Accessibility

Open Statement

The open exchange of ideas and the freedom of thought and expression are central to the aims and goals of the AutoUI conference series. The organizers and steering committee of AutoUI aim and commit to providing a harassment-free, accessible, and pleasant conference experience with equity in rights for all. We want every participant to feel welcome, included, and safe at the conference. Moreover, we will do our best to accommodate specific needs such as accessibility, or dietary requirements. We cannot promise to solve every issue, but will try our best.

If you have any other need or inquiry, please email accessibility@auto-ui.org and we will try to accommodate you as best as we can. We will add further accessibility plans in the near future.

Relevant Links

We do not tolerate harassment of conference participants. Harassment includes but is not limited to overt and/or covert acts of:

  • Verbal accusations or bullying
  • Deliberate intimidation, stalking, or following both in person and online
  • Harassing photography or recording
  • Sustained disruption of talks or other events
  • Interference with a person’s participation or opportunity for participation
  • Inappropriate physical contact
  • Unwelcome sexual attention
  • Advocating for, or encouraging, any of the above behaviour

We expect all interactions between AutoUI members to be respectful and constructive, including interactions during the review process, at the conference itself, and on social media. Conference participants violating these rules may be sanctioned or expelled from the conference without a refund at the discretion of the conference organizers. A response that the participant was “just joking,” or “teasing,” or being “playful,” will not be accepted.

If anyone has questions about diversity or inclusion, or if they are the witness of or subject to (potentially) unacceptable behavior, they can get in touch with our diversity co-chairs or the general chairs. If anyone has questions about accessibility issues, they should get in touch with the accessibility co-chairs.

Frequently Asked Questions

HOW DO I COMMUNICATE ACCESSIBILITY NEEDS TO ORGANIZERS?

When you register for the conference, there will be a registration question labeled, "Please tell us if there is anything we can do to ensure your participation is barrier-free. " Please write-in anything that will help make the conference accessible to you. The accessibility chairs will follow up to discuss your needs in more detail. You can contact them directly at any time by emailing accessibility@auto-ui.org.

Are the conference technologies accessible?

AutoUI 2021 will be a virtual conference and we will be using the following online meeting venues:

vFairs:
Main venue for virtual conferencing will be vFairs. You can find accessibility information page of vFairs here: https://www.vfairs.com/vfairs-redefining-accessibility-virtual-events/.

Zoom:
Paper and Poster Sessions, Video Demos, Workshops and Doctoral Colloquium will be held in Zoom. When using Zoom, we encourage you to turn on video to help lip-reading (a virtual background can be used for privacy). Zoom supports a range of keyboard shortcuts, supports screen reader alerts, and automatic live captioning. If you request sign language interpretation, interpreters can join Zoom sessions that you will be in. Please see the following page for more information about Zoom’s accessibility support: https://zoom.us/accessibility If you request CART service, this will be provided in a separate stream (which can reduce delays).

Wonder:
We will use Wonder for Socialising/networking and Meet the experts sessions.

 

Will sign language/captioning available?

The video presentations will be accompanied by the author-provided captions. For synchronous sessions (e.g., presentation Q&A), automatically generated closed captions will be provided by default on Zoom.

Will there be a chance to try the video conferencing and other technologies in advance of the conference?

Yes, if you would like early access and an introductory tour of any of the conference technologies, please reach out to the accessibility chairs on accessibility@auto-ui.org.

Will talks be pre-recorded?

All presenters were requested to pre-record their talks and to provide subtitles. If you are a presenter and require assistance with your recording (e.g. someone to voice the talk for you), please reach out to the accessibility chairs on accessibility@auto-ui.org.

Is there a detailed agenda with direct links?

The conference agenda will be made available to registered participants over vFairs. The agenda will contain direct links to each session or event. Once you sign in to (link to be posted soon), you can find the program in the following page:  (link to be posted soon)

During the conference, at least one member of Accessibility Chairs or Student Volunteers will be at the Accessibility Helpdesk. Please contact the accessibility chairs on accessibility@auto-ui.org and we will respond as soon as we can.

Will talks be available in advance?

Yes, all prerecorded contents are available to registered participants on the vFairs platform.

Can someone assist me with my online presentation/ participation?

If you would benefit from assistance in giving your presentation or handling questions, please reach out to the accessibility chairs to make arrangements (accessibility@auto-ui.org).

Will presenters be visible?

Presenters and speakers are requested to be visible and use video when presenting to help lip-reading and non-native speakers. If this may not be possible for all speakers, we provide available captions as a fall-back for all pre-recorded presentations. If you could only rely on captions please indicate this in your conference registration or reach out directly to the accessibility chairs via accessibility@auto-ui.org. 

How will the conference sessions be run?

All participants are encouraged to use video and be visible when speaking to help with lip-reading and non-native speakers. Audience members will have the ability to turn captions on and off.

Conference sessions will have a professional moderator. Auto captioning in Zoom is applied to provide real time captions. If you have any needs for a human captioner and sign language interpreter, please contact accessibility co-chairs on accessibility@auto-ui.org in advance. 

Will live sessions be recorded?

We anticipate that the live presentation sessions will be recorded and available later on a video streaming platform.

Who should I contact if I have an access problem during the event?

We will provide primary support before and during the conference. You may also need to contact the accessibility co-chairs on accessibility@auto-ui.org in advance for private needs.

I have another question

If you have other questions about the accessibility of AutoUI 2021, please contact the accessibility co-chairs on accessibility@auto-ui.org.