Today in STC's Notebook blog we introduce a new regular feature: The Spotlight. Alternating between SIGs, Chapters, and CVPs, the Spotlight will consist of a series of questions—some informative, some entertaining, and others pure nonsense—that help readers get to know the STC community better. In the first installment today, we put a spotlight on the AccessAbility SIG, with answers by co-manager Karen Mardahl.
When did the AccessAbility SIG originate?
In 1997 at the conference in Anaheim. The SIG was called the Special Needs Committee back then, and its first meeting was at the 45th STC Annual Conference in Cincinnati. Judith Skinner, founding member, presented the story of the early years at the 2002 conference in Orlando.
Number of members?
160-plus with many loyal members who have been with us since the beginning.
Leadership?
The SIG co-managers are Karen Mardahl and Lori Gillen. The Treasurer is Carolyn Watt. Cynthia Lockley is the awesome Web Diva for our SIG (and for the Washington, DC chapter as well.) Lori and Carolyn are STC Associate Fellows, and Cynthia is an STC Fellow. (A call for a nomination committee will go out before the end of the year so we can plan elections, which are slightly overdue. Members eager to take a more active role in the SIG will soon have that chance.)
One-sentence purpose?
The AccessAbility SIG serves as an advocate for people with disabilities, providing resources and information to support technical communicators with disabilities, to help technical communicators make the products they create accessible to end users with disabilities, and to promote strategic leadership within and beyond the Society.
Who should join your SIG?
Everyone! We're not a “Disability SIG” as we were once described. … We tossed the “dis” a long time ago. Web standards, “plain language,” policy and procedure writing, teaching, content strategy, information design and architecture, usability—these areas and more involve accessibility to some degree.
How can I find out more?
Read about a “universal human experience,” check out our blog, follow us on Twitter, or join our LinkedIn group. Join us when you renew your STC membership!
What's the best kept secret about your SIG?
The STC conference accessibility guide! We have prepared an accessibility guide for the conference for the past eight years, all thanks to the efforts of Fabien Vais. This guide was originally written “to show how clear communication (and advance notice) about conference facilities can make a conference experience very enjoyable” for attendees with disabilities. The “attendees with disabilities” soon proved to be “all attendees.” All STC gatherings are encouraged to follow our example even before we finish the template; just copy our previous guides. Members are also encouraged to promote these ideas at other conferences they attend or at conferences run by their companies.
If you had to pick one, what would your SIGnature (haha) cocktail be?
I will apply the concept of “universal access” and say that everyone has the right to their own SIGnature cocktail. (My personal preference? The water of life, or uisge beatha, the best being Ardbeg single malt whisky.)
What superhero would probably be a member of your SIG and why?
All superheroes would be members of our SIG. Seriously, they'd all love to join. They “right wrongs.” So do we. Long-lasting, lonely, uphill struggles are routine for superheroes. They'll join our SIG and feel at home right away. (By the way, most of our members are superheroes. It's a natural transmogrification that takes place shortly after you join the SIG.)
Hollywood makes a movie about your SIG. What would the genre and title be and why?
Bollywood beat them to it. Shadow is an action film starring Nasser Khan. He's the hero, and there's lots of dancing and action. But Khan is blind. He dances (of course), and he did his own stunts. The title Shadow symbolizes how accessibility issues are often hidden in the shadows and ignored. Our SIG can change that. We can bring accessibility out of the shadows and into the spotlight to stand alongside what is traditionally thought of as technical communication. Movies are just stories, and we love telling stories. A blind stuntman/actor? A deaf percussionist? An award-winning deaf/blind technical communicator? What's the next story?