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By Craig Leroux, Senior Communications Officer

This year’s series of Accessibility Cafés kicks off Wednesday with a presentation of the soon-to-be-launched Accessibility Hub, a website that will provide a central resource for accessibility matters at Queen’s.

“The Accessibility Cafés have proven to be a popular forum for the Queen’s community to come together and discuss accessibility and building a more inclusive campus community,” says Heidi Penning, Equity Advisor. “Upcoming Cafés will highlight some of the wonderful initiatives happening on campus this year, starting with the Accessibility Hub, which is very exciting.”

The Accessibility Hub is a new website that provides a wealth of information and creates another way for people to engage around accessibility and inclusivity. Andrew Ashby, the Accessibility Hub Coordinator, began developing the website in the summer.

“The Hub will elevate accessibility by bringing together the many resources available to our students, staff, and faculty, as well as visitors to campus,” says Mr. Ashby. “It will also act as an online community where anyone can ask questions and provide suggestions for improving access at the university.”

Ms. Penning, who sees the Hub as an important advance for accessibility at Queen’s, points out its importance in helping the university to meet its obligations under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA).

“As Queen’s continues working to ensure compliance with the AODA, the Hub will help raise the profile of accessibility and help people find the services and resources that might be of useful to them,” says Ms. Penning.

Although the Accessibility Hub is now online, feedback is being sought from the Queen’s community before the site officially launches at the end of October.

“We encourage everyone to come out to the Accessibility Café. We will present the Accessibility Hub and there will be an opportunity to discuss its potential as a tool for promoting a more inclusive, accessible university,” adds Ms. Penning.

The Accessibility Café will be held on Wednesday, Oct. 9 from 11:30 am to 12:30 pm at Speakers’ Corner in Stauffer Library. For those who are not able to attend, feedback on the can be sent by email.