Accessibility at Future Decoded 2018

#FutureDecoded 2018 will live for a long time in my memory. As per usual, it was best summed up by a true friend and colleague, Saqib Shaikh in his tweet, "I remember when this [ #accessibility ] was a niche topic."

Image Description: Screenshot of Twitter post from Saqib - Proud Moment at the Future Decoded keynote this morning. Satya Nadella, Jenny Lay-Flurrie and Esther McVey talking about accessibility to 5000 partners and customers.

The Day Two keynotes began with CEO Satya Nadella discussing the impact of AI ethically and how it is landing in real terms with our customers. It was, therefore, fitting that our Chief Accessibility Officer, Jenny Lay-Flurrie followed on stage to show the real life impact examples such as Presentation Translator, Auto Alt-Text and PowerPoint Designer. It was great that we were able to speak to such a huge audience on design principles that include people with disabilities at the start, and the beauty that this often delivers.

There are three pillars to our approach – the first is culture. If you have talent with disability in the fabric of your environment, you will produce better products.

Image description - Jenny Lay-Flurrie on stage in front of large Microsoft logo.

We were honoured to have Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Esther McVey MP, follow Jenny on stage. Microsoft UK are proud to sit on the Disability Confident Business Leaders Group, sharing our expertise in this space. If we are going to challenge the misconceptions around disability hiring and deliver digital transformation that matters, then we will need the support of government and the audience they can build through Disability Confident to aspire to greater representation and support of people with disabilities, both as employees and as customers. Secretary of State celebrated two years of the scheme now being in place. We aim to increasingly support it as a platform to share successes.

Technology is the great equaliser for people

Image Description: Esther McVey MP on stage imploring the audience.

In the Expo, all of our exhibition booths had ramp access and raised edges to help with both wheelchair access and for people using canes for navigation. Braille books were available on many of the booths. Headphones were available in the lecture theatre presentations to ensure that everyone could hear. Captions were everywhere I could see, provided by CJ Captioning....even the green room!

Image Description: Transparent braille book hanging on pink string

Image Description: Secretary of State Esther McVey watching Satya Nadella keynote in green room with captions below.

 The Diversity and Tech lounge delivered demos of accessibility features such as Learning Tools and were there to discuss how people with disabilities engage in our Employee Resource Groups at Microsoft. The aim here was really to explore how #culture must go alongside #assistivetechnology if we are going to make an impact. It was encouraging to watch some of our interns talk so confidently about accessibility. If we can catch people at the start of their careers we will surely make a difference. It was great to see them appearing on BBC Click at the weekend showing off Seeing AI.

Image Description: Diversity and Tech lounge. An enthusiastic group of Microsoft employees smile to camera in front of sign - 10 behaviours for inclusion

Image Description: Spencer Kelly trying out face recognition in Seeing AI, flanked by Microsoft staff.

Our Partners also delivered a great Accessibility experience in their booths and during theatre sessions, specifically delivered by the great teams at GCI and Transparity. Both companies have signed up to the DWP Disability Confident scheme and are committed to proactively delivering our accessibility solutions to customers. This is going to be a critical channel for Microsoft as we aim to empower people at scale. If we can make accessibility a standard conversation in every customer engagement we will make a huge difference to the discovery of features that we build into Office 365, Dynamics 365 and Windows 10.

Image Description: A selection of Microsoft Partners meet with Jenny Lay-Flurrie. Group shot smiling to camera

I was personally delighted to present, once again, with Neil Milliken, Head of Accessibility at Atos. Our session focussed on "Building an Inclusive Workplace" exploring the key areas of representation, inclusive design, accessible authoring, third party AT support and much more. I learn something new every time I present with Neil. He is a true champion of the cause and broaches the subject with a huge amount of humour as he discusses his work life experiences with dyslexia. You will be able to watch the session on demand shortly. I recommend you take a look when the video becomes available or download the presentation by clicking the photo below.

Image Description: Hector and Neil stand on the Microsoft podium ahead of their session

Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to the Leadership Team at Microsoft UK and the Events Team for Future Decoded. There are so many competing subjects in a company the size of Microsoft, but Cindy Rose, CEO and her team have fully embraced accessibility and inclusion as core to our mission. We need to live it, expand on it and make it matter as a core value of how Microsoft empowers every person on the planet to achieve more. This Future Decoded, supported by an incredible event and venue crew, has grown in its support every year. The Future is bright. The Future is Accessibility Decoded!

Image Description: Cindy Rose on Future Decoded live talking about Jenny and Esther keynotes

Image Description: Cartoon of Jenny Lay-Flurrie Keynote. Slogans include; This is Big, It impacts us all, Hackathons are powerful, Accessibility is a Differentiator

Image Description: Jenny and Hector on stage at keynote.....grinning