Digital accessibility through a change of perspective
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From tester to game-changer
Who is speaking?
Speakers
Experts from the professional world, academia, public authorities and the technology sector – united by a common goal: digital accessibility for all.
Prof. Dr Erdmuthe Meyer zu Bexten
Patron & Speaker
Representative of the Hessian State Government for Accessible IT and Digital Inclusion · Head of LBIT – State Competence Centre for Accessible IT
Computer scientist and Professor of Applied Computer Science at the Technical University of Central Hesse (THM). Since 2018, she has served as the State Commissioner for Accessible IT for the State of Hesse at the Giessen Regional Council. She advocates for digital accessibility and supports public bodies in implementing accessible websites and documents.
Saliya Kahawatte
Moderation
Keynote speaker · Author · Coach · Saliya Foundation e.V.
At the age of 15, Saliya Kahawatte lost most of his sight due to a detached retina. His autobiography, *My Blind Date with Life*, has been made into a film. Today, he works as a speaker, coach and founder of the Saliya Foundation e.V., promoting inclusion and a change of perspective.
Gerhard Kühne
Keynote
Creative Lead for Digital Experiences, OTTO GmbH & Co KG
Gerhard Kühne sees accessibility as an integral part of genuine product responsibility and advocates for design as a strategic problem-solving tool. He is the author of the book *How to Solve Problems with Design*.
Alexander Pfingstl
Speaker
Digital Accessibility Specialist, BFIT-Bund
Consultant and tester for digital accessibility at the Federal Monitoring Agency for Accessibility of Information Technology (BFIT-Bund) since 2020. Expert in WCAG, PDF/UA and EN 301 549.
Alexandra Frey
speaker
IAAP-CPACC-certified digital accessibility consultant
Consultant, trainer and speaker on digital accessibility. With dual certification – IAAP-CPACC and the ‘Accessible Teaching’ Knowledge Badge – she provides practical support to companies and organisations in implementing digital accessibility.
Alexa Wunn
speaker
Accessibility Expert, Accessibility Competence Centre · Materna Information & Communications SE
Expert in digital accessibility, specialising in testing, consultancy and training. Specialises in self-service terminals in the public transport sector and the requirements of the Accessibility Enhancement Act (BFSG). Further training at Stuttgart Media University.
Bianca Lißner
speaker
Accessibility Expert, Accessibility Competence Centre · Materna Information & Communications SE
Together with Alexa Wunn, Bianca Lißner tests and assesses the accessibility of user terminals in the public transport sector. Her focus is on the practical implementation of legal requirements under the BFSG and EN 301 549 in real-world scenarios.
Patrick Foster
Speaker
Senior Software Developer, axes4
Responsible for the further development of innovative solutions for accessible documents at axes4, including axesFlip. Co-developer of the PDF Accessibility Checker PAC 2026 – one of the leading tools for AI-assisted manual accessibility checks of PDF documents.
Johannes Wigand
Speaker
CEO and Co-Founder, livevoice.io
Johannes Wigand is the CEO and co-founder of LiveVoice, a technology platform for live translation at events. Since 2019, he has been making international events accessible across languages – digitally and at scale. Prior to this, he worked as Digital Channel Manager at Red Bull, among other roles.
Rainer Brell
panel participants
Blind developer, programmer & NVDA expert
Rainer Brell is a blind software developer and NVDA specialist at the Würzburg Vocational Training Centre. As an experienced programmer, he brings practical technical expertise to the role – and personally demonstrates what he develops: accessible entry to the digital world.
He plays a key role in the “NVDA Nachhaltig” project – a collaboration between the BFW Würzburg and the DBSV, funded by Aktion Mensch.