Video: TPAC 2025 interviews: diversity and inclusion

Transcript

What inclusion and diversity mean to you?

It means involving
all the stakeholders and bringing everybody to the room.
Diversity is acknowledging that the world is full of all kinds of people.
Diversity is bringing as many voices you can at the table.
So that means, different backgrounds, different cultures,
different languages.
And that takes me to inclusion
because we want the benefit of everybody's abilities.
Accessibility is more about making things usable.
Inclusion is not about what people can't do.
It's about what people can do.
We want to make it possible for a deaf man named Beethoven
to make music for the rest of us.
And that's why it's so important
to think about both of them together, because it's more about
finding a balance and bring them together at the beginning and not at the end.

Why diversity and inclusion are important for W3C?

We have a technology
that actually can facilitate inclusion.
When we're talking about the World Wide Web,
we have to be worldwide and we have to think globally.
Including everyone from different parts of the world,
will be very beneficial
as you will get a different perspective.
Because world is so diverse.
This is the leading edge.
We are creating things.
We are facilitating participation.
And people with disabilities,
make up vastly different experiences around the world.
And diversity is going to be key to solving challenges
that come from advances in technology.
And including
every voice will really ensure that we get the best solutions out there.
Accessibility should be considered at every stage.
It's not like after development
You’ll have to start thinking about it.
But, with the horizontal process review,
we can start thinking of very early
regarding accessibility.
Also because, the information nowadays
is the most powerful tool that any kind of person can have.
And knowledge is even more important.
So we should create like a safe space for everybody
in any kind of place of the word is a huge challenge
by is also the beauty of being part of W3C.

What is your main takeaway for this TPAC?

The first take away is participate more,
connect more and communicate more.
From this TPAC as always,
it's meeting yet more people.
The way you participate, you communicate, you connect with everyone.
You get to know more, explore and experience everything
and that's where your thinking process changes.
Building relationships with individuals that I can work with into the future.
It's wonderful that we have remote telecommunications and we get together
and talk to each other over the year, but there's nothing like meeting in person.
There's nothing like building personal relationships.
TPAC is the place where everything come together.
I think my main takeaway is the challenge of including
more of the global South.
So everyone is here.
You can talk.
You can physically see people.
And that's the beauty of TPAC.