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Short notice alert! This morning I just got a press release for a really cool looking event. I wanted to pass along the details. That’s not because most people I know can go to the Lights! Camera! Access! 2.0 event in New York City but mostly because I want people to know that disability is a hot, legitimate, worthwhile topic when we’re looking at media, entertainment, gaming, social media, and technology in general. And you actually can attend one session as long as you’re online. Today, July 13th at 10:00 am Pacific time, the Think Tank’s keynote address will be live streamed. Here’s more about this event in their own words (but tightened up by me because their writing is not cognitively accessible).
Lights! Camera! Access! 2.0 Think Tanks are Monday, July 13th and Tuesday, July 14th. The event honors the 25th anniversary of the ADA, and it’s part of the official NYC ADA25 celebration. The NYC Mayor’s Office of People with Disabilities, the NYC Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment, EIN SOF Communications, and the Loreen Arbus Foundation have collaborated to bring together these Think Tanks.
Vinton Cerf is the VP and Chief Internet Evangelist at Google. He’s also one of the two founders of the Internet. (That’s not a joke!) If you’d like to enjoy his keynote address and opening session, you can live stream it here: http://abilitylab.nyu.edu/?page_id=422
That’s 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm Eastern Time Zone today!
Some of the other sessions happening include an Opening Plenary called “Disability Narrative Imperative: Nothing About Us Without Us” by Lawrence Carter-Long. He’s a Public Affairs Specialist for the National Council on Disability. Lawrence also happens to be a big-time expert on all things disability in movies.
Later, there’s a “Lightening Round” called Disability-Inclusive Diversity Across Storytelling Platforms. This one looks at everything from documentary films, TV, advertising, and theater to radio, gaming, news, and the Disability Visibility Project. And more! Seriously. There are so many big name people talking about such intense topics around diversity, inclusion, disability access, and media that it’s pretty mind-blowing. I love it because sometimes you can get literally thousands of disabled people together to protest for something related to civil rights and social justice, and the press don’t even mention it. But here we’ve got City government involved, it’s linked to the national ADA25 series of celebrations, and it is chock full of very timely looking topics. One of their big goals is “to increase disability-inclusive diversity employment, improve portrayals, and achieve access to entertainment across media platforms.” There you go!
Click here to watch the opening remarks today!