11. Meetings

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11.1. Notification of Meetings.
11.2. Documentation Related to the Proceedings.
11.3. Always Provide Hybrid Option.
11.4. Reasonable Accommodation at Face-to-Face Meetings.
11.5. Reasonable Accommodations at Remote Meetings.
11.6. Introductions in both online and real world meetings.
11.7. Other Interactions at Meetings.

11.1. Notification of Meetings.

Both in terms of general accessibility and reasonable accommodation, a visually impaired person must be aware of any meeting at the same point and time as their non-visually-impaired peers , and where possible, be provided with the same means of accessibly adding it to a digital calendar or other accessible means (of their own preference), by which they can note the date and subject of the meeting.

11.2. Documentation Related to Proceedings.

All material directly pertaining to a meeting, presentation, webinar, or tribunal hearing, should be available well in advance of that meeting in accessible formats. This includes the need for all slides to be available in accessible formats (e.g., accessible Word format), with relevant and useful description of images where images were used in the original slide).

11.3. Always Provide Hybrid Option.

Instead of a meeting being purely “real world”, due regard should always be given to the holding of hybrid meetings rather than purely real world meetings. For several reasons, a visually impaired person may prefer a remote attendance at a meeting, and such preferances should always be respected.

11.4. Reasonable Accommodation at Face-to-Face Meetings.

11.4A. Getting There.
11.4B. At the Venue.
11.4C. Introductions.
11.4D. Where there are Refreshments.
11.4E. Mingling.

11.4A. Getting There.

Where a visually impaired person would prefer to attend in person at real world proceedings, but finds the location of the venue unduly inaccessible to them, due regard should be given to facilitating their attendance, in so far as is practicable, such as organising a taxi for their journey to and from the venue.

11.4B. At the Venue.

On arrival at the venue of real world proceedings, a visually impaired person should be offered the availability of human guidance; and where such assistance might be useful or required, such guidance should be maintained until the safe departure of the visually impaired person (including assistance in finding a taxi, if necessary).

11.4C. Introductions.

Before a meeting begins, each person should introduce themselves. In this way, a visually impaired person will know who is there. If anyone leaves or joins the meeting while the meeting is taking place, this should be announced. This can be done discretely, as a matter of courtesy to all.

11.4D. Where there are Refreshments.

If there are refreshments before, during, or after the meeting, assistance should be offered to a visually impaired person in acquiring these.

11.4E. Mingling.

A visually impaired person is likely not to be able to make any eye-contact with others, or even to recognise others in a room (either by sight or by recognising their voices).

In the lead-up to a meeting, or during breaks, or during afters, a visually impaired person may want to socialise generally or even just to meet one particular person. Guidance in facilitating such interaction should be offered.

A visually impaired person may be shy and not know anyone, or may just want to keep themselves to themselves. However, to be sure that the visually impaired person is not isolated against their will, organisers of a meeting should ask if the visually impaired person would like company, or visually check from time to time that they are not being left by themselves.

11.5. Reasonable Accommodations at Remote Meetings.

The following reasonable accommodations should be available. We recommend that these provisions be considered as general practice at all remote and hybrid meetings so that a visually impaired person does not have to make specific requests. We should be able to focus wholly on the issues at hand, and not draw unnecessary attention to ourselves by having to ask for reasonable accommodations at meetings we attend. In other words, these recommendations are good universal design.

11.5A. Introductions.
11.5B. Disallowing or limiting the Chat Function.
11.5C. Alternatives to the Raised Hand Function.

11.5A. Introductions.

As with 11.4C, above, a ‘tour of the table’ or roll-call of those present should be made of those directly participating in proceedings.

11.5B. Disallowing or limiting the Chat Function.

Consider Disallowing or limiting the Chat Function
for screenreader users, the chat function can be quite a nuisance.

On a very basic level, if there are many chat messages coming in, the latest message interrupts the previous message on the screenreader, making everything unintelligible to the screenreader user.

Otherwise, the chat message either speaks over a live speaker or presentation, or else, if the screenreader is deactivated, the visually impaired person is denied access to such chat messages.

If a screenreader-user is speaking, a chat message (read aloud by the screenreader), can be a serious distraction.

One might imagine that, at a face-to-face meeting, if some people started swopping notes under the table while someone was speaking, it would be considered rude, and possibly suggest that they are not paying much attention to the current speaker.

Given all of the above, it should be reasonable accommodation for the chat function not to be used at remote meetings, and for all attendants to be made aware off this at the beginning of every meeting, particularly where the organiser is aware that a screenreader-user is in attendance.

Such introductory information should, of course, not mention the visually impaired person directly or indirectly, since the equality is to everyone’s benefit.

