WP Builds 449 – Making digital accessibility a reality: Anne-Mieke Bovelett’s CloudFest Hackathon journey
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Dec 11, 2025 Anne-Mieke Bovelett, a seasoned digital accessibility consultant and web designer, shares her journey leading an award-winning project at the CloudFest Hackathon. She highlights the moral and practical aspects of digital accessibility, stressing its importance, particularly for infographics in medical contexts. Anne-Mieke discusses the creation of an AI-powered WordPress plugin that converts infographics into accessible formats. The conversation also explores the challenges of funding post-hackathon projects and the need for better sponsor involvement in future events.
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Accessibility Combines Multiple Motivations
- Anne-Mieke says digital accessibility never bores her because it combines people, design, development and process.
- Accessibility work feels moral and community-focused, offering long-term motivation.
Teach Accessibility Early
- Teach accessibility to children and teenagers to create future tech practitioners who build inclusively by default.
- Early education yields designers and coders better suited to solve accessibility problems long-term.
Plugin That Reads Infographics
- Anne-Mieke describes building an AI-powered WordPress plugin that converts infographics into accessible text and tables.
- The team shipped a functional open-source plugin during the three-day CloudFest hackathon.