Accessibility in the Real World: Insights from a Physically Challenged Contributor

Speaker: Chirag Sukhala

Track: Community, diversity, local outreach and social context

Type: BoF (45 minutes)

This BoF is a space to openly discuss real-world accessibility challenges and opportunities within the Debian community—both in software and at our events.

As a physically challenged contributor and repeat DebConf attendee, I’ll start by sharing a few personal experiences—what has worked well, what hasn’t, and what still needs attention, from both technical tools and physical environments.

But more importantly, I’d like to hear from you—contributors, organizers, developers, designers—about:

Accessibility issues you’ve encountered or observed.

Ways we can improve inclusion in packaging tools, web services, or community spaces.

How we can make DebConf and Debian events more accessible in practical, sustainable ways.

What’s missing in our documentation, infrastructure, or onboarding that could help more contributors feel welcome?

You don’t need to be an expert—just come with an open mind and ideas. The goal is to learn from each other, identify low-hanging improvements, and maybe even start forming a group to track accessibility improvements in Debian long-term.