The National Federation of the Blind (NFB) advances the lives of its members and all blind people in the United States, with affiliates in every state as well as Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico. The NFB has hosted their annual National Convention since the organization’s inception in 1940, serving as the largest gathering of blind people in the world. Here, attendees can find training, support, and information focused on the blind community. Members also democratically elect leadership and establish each year’s organizational priorities during the event.

BACKGROUND & GOALS

Creating accessible events for the National Federation of the Blind with Cvent Attendee Hub

Currently, the annual convention hosts between 2,500 - 3,500 attendees. John Berggren, Executive Director for Operations, notes that while the convention is traditionally held in-person, the pandemic did necessitate the move to a virtual environment for two years. During this time, the NFB needed a reliable platform to help execute the virtual experience.  John explains, “With three months' lead time, we needed something that could do everything that an in-person event would include, but in a virtual environment.” Since accessibility is a critically important aspect of the convention, they also required a technology partner who would meet their standards for accessibility. John insists, “Cvent was the only realistic option when it came to accessibility.”

When assessing a company’s accessibility capabilities, Karl Belanger, Nonvisual Access Technology Specialist at NFB, notes that VPATs, or Voluntary Product Accessibility Templates, are often a helpful starting point. They allow organizations to evaluate the accessibility of a product. As Karl explains, many organizations don’t have VPATs. “Without a framework to compare against, it can be challenging to know how accessible a product is,” he says. Currently, Cvent maintains several different VPATs for tools like Cvent Registration, the Cvent Attendee Hub, and OnArrival, with expanded offerings currently in development.

Establishing valuable connections through accessible in-person events

While the virtual experience was successful, the NFB knew they needed to bring back the in-person experience once it was safe to do so. John explains, “What creates the strength of our organization is those incidental connections, and networking is a large component of what makes our convention so transformative for our attendees.” However, his team realized there was an important value-add in maintaining a virtual presence for the attendees who couldn’t join onsite. In 2023, they hosted the week-long event for over 2,500 onsite attendees and included a virtual aspect for remote attendees. To support the event, they once again relied on the Cvent Mobile Event App and the Attendee Hub. 

A powerful Mobile Event App for all attendees

When assessing technology needs for the in-person event, the NFB wasn’t initially certain that a mobile app would be required. However, it was clear that many of the use cases that made the mobile app popular for their virtual events still applied when attendees were all together in person. “We have a broad mix of attendees at the convention, from people who are well-traveled to those who are less experienced technologically or could be newly blind,” explains John. “We found that their response to the app has been extremely positive.”

Anna Adler, Outreach Coordinator, notes that the app gave attendees the ability to navigate the agenda and build their schedule, all in one place. The NFB can also communicate important information to their attendees via custom pages as well as push notifications. “We’re also able to highlight sponsors and exhibitors, which is important,” Anna adds. These sponsors and exhibitors are able to engage in several features within the app for inbound lead generation, including listing contact information, uploading assets and documents, integrating videos, and more.   

Customizing the app ensures the NFB is able to provide an optimal experience using only the features that are most relevant to their attendees. “The ability to customize those features was really helpful,” Anna says. The addition of new accessibility features as the tool evolves has created an even more seamless experience for their attendees. “There have been improvements for built-in accessibility, such as color contrast, image alt text being built into the system, and so on,” notes Anna. The platform's automatic color contrast and accessibility guidelines validation features ensure that the content is accessible to all attendees. Additionally, the safe mode feature helps users with color blindness by correcting color contrasts. The platform also supports proper heading structure, which is essential for users who rely on screen readers. “It’s very easy to find what you need in the app, so I’d recommend people use it as a resource for their attendees,” Anna says.

Proving the success of the NFB National Convention

While the Attendee Hub and the Mobile Event App were central to providing a seamless attendee experience, John insists it’s important that all aspects of a technology platform – such as emails and surveys – meet accessibility standards.  Anna notes that Cvent’s Exhibitor Resource Center was used by many blind business owners at their convention, all of whom provided strong feedback on the accessibility features found within the tool.

RESULTS

Overall, the convention received high marks from attendees and exhibitors alike. “We had a lot of positive feedback, particularly from people who had previously attended,” says John. While hard copy braille agendas will always be a mainstay of NFB conventions, John believes that “having this information on your phone is powerful for people.” To assess the success of the conference, they compare registration metrics year-over-year as well as adoption rates for the Mobile Event App and Attendee Hub. With on-demand reports available in Cvent, the NFB can pull any key metrics needed for their stakeholders. In turn, they can leverage this data to help prove the success and impact of the event within the organization.

NFB and Cvent: Evolving event technology to ensure accessibility for all

Importantly, the NFB has found the close relationship with their Cvent team to be invaluable over the last several years. “We’re very happy with the support we’ve received from Cvent,” notes Anna. She adds that while there is a learning curve within the platform, being able to pare down the features served the event well. “Being able to customize the features is great,” she insists. Importantly, NFB has offered feedback throughout their experience to help further bolster the accessibility capabilities of the platform. Karl explains, “Any issues we noticed in the first year have been largely ironed out, and the app has been solid from day one with properly labeled buttons and controls, a good heading structure and navigational purposes, alt text for images, and so on.” They continue to partner with Cvent to evaluate and improve upon the tool’s functionality to ensure it continues to meet accessibility standards.

With this in mind, Cvent solutions include captioning and subtitles capabilities, which are useful for attendees who are deaf or hard of hearing. The platform also has an interpreter feed in virtual presentations, making it accessible to non-native speakers or those who need language support. There is also a vendor marketplace of accessibility solutions available, and custom tools can be added to the session engagement panel, such as Wordly, Interprefy, or any third-party Java plug-ins.

In addition, the platform supports translations in 26 languages, making it accessible to attendees who are not fluent in the primary language used in the event. These accessibility features ensure that the platform is inclusive and accessible to all attendees, regardless of their abilities or language proficiency.

LOOKING FORWARD

John adds that understanding the scope of accessibility requirements can only help event organizers create a more inclusive attendee experience for all, which in turn strengthens their relationship with your organization. “You need to go beyond just features and agenda in terms of accessibility and usability,” he says. “It’s critical in terms of inclusiveness and maximizing an organization’s participation levels.” 

The NFB looks forward to further strengthening their Cvent partnership as they grow their successful National Convention. They aim to continue highlighting the importance of creating accessible and inclusive experiences for all. “Accessibility should be an integral part of any product consideration,” John says. Leveraging technology that is designed to make events more inclusive, accessible, and enjoyable for all attendees ultimately provides a superior attendee experience. 

PRODUCTS USED