A11y Week 2024
15 APR 2024
A11y Week is the Government’s digital inclusion learning festival for all public officers, especially those making Singapore a Smart (and Inclusive) Nation.
This year, GovTech’s A11y Team celebrates Global Accessibility Awareness Day with folks from Apple, Microsoft, Smart BFA, and many more. Join us as we unpack why “Progress Over Perfection” enables us to build a more accessible and inclusive Singapore together.
Registration is free but seats are limited, so save your spot at go.gov.sg/aw24-reg, and put it on your calendar today!
Have questions? Drop us a line at accessibility@tech.gov.sg.
Here’s what you can look forward to:
Event Details
Date:
Wednesday, May 15 to Friday, May 17
Time:
10:00 am to 5:30 pm
Venues:
- Old Hill Street Police Station (MCI & MCCY Building) — View Map
- The new South-East Asia Apple Developer Center — View Map
Day One – Wednesday, May 15
Venue: Old Hill Street Police Station (MCI & MCCY Building)
| Time | Programme |
|---|---|
| 9:30-10:00am | Registration |
| 10:00-10:15am | Opening Speech Mrs Josephine Teo Minister for Communications and Information, and Minister-in-charge of Smart Nation and Cybersecurity. |
| 10:15-11:30am | Fireside Panel: How should we forge the path to digital inclusion? - A candid discussion on what digital inclusion means for Singapore. Dr Janil Puthucheary Senior Minister of State at Ministry of Communications and Information, and Minister-in-charge of GovTech. Cassandra Chiu, Psychotherapist and Social Advocate. President, Disabled People’s Association. Executive Director, K9Assistance. Judy Wee, Executive Director, Muscular Dystrophy Association (Singapore). Dr Wong Meng Ee, Associate Professor, Early Childhood and Special Needs Education Academic Group, National Institute of Education (NIE). Chairman, iC2 PrepHouse. |
| 11:30-12:00pm | Networking & Interactive Exhibition: Experience A11y - Curated, hands-on activities to get you started on your digital inclusion journey. A11y Team |
| 2:00-4:00pm | Interactive Gallery and Workshop: Empathy Lab - An immersive learning session to experience the impact of digital exclusion. A11y Team |
| 2:00-4:00pm | It’s Us, Not Them – Practical steps towards inclusive engagement In collaboration with NCSS Social Service Institute: Gain valuable insights into the ways we can better interact and engage with Persons with Disabilities in the workplace and in our various contexts as public officers (i.e. In service centres, citizen engagement or user research). In this interactive workshop, we will be busting some common misconceptions around disability and sharing tips to foster empathy in our teams so that together, we can take the next step towards a more inclusive and enabling workplace culture! NCSS Social Service Institute |
| 4:00-5:30pm | Micro-Workshops: Accessibility Dojo - Technical tips that you can implement in your digital product immediately. A11y Team |
| End of Day One |
Day Two – Thursday, May 16
Global Accessibility Awareness Day
Venue: Old Hill Street Police Station (MCI & MCCY Building)
| Time | Programme |
|---|---|
| 9:30-10:00am | Registration |
| 10:00-11:00am | Presentation: A11y & AI - How Microsoft uses computer vision, image and speech recognition, natural language processing and machine learning to help visually impaired or blind people understand more about who and what is around them. Rory Preddy, Principal Cloud Advocate at Microsoft. Saqib Shaikh, Project Lead for Seeing AI at Microsoft. |
| 11:00-11:30am | Presentation: Mapping Wheelchair Accessibility — The SmartBFA Experience - SmartBFA’s journey in enabling barrier-free access for Singapore. Kai Reuber, Project Lead at SmartBFA. Tan Hwee Xian, Project Lead at SmartBFA. |
| 11:30-12:00pm | Presentation: Advancing Accessibility by NLB - Discover how NLB embraces a user-centred design approach to address various accessibility projects while navigating challenges along the way. Vilashini Subramaniam, Manager (Accessibility), Equaliser Office, National Library Board. |
| 12:00-12:30pm | Networking & Interactive Exhibition: Experience A11y - Curated, hands-on activities to get you started on your digital inclusion journey. Mr Tan Kiat How Senior Minister of State at Ministry of Communications and Information. A11y Team |
| 2:00-5:00pm | Workshop: Co-Creation Lab - An interactive session for digital product teams and end users to collaborate on solutions for specific challenges and opportunities. A11y Team Participation: By invitation only |
| End of Day Two |
Day Three – Friday, May 17
In Collaboration With Apple
Venue: The new South-East Asia Apple Developer Center
| Time | Programme |
|---|---|
| 9:30-10:00am | Registration |
| 10:00-12:00pm | Inclusion Inspires Innovation - Apple’s approach and decision-making process for building inclusive products. * Interactive demos * Discussions * Presentations Featuring David Niemeijer, Founder and CEO of AssistiveWare. Participation: For officers in leadership and management roles |
| 1:30-5:00pm | Designing for Everyone - Apple’s practical design and development considerations for product development. * Technical workshops * Interactive demos * Presentations Featuring David Niemeijer, Founder and CEO of AssistiveWare. Participation: For officers in product management, design and development roles |
| End of A11y Week 2024 |