This Washington State Office of Equity Convening is an exciting opportunity to support state agencies as they co-create with their internal team members, other state agencies, and Washington community members and organizations. Our event fosters sharing and creating innovative approaches around pro-equity and anti-racism (PEAR), Relational Partnerships, systems change in state government, and creating a Washington state that fosters belonging. There is much to be done to create an environment where everyone belongs, and that work requires courage. We’re challenging you - Be Bold. Be Change.

October 15-16, 2024
Yakima Convention Center

Register TODAY!

Hotel & Room Block information.

 Accessibility - 2024 We the People Convening: Be Bold. Be Change. (cvent.com)

Convening Materials

It’s our first year asking all our presenters and speakers to share their slides. For many folks, formatting digital files such as PowerPoints in accessible formats is a new or unfamiliar topic, so we have done our best to ask them for high contrast text, alt text for images, and reading order. We also asked that they choose videos with subtitles.

Accessibility Limitations

Videos

In scenarios where there were no captions available or they were incomplete due to video owner errors, we attempted to fill in the gaps (for example, some of the videos are from news website, and the news website's captions can miss a lot of dialogue). 

We opt for closed captions when possible so people can decide to turn it on or off, but with various file formats and technological limitations, sometimes recordings had "burnt in" captions.

Text and Alt Text

In most cases, we checked text and modified any text that's hard to see, to have better contrast and added alt text to any graphics. In some cases, the presenter/speaker did not design a graphic or video, and we could not alter the graphic, and so we've done our best to provide alt text. For many presenters, it may be one of their first times being asked to submit an accessible PowerPoint. Standards for accessibility at each organization may differ from ours, and we appreciate everyone's efforts as we progress on this journey!

At this time, alt text is available in English and our office staff may use words in other languages in their dialogue.

Technology (Cvent, Zoom, etc)

Additionally, we try our best to research the options on Cvent and maximize existing accessibility features on Cvent and Zoom. Of course, we are sometimes limited by the accessibility functionalities available from the technology companies that make the apps we use for Convening. So please know that if you have concerns to report, that is welcomed at access@equity.wa.gov. 

We are continually advocating with the technology companies about what accessibility issues exist and need to be addressed, and they often ask if we know how many and how users are impacted. We encourage all to do user studies with users of various disabilities and backgrounds. Your feedback helps us document and show the real impact on people.

Access Questions on Registration

We thank you for noting down your access needs in your registration so we can estimate how many people use each of our access services, and it helps us document what needs and requests we receive. In the worst case scenario, if the provider of a service cancels, we will know who to contact and work with you to see what option may work best.

Ask the speaker

If you have questions about any of their content, we encourage you to ask the speaker or presenter, as they are the expert on their presentations. 

We have asked our speakers to describe the most important points on each slide out loud.

We thank our speakers for sharing their work at the 2024 Convening!

Let us know your thoughts and feedback!

Would you attend future Office of Equity events?

Do you have any suggestions? Send to access@equity.wa.gov. 

We are trialing some new approaches to event accessibility, including asking presenters for their files in a PowerPoint format so we can adjust alt text and reading order. We then export to Accessible PDF so that viewers can go through it. Wherever possible, we ask that the text is readable by screen reader (rather than an image of text). 

Did you find this helpful? What would you like to see continue? What would you like to see change, if anything?

Convening Materials - to be updated

*Please note that some materials will not be uploaded if the content owner has not given consent for slides and/or recording to be shared, or wishes to share these at a later time. Other content may be undergoing final checks for spelling with the presenters and will be made available afterwards.

Day 1 - October 15, 2024

Opening Plenary

Townhall

PDF - Opening Plenary and Townhall slides combined - 2024 Annual Convening

Video - Opening Plenary

Video - Townhall

PDF - American Equity and Justice Group

PDF - Circular Resilience Prez

Building an Equity Program

PDF - Building Equity Program presentation 

Building a Culture of Equitable Mindfulness

PDF - Building a Culture of Equitable Mindfulness

Community Advisory Board

PDF - Community Engagement Panel

New Path Forward

PDF - New Path Forward Session

Lost In Translation No More

Lost in Translation No More Jake Garcia Giovani Severino

From Locked Box to Treasure Chest

PDF - SAC Slides - Convening presentation

Model Minority Myth Presentation

PDF - Model Minority Myth Convening Presentation

Day 2 - October 16, 2024

Legislative Affairs Panel Discussion

PDF - Legislative Panel Session 2024 Convening

Youtube link coming soon

Preparing for Innovative Communications

PDF - Preparing for Innovative Communications

Youtube link coming soon

S.P.I.C.E. PEAR Up with Shared Power

PDF - SPICE It up PEAR and Relational partnership

Youtube link coming soon

Equitable Program Outcomes, NiRae Petty, Commerce

PDF - Equitable Program Outcomes Convening

Sovereignty and Partnership: Co-creating through Tribal Consultation

PDF - Sovereignty and Partnership: Co-creating through Tribal Consultation

Video - Sovereignty and Partnership

Community Advisory Board

PDF - CAB Presentation

Community Engagement Maria Fernandez

PPDF - Community Engagement PowerPoint Presentation