Putting accessibility into practice: Helping publishers connect the dots – from The EU Accessibility Act and beyond

Time is swiftly running out to prepare for the EU Accessibility Act (EAA), which comes into full force in June 2025. With the clock ticking, publishing professionals across departments are now needing to come together to dig into processes, check compliance, and create meaningful and lasting impact with our accessibility measures.

A huge amount of work has already taken place across the sector, with organisations such as the UK Publishing Accessibility Action Group (PAAG) and the DAISY Consortium working with the industry to review and revise working practices. But much is still to be done and now is the time to move from information gathering to putting accessibility into practice.

Join us online Wednesday 28th February from 6:00 – 7:00 p.m. (GMT) at the first BookMachine event of 2024, where our panel will discuss how accessibility can be embedded into your organisation across a range of functions – whether you are taking your first steps, or looking for tips for continuing on your journey in the right way.

Our speakers will provide an overview of how colleagues can connect the dots between accessibility efforts, understand where to focus, create traction and adapt (or even develop brand new!) workflows – signposting tools and resources that can help along the way.

There are no shortcuts when it comes to creating lasting change, and ensuring your content can be accessible to a wider number of people. However, this panel will help you to beat the overwhelm and focus on what will make the biggest impact (whatever your role may be), see the industry into the future, and meaningfully contribute towards your EAA compliance in 2025.

The speakers

Richard Orme, Chief Executive at the DAISY Consortium

When teaching in a college more than 30 years ago Richard met a blind student who needed to access the books used on his course. His experiments to adapt these publications for use on early talking computers began a thrilling and varied career in what we now refer to as accessibility.

After holding senior positions in national and international non-profits and software companies, Richard is now Chief Executive of the DAISY Consortium, the global organization whose mission is to develop standards and solutions for accessible publishing and reading. He is a founding member of the UK Publishers Accessibility Action Group, is Vice Chair of the international Accessible Books Consortium (an initiative of the UN agency WIPO) and is a trustee of the charity Warwickshire Vision Support. He volunteers in his community providing technical support for people with disabilities.

Ken Jones, Founder, Circular Software

Ken Jones is a publishing software expert with over ten years experience as Technical Production Manager, software trainer and developer at Penguin Group UK. He is the mastermind behind Circular Software, which offers workflow advice, software tools and training to publishers including Hachette, Pan Macmillan, Quarto Group and Thames & Hudson to improve how they produce their print and digital books.

Stacy Scott, Head of Accessibility, Taylor & Francis Group

Stacy has been professionally involved in the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) education sector for almost fifteen years. Stacy has been a University advisor, Project Consultant at the International Council for Education of People with Visual Impairment (ICEVI/DAISY), Programme Development Officer at Sightsavers.

She spent seven years at the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) as Bookshare and Publisher Relationship Manager and is Chair at of the Publishing Accessibility Action Group (PAAG). As a blind Mathematics graduate, she has both a personal and professional vantage point from which to understand the challenges faced by learners with a print-disability.

Simon Mellins, Accessible Publishing Specialist

Simon is a digital publishing and accessiblity specialist with a particular interest in standards development and helping organisations manage accessibility transformation and develop ambitious yet practicable workflows.

He has worked in digital publishing for over 15 years, including in magazines, journals and ebooks. His last role was Ebook Technology Coordinator at Penguin Random House UK, where he looked after ebook specifications, documentation and education, with a special focus on accessibility. Simon was also involved in the foundation of the UK Publishing Accessibility Action Group (PAAG) and sits on multiple W3C Community Groups.