The provision of accessibility services for live events is gaining prominence throughout the world. It is a vibrant and dynamic domain, replete with innovative approaches. Unlimited 3! will contribute to the new opportunities created by these innovative trends, by exploring recent developments in access services such as audio description, audio surtitling, audio subtitling, surtitling for the hearing impaired, and sign language. Two key seem to be driving the field forward: technology and creativity. Technological innovations have always been in the provision of pre-recorded access services, but lately technology’s role is growing in live access as well. On the other hand, new creative approaches to live access are developing rapidly; approaches that look for new ways to integrate accessibility into creation processes and that focus on engagement and on creating experiences for all audiences. However, these new opportunities also pose major challenges. Stakeholders have to learn to navigate the variations and complexities that characterize this approach. These complexities create new opportunities, but also challenge all parties involved, requiring them to move out of their comfort zone, go beyond their individual expertise and foster new, interdisciplinary collaboration. All these developments are giving rise to new types of practices, new types of collaboration, new professional profiles, and new requirements for training. The third Unlimited! symposium aims to explore these challenges and innovative solutions in live accessibility and bring together stakeholders to share experiences. We invite contributions that share best practices and new research on accessible theatre, ballet, hybrid performances, conferences, sports and any other live (cultural) event or types of performances that are (or should be) made accessible in any part of the world.

 

Submit your abstract for Unlimited! 3 here.

Abstract submission deadline: 15 October 2021 Notification of acceptance: mid-November

 

 

Register for the conference by December 23rd 2021. You can register for Unlimited! 3 alone. Or you can register both for the Unlimited! 3 conference and the OPEN Forum, a networking event and exhibition about accessibility that takes place the day before, at a discounted fee. Registration fees include coffee breaks, a lunch buffet and a reception on 10 February 2022 at 5 pm.

As matters stand today, Unlimited! 3 and the OPEN Forum will take place on site at the city campus of the University of Antwerp. A covid certificate will be required to participate in the conference. Given the continuing pandemic, however, our university can only fully confirm the on-site organization of the conference by 14 January 2022. For this reason, registration for the conference is required by 23 December 2021, but payments can be made later between 14 – 24 January 2022. On 14 January 2022, we will communicate the exact circumstances under which the conference can take place and you will be invited to transfer your registration fee. If at that time additional safety measures are in effect, the practical organization will be adapted accordingly. Whatever the case may be, we will ensure a safe, enjoyable and inspiring conference for all!

 

The Unlimited! 3 conference will be opened by our Keynote speaker prof. dr. Joselia Neves. The keynote will be followed by a series of parallel sessions, consisting of 30-minute academic presentations. In addition, a reception is organized the day prior to the event, on February 10 at 5pm. The full programme will be announced in November.

 

Unlimited! 3 will take place on the City Campus of the University of Antwerp, in the Rodestraat, 2000 Antwerp. You can find a map of the city campus here. You can reach our campus easily by public transport. The main train station (Antwerpen-Centraal) is a fifteen minute walk away, and has a direct connection to all major cities in Belgium and Zaventem Brussels Airport.

 

 

As matters stand today, Unlimited! 3 and the OPEN Forum will take place on site at the city campus of the University of Antwerp. A covid certificate will be required to participate in the conference. Given the continuing pandemic, however, our university can only fully confirm the on-site organization of the conference by 14 January 2022. For this reason, registration for the conference is required by 23 December 2021, but payments can be made later between 14 – 24 January 2022. On 14 January 2022, we will communicate the exact circumstances under which the conference can take place and you will be invited to transfer your registration fee. If at that time additional safety measures are in effect, the practical organization will be adapted accordingly. Whatever the case may be, we will ensure a safe, enjoyable and inspiring conference for all!

 

The Unlimited! conferences are an opportunity to discuss research, practice, policy and technological innovation regarding the accessibility of live events and broadcasts. Stakeholders from varying backgrounds and domains come together to pinpoint challenges, share best practices and explore convergences and new collaborations in a growing range of services and products that make live events and broadcasts more accessible for diverse audiences - think of audio description, audio surtitling, audio subtitling, surtitling and sign language. The first Unlimited! conference was organized by the TricS research group of the University of Antwerp on 26 April 2016. The second Unlimited! conference was held in Barcelona on 6 June 2018. It was organized by the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) and the EU-funded project Accessible Culture and Training (ACT), in which the University of Antwerp was a partner. In 2021, we also organised a free online teaser event in anticipation of our face to face event. You can check out what we did at the teaser event here. This year, Unlimited! 3 will be preceded by the OPEN Forum on 10 February, an exhibition and networking event around the theme of Media Accessibility.

 

The Unlimited!3 conference and the OPEN Forum are looking for Gold and Silver sponsors. Feel free to contact us at open@uantwerpen.be to learn more about our sponsor packages.