles.
In addition the question is how do you sustain women in tech and help them and overcome challenges? Katheryn mentioned their allies and they really value the support from male allies, this includes a joint event last year, if have a place which is male dominated can do your bit to support so think about culture and policies in place, there isn't an answer for everyone so how do you meet in the middle and have fantastic allies. Rachel mentioned are not in the position to solve problems generally but can do their bit to support where they can. Jo mentioned if there are opportunities where can use the community to help.
Question was how do you keep community between events, but for those who want to do things more in person and fall into the trap of putting things on Zoom? Rachael mentioned they had just came from pandemic where everything was on Zoom to have a physical place to meet, Jen mentioned when you go out to things and realise there is a network of networks and connecting in different ways. Jen mentioned they have a newsletter and linked in and Katheryn mentioned people meet up and is the nature of the community and only do four events per year but can go to other events and mention Women in Tech there. Jen mentioned it helps to have good communicators and people in marketing so if you are doing an event can reach out to people in marketing.
Question about talking about inclusive community, where do they stand on inclusivity? Katheryn mentioned that are aware that gender is inclusive and they have a statement that the event is very inclusive and make sure this is an event for them.
Jamie Hardesty mentioned they have events with people who have been in software in a year, but have struggled to get busy leaders to give up their time so how do you give visibility of ladies who have x amount of experience or do you have any challenge with sharing experience? Kimberley mentioned they have had senior leaders along and Jen mentioned it is usually finding the right topic to bring someone in so can bring those people forwards, so be mindful about how many events you put on. Jen mentioned be mindful of who you are approaching and why, but if rejected it is not personal. Racheal mentioned initial co-founder was Professor Sue Black which helped, and Kimberley mentioned they have clear boundaries and are considerate of what they are asking. Katheryn mentioned they may need two or three senior leaders per year with one or two speakers needed per event, just be mindful for right offer with right person at right time. Jo mentioned they are respectful of people's time with provides opportunity for people, there are a lot of early career participants who will go along then bring more people along with them.
Question about North East where about covering what areas, do they know where majority of where their members come from, do they have a plan for reaching wider areas and get out there a little bit more? Jen mentioned they want to reach out more and it is s huge region, it is easier for a lot of people to get into Newcastle but would like to reach down into places like Teesside, especially as a lot is going on there.