CHI’26 Meetup: Disability, Differences, and Diversity: Revisiting Inclusive Design and Access

16th April, 2026 | 16:30 – 18:00 | Barcelona

About the Meetup

Over 1.3 billion people worldwide live with long-term disabilities, yet many still face systemic exclusion despite advances in accessibility policy and technology. New regulations such as the EU Accessibility Act demand comprehensive transitions, but compliance risks becoming a superficial “checklist” exercise rather than fostering meaningful inclusion. For the HCI community, this moment calls for rethinking our approaches to participation, technology, ethics, and policy. In this meetup, we bring together researchers, practitioners, and advocates to revisit inclusive design through four themes: rethinking inclusive methodologies, disentangling technological challenges, unpacking ethical implications, and navigating policy opportunities. Through interactive mapping activities, participants will share practices, identify collaboration opportunities, and co-develop future directions. Our goal is to build cross-disciplinary connections and create actionable approaches that move beyond compliance toward holistic inclusion, ensuring that accessibility remains central to HCI research and practice.

Organizing Team

Himanshu Verma, Delft University of Technology, Netherlands
Giulia Barbareschi, University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany
Sophia Ppali, CYENS Centre of Excellence, Cyprus
Kathrin Gerling, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany
Maartje De Meulder, University of Applied Sciences Utrecht, Netherlands
Judith Good, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands
Jatinder Singh, University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany
Katta Spiel, TU Wien, Austria
Abdallah El Ali, Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica and Utrecht University, Netherlands
Marios Constantinides, CYENS Centre of Excellence, Cyprus
Maristella Matera, Politecnico di Milano, Italy
Monica Perusquia-Hernandez, Nara Institute of Science and Technology, Japan
Hamed Alavi, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands
Pablo Cesar, Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica, Netherlands
Alessandro Bozzon, Delft University of Technology, Netherlands

Meetup Program

Coming soon!