Access for all: from policy to reality
Lived experience on stage. Practical action in your hands.
Wednesday, 30 September. 10am to 4pm
Venue: The Riverfront Theatre, Newport
One day of powerful personal stories, expert insight and practical tools to help you create more accessible products, services and experiences.
Accessibility is often discussed through policies, standards and compliance. Access for All starts somewhere different: with people.
Hear directly from people whose everyday experiences reveal where products, services and environments work (and where they don't).
Come away inspired, challenged and equipped with practical things you can start doing immediately.
Speakers
Ellie Challis
Ellie Challis is a Paralympics swimmer, winning gold in the 2024 Paralympics.
Ellie was the youngest member of ParalympicsGB in Tokyo where she won a silver medal in the S3 50m backstroke at the age of 17. Three years later at Paris 2024 she converted silver to gold.
Heather Reeve
Owner of Reeve Accessibility Solutions, Heather is an experienced website auditor who actively promotes equal access to information for disabled people and the removal of digital barriers.
Liz Johnson
Liz is a mentor, corporate speaker, athlete, sports commentator and pundit. As the Managing Director and Co-Founder of The Ability People (TAP), she works with organisations to understand and improve their culture and processes, removing barriers that prevent disabled people from being equal in the workplace. Their work helps transform professional opportunities for disabled people while enabling organisations to build more inclusive, effective and authentic brands.
Alex Rosser
Alex Rosser represented Team Wales as a parasport swimmer at the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast, Australia.
The pinnacle of Alex Rosser’s career to date is finishing fourth at the World Para Swimming Series final in Berlin.
Gavin Evans and Mike Taylor
Gavin has been working in the field of accessibility for the last 20 years and is a Director at the Digital Accessibility Centre, working with organisations on a global basis to improve the user experience for individuals with disabilities.
Mike is totally blind and works as Senior Accessibility Analyst and Training Manager at the Digital Accessibility Centre. He brings together professional expertise in digital accessibility with the everyday reality of navigating technology without sight.
Aled Davies
Aled Davies is the Head Coach of Swim Conwy. He is a GB performance coach and has notably coached many champion para-athletes, including Paralympic gold medalist Ellie Challis.
Prof. Harold Thimbleby
Harold is an emeritus professor of computer science at Swansea University. As he gets older, he is becoming increasingly disabled and is campaigning to identify and address problems that others often overlook.
Harold has been an ACM Distinguished Speaker and has presented over 600 debates, talks, keynotes, workshops, and seminars in industry, and at Cambridge, MIT, Oxford, Royal Institution, Royal Society, Stanford, and the House of Lords.
Gemma Helyer
Gemma is a freelance Senior Product Designer specialising in UX, accessibility and complex user journeys.
With 11+ years’ experience across fintech, government and eCommerce, Gemma combines her professional experience with lived experience, including recently discovering that she qualifies for two hearing aids, adding hearing loss to her existing accessibility needs alongside glasses, ADHD, and dyslexia.
Martyn Jones JP DL
Martyn is a Commissioner and Wales Committee Interim Chair at the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
Martyn was the Education, Diversity and Inclusion Manager at South Wales Police and former CEO at Learning Disability Wales and Diverse Cymru. He is Interim Chair of the Wales Committee and served on the Human Rights Commissioner Working Group and Disability Advisory Committee.
This isn't another accessibility conference
More than just another conference, this event will place people with lived experience centre stage, amplifying voices too often excluded from the decisions that affect them every day.
At a time when organisations proudly promote accessibility policies and inclusive values, many disabled people continue to face barriers in employment, education, transport, digital access, healthcare, entertainment, and public life.
This conference aims to confront those uncomfortable truths head-on.
Three promises
Hear it.
Hear from people with lived experience, personal stories and perspectives rarely heard on conference stages.
Understand it.
Beyond tips and tick-boxes. Rich expertise, research and examples that help explain why barriers happen.
Act on it.
Turn insight into action with practical tools and techniques you can start using the very next day.
Who is this for?
Access for All is for anyone who helps shape products, services, organisations and experiences people rely on.
You might be a leader, service owner, designer, developer, researcher, content professional, HR or EDI colleague, policymaker, educator, charity professional or part of a public-sector team.
You might already work in accessibility. You might simply want to understand how to make better decisions, remove barriers and create more inclusive experiences.
You do not need to be an accessibility specialist to attend.