11.5C. Alternatives to the Raised Hand Function

A screenreader user may not be able to use the raised hand function without undue hassle, and as such, as reasonable accommodation, they should be able to unmute themselves and verbally raise their hand, so to speak, for instance, by saying their name etc.

Where such a reasonable accommodation has been arrived at, the hosts should be aware that it takes more bravery to be the odd-one-out, and for a verbal hand-raiser to try to pick a time when they would not be interrupting another speaker; and so, from time to time, the screenreader-user should be asked if they wish to contribute. This could involve, for example, asking “would anyone who cannot easily access the raised hand function like to speak?”.

11.6. Introductions in both online and real world meetings.

Having regard to the necessity of verbal introductions as per 8.3.3 and 8.4.4 above, describing how you look at meetings is a waste of time. Also, it tends not to be helpful, and can be cringe-worthy for the subject, as well as for the audience (including for visually impaired people.
https://vvi.ie/describing-how-you-look-at-meetings-is-a-waste-of-time/

11.7. Other Interactions at Meetings.

11.7A. reference to Documents.
11.7B. Presentations.
11.7C. Contributions.

11.7A. reference to Documents.

Visually impaired people may find it unduly difficult to examine any text in detail contemporaneously at a meeting, court setting, or any other such public environment. 

Although Braille documents should always be made available when requested, and some people may be able to produce their own, they may be cumbersome to carry. Otherwise, visually impaired people may rely on screen reading technology to access an electronic document, but even if the screen reader user can use headphones, they are unlikely to be able to read aloud, when using this accessible mode, in the same way that their sighted comparator can read aloud from a print document.

Similarly, we are unlikely to be able to simultaneously scan notes, using a screenreader, while also listening to the live proceedings.

As such, reasonable accommodation should be provided in any way possible. This may include extra effort on the part of the organiser, in conjunction with a visually impaired person, in preparation before the meeting. Further work may be needed, involving the extention of the matter beyond meeting or appearance, and possibly the arrangement of further meetings or appearances to tease through details on the substantive issues being discussed at a meeting.

11.7B. Presentations.

Visually impaired people may have the requisite skills, resources or supports to give excellent ‘presentations’ without having to ask for reasonable accommodations. As such, we should be given the benefit of the doubt, and at least offered the chance to give a presentation, as part of our right to be included as equals rather than being overlooked because of prejudicial preconceptions.

Some of us are comfortable in adhering to the current conventional norms of presentations (e.g., use of slides and visual imagery); but even where this is the case, assistance in putting together the visual presentation may be required as reasonable accommodation. This may also include assistance with changing the visuals as the presentation proceeds.

Others of us may not have the same skills, resources or supports, and where this is the case, we may choose to ‘present’ in ways that play to our own strengths, via alternatives to the current presentational norms. Facilitating such alternatives, on request, should constitute reasonable accommodation, but an organiser might also consider exploring options with a visually impaired person to see what suits us best in the context.

  • As mentioned in the previous subsection, a visually impaired person may find it too onerous to speak from notes (using screenreading technology), and reading from a script in this way is impossible for most. Unless a visually impaired person can read braille or large print, and has the facilities required for their use, we are left with no other choice than to try to rely on memory. This is something our sighted comparitor does not have to contend with.

Furthermore, a visually impaired speaker may have no way of discretely gauging the time and either proportionately spreading out a presentation, or knowing when we have run over time.

Once more, reasonable accommodation is required, and may include some of the following:

  • alternatives to giving a presentation should be offered to a visually impaired person and explored with them. This could involve, for instance, the presentation of the material in documents beforehand, with the organiser going through the document and inviting questions at the meeting.
  • a visually impaired person may be happy for someone else (e.g., the organiser) to present on our behalf, based on our instruction or documentation etc., and assist in the creation of powerpoints etc.
  • if, for whatever reason, a visually impaired person feels they cannot make a presentation in any way, shape, or form, or that getting another to do it on their behalf is not suitable, every effort should be made to ensure that they are not disadvantaged by this situation. For example, other ways could be explored in terms of ascertaining our positions and issues of most relevance to us, with such information being shared with and deliberated on by a committee etc.

11.7C. Contributions.

Where a visually impaired person does not have note-taking facilities (which is the case except where they have enough sight to read notes by pen or laptop, or where they have the use of an electronic braille note-taker), reasonable accommodation should be afforded by allowing them to intervene at the soonest appropriate space when a question or point occurs to them.

Also, within reason, it should be acknowledged in practice that a visually impaired person may not be able to read the visual cues of others (such as facial expressions), at a meeting, and so, inadvertently interrupt when they think a speaker has finished, or otherwise misinterpret a silence as leave to speak. Remote or real-world hand-raising may be a solution to this, but where this is the case, the hand-raising should apply to all present and to all equally. Note also that a visually impaired person may not be able to comfortably use the raised hand function in remote meetings (8.4 above).

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