Call for Papers

Save the dates April 2-4, 2017 for the 14th International Web for All Conference. W4A’17, will convene in Perth, Western Australia (www.w4a.info/) co-located with the 26th International World Wide Web Conference . Deadline for all submissions is January 6, 2017. This year, over $AUD 23,000 is available in travel scholarships and awards.

The 2017 theme is “The Future of Accessible Work.” Inclusive work environments have the potential to greatly improve the ability of people to obtain and maintain meaningful employment, despite disabilities or other impairments. Organisations and employers are also embracing the benefits of being more inclusive in their human resource management. More flexible working arrangements — such as telecommuting for remote employees, better access to remote work technologies, access to better data platforms, and employees using their own devices (BYOD) — are just a few of the possibilities that employers are exploring.

Creating an inclusive work environment could include developing new accessible technologies usable by people with and without disabilities; improving the way existing technologies are deployed; ensuring that staff embrace an inclusive culture in the workplace; and of course, understanding the needs of people with disabilities in the workforce. We can work towards implementing more functional Intranet and public-facing websites, and developing applications that are more inclusive and enable people with disabilities to participate more easily.

We particularly welcome submissions that address, but are not limited to, the following topics.

Using social media in the workplace in an accessible manner that enhances inclusivity
Harnessing the power of Intranets to enable a more productive experience for people with and without disabilities
Accessible productivity tools
Creating adaptable work environments
Accessible web-based data analysis
Access to collaborative online work environments including:
- Accessible synchronous communication for distributed teams,
- Inclusive conferencing technologies
- Connectivity that enables people with and without disabilities to work off site

Web-based assistive technologies that enable more employees to participate
Access to employment records and human resource management
Implementing effective strategy, policy and processes for workplace accessibility
Eliminating workplace barriers
Benefits of workforce diversity
Creating more inclusive documents and authoring tools
Education and training in digital inclusion

Our Keynote speakers will be announced shortly, keep an eye on the website for further details.

Submit 10-page technical or 4-page communication papers detailing engineering solutions and scientific insights into Web and Mobile technologies addressing diverse user needs. Submission of early work with promising results is encouraged. Submit 2-page extended abstracts to enter the Paciello Group Web Accessibility Challenge and the Google Doctoral Consortium competition.

Intuit will award $2000 and $1000 to the best technical and communication papers. Google will sponsor the Doctoral Consortium; and Intuit and will sponsor student participation in W4A. IBM will provide travel grants to the winners of the People with Disabilities Student Award. The Paciello Group will give out the Judges’ and Delegates’ awards to the winners of the Accessibility Challenge.

Important dates: Midnight UTC-8 (PST)