The day is designed to be useful whether you are completely new to accessibility or already have experience in the field. You will hear directly from people with lived experience, learn from accessibility experts and leave with practical ideas, questions and techniques you can start using straight away.
If your work affects people, this conversation is for you.
No accessibility knowledge required
You don't need to know WCAG, work in accessibility or have any previous training. Come curious. Leave with a better understanding of the barriers people experience — and practical ways you can start removing them.
Book your ticket today and be part of a day that moves beyond empathy into real action.
Secure your place today and join us this September for a powerful day of insight, accessibility and action.
Tickets are available via the Newport Live website, or by contacting the box office for purchase order bookings.
What to expect on the day
Access for All starts at 10am, but you are very welcome to arrive beforehand, get comfortable, grab a drink and familiarise yourself with the venue.
The day will include a mix of keynote talks, lived-experience stories, practical demonstrations, panel discussions, questions and conversation. There will also be time between sessions to meet other attendees, speak to speakers and take a break.
We will have a mid-morning break, lunch at around 1:30pm and a mid-afternoon break.
You are welcome to experience the day in the way that works best for you. Please feel free to move around, step outside, take a break or leave and re-enter sessions whenever you need to.
Our aim is to create a relaxed, welcoming environment where people can listen, learn, reflect and leave with practical ideas they can put into action.
Access
We want Access for All to be as accessible and comfortable as we can make it.
The conference will take place in the Studio Theatre on the ground floor of The Riverfront.
All speakers will use a microphone during their sessions. Where audience questions or contributions form part of a session, we will also use microphones so that everyone can hear the conversation.
Presentation materials will be checked for accessibility, including readability, contrast and the way information is presented.
BSL interpretation is not currently scheduled for the event. If you require BSL interpretation in order to attend, please contact us as early as possible so that we can discuss your requirements.
If there is anything else that would help you attend or participate comfortably, please contact us. We cannot promise that every adjustment will be possible, but we will always be happy to discuss what you need.
About the venue
There is ramped access to both the front and rear entrances of The Riverfront.
The ground-floor foyer provides level access to the Studio Theatre, café and toilets. Lift access is also available to other floors.
Wheelchair-accessible spaces are available within the venue.
Assistance dogs are welcome. If you need to discuss any particular arrangements for an assistance dog, please contact the venue or event team before the day.
Sound enhancement
The Riverfront provides sound enhancement through the Mobile Connect app, which can be downloaded in advance from the App Store.
You can listen using your own headphones or connect through a compatible hearing aid. If you would like help setting this up, please arrive a little earlier so that the venue team can assist you.
Toilets and physical access
Toilets, including accessible toilets are available on both the ground and first floors.
Please be aware that the accessible toilets do not have a hoist or changing bed.
If you have particular access requirements and would like to check whether the venue will work for you before booking, please contact us.
Food, conversation and quieter spaces
We know that conferences can be busy environments, so you are always welcome to take time away from the main event.
The Riverfront has a café and seating areas outside the Studio Theatre, as well as an upstairs balcony area where you may be able to find a quieter space.
If you would prefer some fresh air, the venue is also situated beside Newport's riverfront.
Bottled water will be available throughout the day. A light sandwich lunch will be provided, including a range of vegetarian options. Crisps and fruit suitable for vegan and gluten-free diets will also be available.
You are also very welcome to bring your own lunch or visit one of the cafés and food outlets in Newport city centre.
The Riverfront Café inside the venue serves hot and cold drinks, snacks and light refreshments throughout the day.
Getting here
The Riverfront is located at:
The Riverfront Theatre & Arts Centre
Kingsway
Newport
NP20 1HG
The venue is directly opposite Newport Bus Station and approximately a 10-minute walk from Newport railway station.
Parking
The Riverfront does not have a general visitor car park, but there are several pay-and-display car parks nearby, including:
There are two Blue Badge parking spaces at the venue. These cannot be reserved and are available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Blue Badge holders can also be dropped off and picked up immediately outside the entrance. Approach the barriers at the castle end of the building and use the buzzer to request access.
If you are unsure about your journey, parking or access to the venue, please contact us before the event and we will be happy to help.
Help us make accessibility impossible to ignore.
By supporting Access for All, you're helping us bring lived experience onto the stage, create an accessible event and give organisations practical ways to remove barriers.
We're looking for organisations that share our ambition to make products, services and experiences work better for everyone.
Interested in supporting the event? Get in touch to discuss sponsorship and partnership opportunities.