Australian Accessibility Conference Comes to Perth
Australian Accessibility Conference (OZeWAI and PWAC) Comes to Perth
Being held in Perth...
Australian Accessibility Conference (OZeWAI and PWAC) Comes to Perth
Being held in Perth from Tuesday, 11 – Thursday, 13 February 2020, the conference is important for screen practitioners and businesses to improve their access for audiences and inclusion for crew.
In 2020 the Australian Accessibility Conference will bring together the most knowledgeable digital accessibility experts, specialists and researchers from all over the world, as well as leaders in the industry, government and non-profit organisations to explore and support digital inclusion topics and ideas. Screenwest will host a session regarding the necessity of equity and inclusion in film and television and a workshop which will offer participants the chance to listen to a professional audio description of a WA produced short film.
“The OZeWAI conference is a fantastic opportunity to drive conversations within the WA screen industry about increasing audience access to WA produced broadcast content”, explained Simone Flavelle, Diversity Manager at Screenwest.
Session details
Thursday 13 February
Audio Description and Captioning: Luxury or Necessity?
Panel Discussion – 2:30pm – 3:00pm
One of the pressing issues for the screen industry is in the area of audience access. Developing policy to support disability diverse audience members to access broadcast TV and film is great in theory but in practice, how can we resource audio description and captioning?
Professor Katie Ellis and emerging writer/director, Tony Sarre and disability and diversity consultant Zel Iscel talk with Feisty Dame Producer, Tania Chambers about the barriers to full audience access to broadcast and other digital content.
Workshop / audio description of WA short film – 3:00pm – 4:00pm
This workshop offers participants the opportunity to listen to a professionally audio described short film and to create their own ‘off the cuff’ descriptions of locally produced short film, TANGO UNDERPANTS.
It also provides a forum to discuss options when making accessible broadcast content.
Screenwest is committed to a consultative approach and is interested to work with industry to develop short, mid and long-term solutions to access and inclusion.
Conference Details
Dates: 11 – 13 February 2020
Time: 3 day event
Where: VisAbility Perth, The Perron Centre, 61 Kitchener Avenue, Victoria Park, Western Australia
Price: $100 per day or $300 in total
Tickets: Book now on the Australian Accessibility Conference event page.
Screen Industry practitioners are invited to access a special half price tickets for Thursday, 13 February 2020 if they wish to attend the Screenwest sessions only.
Click this link and select a one-day ticket on Thursday, 13 February to have the discount applied.
About the Panelists
Tania Chambers
Managing Director of Feisty Dame Productions, Tania Chambers produced the comedy feature A FEW LESS MEN and the comedic thriller KILL ME THREE TIMES. Tania produced the short film TANGO UNDERPANTS and executive produced the factual series END OF EMPIRE and TURNING POINT, as well as short films ONE FINE DAY, HIGH TIDE, DARK WHISPERS and A SHARED AFFAIR. Tania is a member of Screenwest’s Diversity Leadership Group, the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) and of WIFT Australia (Women in Film and Television), an Honorary Life Member of Women in Film and Television (NSW).
Tony Sarre
Tony Sarre is a Western Australian filmmaker who is legally blind. Tony’s aim is to tell screen stories from a disabled point of view, with a focus on living with blindness. He says that screen practitioners who are disability diverse should have agency, power and control over their lives and how they tell their stories. In 2018, Tony made WORKING DOG which is the first in this series of short films and looks at the relationship between a blind person and their Seeing Eye Dog. Tony is a member of Screenwest’s Diversity Leadership Group.
Katie Ellis
Katie Ellis is Senior Research Fellow and Convenor of the Critical Disability Studies Research Network in the Internet Studies Department at Curtin University, Australia. She has published widely in the area of disability, and digital and networked media, extending across both issues of representation and active possibilities for social inclusion.
About OZeWAI
OZeWAI is the Australian Web Accessibility Initiative, which is a strong and established group of members. OZeWAI is proud to provide a valuable source of information on accessibility issues and ideas to the broader community.
OZeWAI is an association of volunteers working to make the information world more inclusive. It was the first such organisation in Australia and has been a leading initiative in the field for more than 20 years. Many international and high-profile experts have contributed to OZeWAI activities. OZeWAI has introduced many developers and managers to the need for accessibility, the means by which it can be promoted, and a supportive network of concerned practitioners.
PWAC is the Perth Web Accessibility Camp, which has been running since 2013 to educate and inform the West Australian web community about all aspects of digital accessibility. It is run by members of the Perth Web Accessibility Meetup group.
About Screenwest’s Western Australian Screen Industry Diversity Roadmap
In 2016-17, with Screenwest’s support, the Western Australian screen industry undertook a thorough research and consultation process to develop an industry wide diversity strategy. The resultant document is the Western Australian Screen Industry Diversity Roadmap 2017-2023.
The Screenwest Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Plan builds upon this work, affirming Screenwest’s commitment to diversity. The Plan identifies aims, specifies activities to be carried out by Screenwest and is reviewed and updated annually.
What is Diversity and Inclusion?
The Australian Human Rights Commission refers to diversity as the differences that distinguish groups of people from one another. More specifically, as identified in the industry Roadmap and adopted for the Plan, Screenwest recognises diversity as differences in gender; age; Aboriginal identity; cultural and linguistic diversity (CaLD); disability; sexuality and gender identities, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex (LGBTQIA+); location (including regional and remote regions) and socio-economic status.
Contact Screenwest
T: +61 8 6169 2100
E: info@screenwest.com.au
www.screenwest.com.au
www.filminwesternaustralia.com.au
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