Building for Everyone — become a part of Google Developers Accessibility Campaign
In our ever changing fast-paced world, we need to make sure everyone can access the newest inventions and innovations and enjoy them to the fullest. Despite progress in tech and society, people with disabilities still face barriers to accessible experiences — including hurdles to complete tasks, navigate the world, or reach their dreams. As creative technologists we all have an opportunity and a responsibility to ensure what we’re building works for everyone.
Dev communities making the world accessible
Many developers already had a chance to learn first-hand how important accessibility is and now are committed to making the world truly accessible to everyone. A great example is the story of Gregorio Palamà from GDG Pescara, a web developer who, inspired by his visually impaired colleague, decided to raise awareness around the needs of developers with disabilities.
To encourage more great initiatives like this, the Google Developers Ecosystem team in Europe launches “Building for Everyone” Accessibility Campaign. This fall, Google Developers communities will come together for the first time to focus on Accessibility and Inclusion in Product Development through a series of community-led events. During a variety of meetups, discussions, presentations and workshops developers in Europe will be able to learn how to use technology to make the world truly inclusive and accessible for everyone.
Join our roadshow events
If you are in Germany, France, or the UK, come join our flagship events at Google’s offices across Europe. Many amazing speakers will be there to share accessibility best practices with our audience, including Christophen Patnoe, Head of Accessibility and Disability Inclusion for EMEA at Google. You can’t miss it!
- Berlin: Sep 14, 2022, event organized by GDG Berlin
- Paris: Sep 19, 2022, event organized by GDG Paris
- London: Sep 26, 2022, event organized by GDG Cloud London
At the events, developers will learn how to develop products and applications that are more accessible and inclusive, and use the accessibility testing tools available.
Join or organize community meetups
Get started on your learning journey by joining one of our community-led events! Find all the upcoming events here and register today!
If you’re a GDG organizer who wants to join our efforts and spread the word about accessibility and inclusion in your community, you can schedule a meetup. It’s a great opportunity to invite those outside of your local developer community to share their experience, network and shape a brighter future together.
To make the accessibility-themed events truly inclusive and successful, Google Developer Groups can request support, invite GDE speakers and use the branding assets prepared for the occasion. We also put together a set of materials on accessibility to be facilitated during the events — you can use those or create your own. Check out the details in the Organizer’s Guide and register your event!
Accessibility Twitter Space
We hosted a Twitter Space on Accessibility on Thursday, September 1st. You can replay the conversation here! We discussed accessibility vs. usability and developers can most effectively collaborate with designers, cool accessibility features everyone can include in their Android app, what features Google Cloud offers to create an innovative, accessible experience, what assistive technology is, building accessibility into the dev workflow… and much more!
The list of speakers included:
- Christopher Patnoe, EMEA Lead, Accessibility and Disability Inclusion, host
- Caren Chang, Developer Programs Engineer, Android Framework and Studio
- Guillaume Laforge, Google Cloud Platform Developer Advocate
- Chris Shull, Geo/Maps Tech Lead
- Yu Zhong, Mobile Accessibility Research
- Raisa Cuevas, Senior Interaction Designer, Accessibility UX
- Florence (Flo) Poirel, Google Developers Europe
