Call for Papers
W4A 2021 – The 18th International Web for All Conference
Co-located with the 30th International World Wide Web Conference – TheWebConf’21
April 19-20, 2021
Online
http://www.w4a.info/2021/
Submission deadline: January 17, 2021
Due to the ongoing pandemic and the uncertainty surrounding the possibility of traveling during the dates of the conference, W4A’21 will be held virtually on April 19-20, 2021. W4A is the premier venue for web accessibility research and is co-located with the 30th International World Wide Web Conference, TheWebConf’21 (https://www2021.thewebconf.org/).
The conference focuses on all aspects of web accessibility. Areas of general interest include, but are not limited to the following: age, cognition, culture, education, emotions, dexterity, disability, diversity, health, hearing, income, infrastructure, language, learning, literacy, mobility, situation, society, and vision.
ACCESSIBILITY AND CRISIS
We are living extraordinary times – and this year’s theme aims at reflecting just that. A pandemic such as the recent COVID-19 can drastically change the way we interact with each other and with everything that surrounds us. Therefore, ensuring that every individual has access to timely information and usable services is more crucial now than it has ever be.
In times of crisis – including, but not limited to, health emergencies, conflict situations, temporary or chronic pain, natural and man made hazards – traditional, mobile and wearable web technologies can be lifesaving for all. How can they be used to adapt working and learning environments to each user needs quickly and efficiently? What solutions exist to encourage the autonomy and well-being of people with disabilities and older adults in crisis settings? What are the social, financial, cultural or ethical implications of deploying web solutions in times of crisis without accessibility in mind? Can web technologies traditionally targeting people with disabilities be particularly useful for emergency workers? What accessibility solutions exist to mitigate inequality and poverty (e.g. in refugee camps)?
While we encourage authors to contribute to the conference on any of the traditional topics covered at W4A, this year we seek to provide an answer to these and other related questions by particularly welcoming submissions that address web-related challenges and/or solutions associated with the following areas:
- Accessible e-learning and crisis
- Accessible remote work and crisis
- Mobility and security for people with disabilities in emergency settings
- Accessibility and ethics in times of crisis
- Adjustments for accessible communication during crisis (e.g. accessible information and communication technologies
- including social media, learning technologies, authoring technologies, multilingualism)
- Assistive technology and crisis (3D printing, virtual reality, etc.)
- Social interaction and crisis
- Well-being of older adults in times of crisis
But as in every year, don’t be deterred by the theme; all topics related to web accessibility are welcome as are papers dealing with wider aspects of digital accessibility and universal access.
SUBMISSIONS
- Technical Papers: 10-pages (without references) or
- Communication papers: 4-pages (without references)
Each detailing engineering solutions and scientific insights into Web and Mobile technologies addressing diverse user needs. In the interest of reproducibility, authors are encouraged, where possible, to share their code and/or data as a supplementary material accompanying their submission.
- Web Accessibility Challenge: Submit 2-page extended abstracts (http://www.w4a.info/2021/submissions/accessibility-challenge/)
- Doctoral Consortium: Submit 2-page extended abstracts for consideration for inclusion in the Doctoral Consortium (http://www.w4a.info/2021/submissions/doctoral-consortium/).
All submissions will be published in the ACM Digital Library. Instructions for authors will be available on the conference website.
AUTHORS TAKE NOTE: The official publication date is the date the proceedings are made available in the ACM Digital Library. This date may be up to two weeks prior to the first day of your conference. The official publication date affects the deadline for any patent filings related to published work.
New! Authors of selected papers will be invited to submit extended versions of their papers to a special issue of ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing (TACCESS): https://dl.acm.org/journal/taccess
IMPORTANT DATES
- Submission Deadline (Technical Papers, Communication Papers, DC): January 17, 2021
- Accessibility Challenge Deadline: January 27, 2021
- Final Decisions: February 19, 2021
- Camera Ready: February 24, 2021
- Conference: April 19-20, 2021