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The Road to EU Accessibility Act Readiness: Lessons, Tips and Checklists
12 February @ 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm GMT
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It’s almost here! With the European Accessibility Act (EAA) coming into force in June, publishers across Europe are tackling what compliance really means.
The EAA is full of grey areas, but as publishers make decisions, and lawyers and legislators weigh in, we’re starting to see some common ground on tricky points of confusion.
Join us online on Wednesday 12th February, from 5:00 – 6:00 pm, when our panel of industry professionals from a range of publishers taking big strides towards accessibility and EEA compliance, will share what they have learned.
The session will dig into:
- Where the industry is finding agreement (and where there’s still debate).
- Real-world strategies publishers are using to get ready for the EAA.
- Practical ideas to make sure nothing critical slips through the cracks.
Whether you think you’re on top of it or are still wading through the detail, this is your chance to hear other publishers share their experience and swap tips. You’ll get the hands-on view of what compliance really means and where to focus the precious time we have left.
Can’t make the event date? Catch the recording within 2 weeks of the event start date on the BookMachine Campus membership platform. Sign up after the event here to access!
The Speakers
Leanne Dobson, UX Designer, Frontiers
Leanne Dobson is a UX Designer with expertise in accessibility. She has over 15 years of experience researching, designing and developing websites, platforms and apps and has worked in multi-disciplinary teams across product, technology, development, sales/marketing with a range of different clients. Leanne is also a member of the UK Publishing Accessibility Action Group (PAAG).
Simon Holt, Senior Product Manager, Elsevier
Simon Holt is Senior Product Manager for Content Accessibility at Elsevier, where he leads work making books, journals, video and audio accessible to people with disabilities. As a sight impaired person himself, accessibility is important to him personally as well as professionally. He has worked in scholarly publishing for over 15 years, working with authors and editors, and is involved in several industry initiatives including serving as a Director for the Society of Scholarly Publishing, a member of an Advisory Board for the Royal National Institute for Blind People and as a Trustee for the sight-loss charity MyVision Oxfordshire. He lives in Oxford, UK.
Achim Bosse Chitty, Head of Production at Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Achim Bosse Chitty is a divisional Head of Production at Bloomsbury Publishing Plc. Apart from the traditional production of print products for academic and professional markets, his remit includes the production of content in a variety of digital formats for consumer and non-consumer markets, such as fiction and non-fiction trade eBooks, academic and professional eBooks, and digital platforms for Bloomsbury’s award-winning Digital Resources Division. He is a leading member of the company’s steering groups on accessibility. Achim joined Bloomsbury in 2014 and he has over 20 years of publishing industry experience.

Simon Mellins, digital publishing consultant
Simon Mellins is an independent digital publishing consultant and accessibility specialist.
Having worked in digital publishing for over 15 years, specialising in accessibility for the last 8, Simon has worked across magazine, trade, illustrated, academic and educational publishing. After spending over a decade at Penguin Random House UK where he created and managed their approach to accessibility legislation, he became a consultant helping publishers of all sizes in this key moment of change. He also works with several publishing sector technology vendors, and contributes to key industry groups. He is a co-founder of the Publishing Accessibility Action Group (PAAG), an editorial board member at BookMachine and host of The Digital Publishing Podcast. His website is simonmellins.com.