Free Webinar

Leading the Way: Businesses and the European Accessibility Act

Live Webinar

November 19, 15:00 - 17:00 (CET)

“Leading the Way: Businesses and the European Accessibility Act (EAA),” will be broadcasting live from the Hague on Tuesday, 19 November, 2024.

Our experts for this very special webinar include:

Ingrid Thijssen, President, VNO-NCW (Confederation of Netherlands Industry)
Matthew Luken, VP and Principal Strategy Consultant, Deque
Eric Velleman, Professor Inclusive Digital Design and Engineering, HAN University of Applied Sciences
Larissa Klaassen, track cyclist, Paralympic champion, accessibility expert, Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences
Mohamed Nabih, Portfolio Manager, MKB-Nederland

In front of a live audience, presenters will discuss how to prepare for and thrive under the EAA and share insights into how your business can:

Transform to be more inclusive.
Open up new market opportunities through EAA compliance.
Improve user experience with accessible digital products and services.
Avoid expensive fines and other legal risks.

All organizations doing business in the EU, regardless of location, will be impacted by the EAA. This webinar is designed to help you prepare your organization to become and stay compliant.

We’ll reserve 15 minutes at the end for a live Q&A. The webinar will be recorded and sent to all registrants.

Real-world insights from Nestlé

As a featured part of this event, Antonella Severo (Product Manager) and Sarah Mens-Escalas (DTC and Brand Websites Lead) from Nestlé will showcase the steps their organization has taken to achieve EAA compliance.

The event is a collaboration between VNO-NCW (Confederation of Netherlands Industry), AccessibleEU (initiatives proposed by the European Commission Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities), and Deque.

Deque is the digital accessibility leader helping organizations become and stay accessible with the world’s best tools, services, and training.

About the Presenters

Ingrid Thijssen

Chair of VNO-NCW

Ingrid Thijssen (1968) took up the position of President of VNO-NCW, the Confederation of Netherlands’ Industry and Employers, on September 15th, 2020. Prior to her appointment as President of VNO-NCW, Ingrid Thijssen was CEO of the electricity network company Alliander. In that capacity she was also a member of the Executive Board of VNO- NCW.

Matthew Luken

VP and Principal Strategy Consultant

has extensive experience in supporting large and international companies with organizational issues surrounding accessibility. He will explain how inclusion is an organizational challenge at its core and how companies can tackle this effectively.

Eric Velleman

Lecturer in Digital Design and Engineering

Eric is a lecturer in Digital Design and Engineering at HAN University of Applied Sciences and one of the pioneers in the field of digital accessibility in Europe. He will also explain on behalf of AccessibleEU what the European Accessibility Act entails and what impact this legislation has on businesses.

Antonella Severo

Product Manager, WebCMS, Marketing, Sales & Business

Part of the Nestlé Global Marketing Team, Antonella will talk about how they integrate accessibility issues into their business operations and what steps they have taken to comply with the EAA.

Sarah Mens-Escalas

Direct-to-Consumer & Brand Websites Lead

Part of the Global Marketing team at Nestlé Sarah will talk with Antonella about how they integrate accessibility issues into their business operations and what steps they have taken to comply with the EAA.

Larissa Klaassen

Paralympic track cyclist, accessibility expert at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences

Larissa has won many prizes as a track cyclist, including Paralympic gold in Tokyo. She is active in equestrian sports and works as a digital accessibility consultant. She shares her experiences with her visual impairment and discusses the obstacles she encounters in her daily life.

Mohamed Nabih

Event Owner

Mohammed is the initiator of this event and project leader digital accessibility on behalf of VNO-NCW & MKB-Nederland. He concludes with a round through the room and discusses a number of practical matters.