Dagstuhl Seminar on Inclusive Data Visualization 18-23 June 2023

Event period: 18 – 23.06.2023

Data visualisation plays an enormous role in almost all life situations, especially due to the increased complexity of our world. This makes it all the more important to make not only data but also its visualisation inclusive and universally accessible. The development of methods, guidelines and recommendations for this is a particular concern for experts in the field of human-computer interaction.

The Dagstuhl Seminar on Inclusive Data Visualisation takes up this topic and creates a forum for the exchange of experts at the beginning of summer 2023. The seminar is organised by Bongshin Lee (Microsoft), Kim Marriott (Monash University), Danielle Szafir (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) and Gerhard Weber (TU Dresden).

Description of the event

We live in a data-driven world, where critical decisions are made based on data. Both experts and laypeople have access to large amounts of data and understanding data has become a core part of information work. Data visualization is a powerful means not only to analyze and explore data but also to identify and communicate insights. Most existing data visualizations, however, are designed on implicit assumptions about people's sensory, cognitive, and motor abilities. A lack of access to data visualization and the underlying data due to the differences in these abilities impacts educational and work opportunities, as well as health and lifestyle, posing a significant equity issue.

To successfully address this important issue, visualization, accessibility, and other HCI researchers should work together to develop guidelines, methods, and techniques for increasing visualization accessibility. To build partnerships and develop a shared understanding of this important research topic, this Dagstuhl Seminar aims to bring together researchers and practitioners from relevant fields, including data visualization, accessibility and assistive technologies, mobile and tangible interaction, human-computer interaction, and vision science, as well as representatives from disability support organizations and people with lived experience of disability. The main goals of this seminar are to:

• Increase awareness of accessibility in the data visualization community and awareness of data visualization in the accessibility community.
• Identify open problems and challenges that establish a rigorous foundation for inclusive data visualization.
• Develop a research agenda and plans for future activities in inclusive data visualization.
• Establish a community around inclusive data visualization and create collaboration opportunities.

Leveraging the unique setting of Schloss Dagstuhl, the focus of this seminar will be an interactive dialog between seminar participants with multidisciplinary backgrounds. This seminar will be structured to facilitate the exchange of information and experiences, to stimulate discussion and brainstorming, to kickstart collaborations, and to identify novel aspects and ideas around inclusive data visualization. The outcomes of the seminar generated from the activities and discussions will provide the impetus for a critical overarching goal: making the data and visualization accessible to a broad range of people.

_{(Text: CC BY 4.0: Bongshin Lee, Kim Marriott, Danielle Szafir, and Gerhard Weber)}

More information

Further information on the website of the Dagstuhl Leibnitz Centre for Informatics:

https://www.dagstuhl.de/de/programm/kalender/semhp/?semnr=23252