• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

Minnesota Council On Disability

Your Policy, Training and Technical Resource

Search

  • About
    • About MCD
    • Additional Information
    • Annual Agency Reports
    • Governing Council
    • Our Mission
    • Staff
    • Statute and Responsibilities
  • Blog and News
    • Blog
    • News
  • Public Policy
    • About Our Public Policy
    • Bill Tracking
    • Engaging with Government
    • Legislative Updates
    • Public Policy Agenda
  • Technical Assistance
    • Access for Businesses
    • Accessible Housing
    • Digital Accessibility
    • Disability Parking
    • Emergency Preparedness
    • Employment
    • Laws and Regulations
    • Service Animals
    • Snow Removal
    • Training
    • Transportation
    • Voting
  • Events and Outreach
    • Community Outreach
    • MCD Events
  • Additional Resources
  • RDAC
  • Contact Us
You are here: Home / Blog / GAAD 2022: Remote and Hybrid Meetings

GAAD 2022: Remote and Hybrid Meetings

May 17, 2022

Global Accessibility Awareness Day logoMay 19, 2022 is Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD), a day to consider how people with disabilities interact with technology and the digital environment.

As the COVID-19 pandemic recedes, at least in public consciousness, many people are eager to return to their “normal” day-to-day lives. For many that means a return to the office and a return to in-person gatherings and events.

In the spirit of Global Accessibility Awareness Day, we should not let our eagerness to return to the way things were cause us to forget the value of remote, and now hybrid, meetings.

Remote meetings enabled millions of people to continue working, learning, and connecting with friends and family when they couldn’t leave their homes. And that same enabling power can still benefit people with disabilities, providing opportunities for engagement.

Here are some tips for hosting accessible remote meetings.

Plan for Accessibility from the Beginning

  • Know your audience
    • Offer means of requesting reasonable accommodations prior to the meeting
    • Consider offering regular accommodations at every meeting, such as CART (Communications Access Realtime Translation)
  • Know your platform
    • Choose an accessible meeting platform
    • Test the features yourself or use a trusted third party
    • Provide instructions for the most-used accessibility features
    • If there are barriers to access, supply workarounds if possible
    • Test your connection, video camera, and microphone prior to the meeting
  • Know your materials
    • Be able to present your materials through verbal descriptions
    • Anticipate questions from the audience
    • Work your answers into the presentation or allow for questions and answers
    • Provide materials in an accessible format

Hosting an Accessible Meeting

  • Divide hosting duties into multiple roles
    • No one person can do it all
    • At minimum:
      • Host
      • Presenter(s)
      • Chat moderator
    • Establish protocols for audience participation
      • Offer multiple means to participate
      • Make room to convey these responses to the entire group
    • Maintain order in the meeting
      • Ask that people mute when not speaking
      • Allow only one person to speak at a time
      • Ask that people identify themselves before they speak
      • Monitor the time to balance the presentation with participation.

Here are three more resources for holding accessible remote and hybrid meetings:

  • Accessible Remote Meetings Intro
  • Remote Meeting Guide
  • Integrating Local and Remote Meeting Participants (PDF)

Footer

Find Us

Minnesota Council on Disability (MCD)
1600 University Avenue W, Suite 8
Saint Paul, MN 55104

For accommodation requests, including requesting any document on this website in an alternative format, visit our ADA Title II page.

Contact Us

Phone: 651-361-7800 (VRS)
Toll-free: 1-800-945-8913 (VRS)
Fax: 651-296-5935

Email: council.disability@state.mn.us

Stay Connected

Sign up for the latest MCD news and updates sent to your inbox.

Follow Us

MCD on Facebook MCD on Twitter MCD on YouTube

Accessibility of Our Site · Privacy Notice · Site Map
© 2023 · Minnesota Council On Disability. All rights reserved. · Built by Westwords