CHI2023 is committed to providing an inclusive environment and we will do our best to accommodate requests for special assistance. This page describes the accessibility features of CHI2023, to help you make an informed decision about whether the conference will be accessible to you. Please contact us if your question is not answered here, or if the conference arrangements as described are not enough to allow you to attend. We will work with you to the best of our ability, to make the conference accessible.
The Accessibility Chairs for CHI2023 are Benjamin Tannert, Yue Jiang, Claudia Loitsch, Megan Hofmann, whose goal is to ensure the conference is accessible to everyone. When you register for the conference, there will be a registration question labelled "Do you have a disability or special need which requires our awareness?". In your response, please indicate any accessibility needs such as wheelchair access, sign language interpretation, or a guide. The Accessibility Chairs will follow up with you to clarify your needs. You can contact them directly at any time by emailing accessibility@chi2023.acm.org.
More information about accessibility at Congress Center Hamburg (CCH) is available on their accessibility information page.
If there is specific accessibility information you would like to see here, or if you wish to discuss any conference accessibility requirements, please contact our Accessibility Chairs, Benjamin Tannert, Yue Jiang, Claudia Loitsch, Megan Hofmann by email: accessibility@chi2023.acm.org, and someone will respond to you shortly.
The conference will provide a team of sign language interpreters or captioners if requested by any attendees during the early registration period. Please make your request as early as possible. Our Accessibility Chairs will follow up with you to discuss your needs in more detail. After March 23rd, 2023, the best effort will be made to accommodate requests, but we cannot guarantee that interpreters or captioners will be available.
For information about Hamburg, Germany accessibility, including public transport, go to Accessible Hamburg or contact the city at +49 40 300 51 701 or info@hamburg-tourism.de.
Student volunteers will be available to assist attendees with disabilities with navigation, meal service, or other accessibility needs. If you will need volunteer assistance at the conference, please indicate this on your conference registration form.
Attendees who require personal care assistance should bring their own assistant. Personal care assistants do not need to register for the conference. If the assistant will be having food and drink provided by the conference during coffee/tea breaks, lunches, and/or the reception, we ask that these be added into the attendee's registration at the 'extra options' stage of the registration process.
For the overall layout of the venue, please refer to this map of the conference space.
The CCH – Congress Center Hamburg is a convention center without barriers. Its barrier-free architectural design concept was developed jointly with representatives of organizations dedicated to promoting inclusion. The CCH now not only features stair-free access, reduced counter and handrail heights and a floor-integrated guiding system leading from the forecourt all the way to the halls but also high-contrast visual information, high-visibility markings on steps and tactile floor identification panels. Information panels in Braille and tactile profile lettering have been installed in key locations, including elevators, to assist visually impaired and blind persons. This means that anyone with a disability can participate in events at the CCH, no matter what their specific physical challenge may be.
Other features that support accessibility:
- Conference rooms: inductive hearing systems for good speech intelligibility
- Main entrances to the CCH: automatic sliding doors
- Multi-storey car park: 24-hour access (access and intermediate doors in parking areas U2 and U1 or to the elevators are triggered by radar sensors) and marked parking spaces for the disabled
- Access from the car park to the public area: barrier-free accessible via automatic doors
- Generous spatial arrangements and installations of toilet areas
- Emergency call for the deaf (A1.1, A1.2, A1.3/ A07/ A12.1, A12.2 and in the glass foyer elevator/ A13/ A14)
- Ramps: have handrails throughout
- Stairs: step markings and handrails on both sides
In case of an emergency and call for evacuation, Public safety officers will assist and orient people with disabilities (e.g., blind and visually impaired attendees, people with hearing impairments) to safety.
Please see our other FAQs for more details about wheelchair or power scooter access, provisions for presenters, restrooms, walking and steps, and facilities for assistance animals.
Yes, the conference will be accessible to wheelchair users. The venue features stair-free access, reduced counter and handrail heights and a floor-integrated guiding system leading from the forecourt all the way to the halls
We have a ramp on to every stage for presenters who use wheelchairs. Poster sessions will have space for a wheelchair to move between the posters.
In case of an emergency and call for evacuation, Public safety officers will assist and orient people with disabilities (e.g., blind and visually impaired attendees, people with hearing impairments) to safety.
For more information about wheelchair accessibility at Congress Center Hamburg (CCH), please contact Dani Deering at chi@executivevents.com.
Attendees will have access to all of the bathrooms in our area of the convention space. All restrooms are accessible. The paper towel dispensers, flush and sink controls are all on sensors. The toilet paper dispenser and bathroom stall locks are manual.
If you are a presenter and need a ramp up to the stage, please let the accessibility team know as soon as possible (before March 23rd) so they can make sure the ramp is in the room for the session. To do this please contact accessibility@chi2023.acm.org Poster sessions will have space for a wheelchair to move between the posters. If you would like a student volunteer to operate slides or guide you onto and off the stage, or have other accessibility requests please contact accessibility@chi2023.acm.org.
We do not at this time have a ramp on to the stage. If you are a presenter who uses a wheelchair, please contact us as soon as possible so that we can make arrangements. After the early registration deadline, we cannot guarantee to be able to provide a ramp. Poster sessions will have space for a wheelchair to move between the posters.
If you would like a student volunteer to operate slides or guide you onto and off the stage, or have other accessibility requests please contact Benjamin Tannert, Yue Jiang, Claudia Loitsch, Megan Hofmann at accessibility@chi2023.acm.org by March 23rd, 2023.
Yes! Guide dogs and other service animals are welcome at CHI2023. There will be a relief area with water available. However, they will need to be harnessed, leashed or tethered at all times. Also, there is no space specifically reserved for guide dogs, but the pedestrian park is pet friendly. Please indicate on your registration form if you anticipate bringing a service animal to the conference. Please indicate on your registration form if you anticipate bringing a service animal to the conference.
We are sorry, but CHI2023 will not be able to accommodate remote attendance by robot.
We are still working on our description of the walking demands of the conference.
Please contact Benjamin Tannert, Yue Jiang, Claudia Loitsch, Megan Hofmann at accessibility@chi2023.acm.org as early as possible if you have further questions or special requests.
The convention center does not have audio induction loops. We will provide a sign language interpretation service for those who need it. Please request it before March 23rd; after that deadline, we will do our best to accommodate but we cannot guarantee we can find an interpretation.
Yes, microphones will be used for all speakers. Attendees with questions will be requested to use a microphone so that their question is more easily heard.
The conference will provide refreshments and snacks in morning and afternoon breaks during the pre-conference and main conference days. Please note, that lunch is not provided, and attendees are on their own for lunch. There will also be appetizers and refreshments being served at the evening receptions. The schedule and details for the evening receptions are still being finalized, please continue to check the website for updates. If you have special dietary needs, it is very important that you indicate these clearly on your registration form.
Yes. Attendees who indicate special dietary requirements on their registration form will be provided with special meals when the conference catering does not accommodate them. If you have a severe allergy please indicate this on your registration form. For more detailed information please contact Brooke Daley at chi@executivevents.com.
The entire conference venue is a no-smoking area.
The sensory aspects of the conference have been screened. There will be a photographer on site taking pictures. Beyond this, we are unaware of events that include loud music, strobe lighting, spotlights, or other strong sensory experiences. Participants and speakers have been requested not to use flash photography or to wear strong scents. We are still gathering information on the sensory demands of the offsite events.
Please contact Benjamin Tannert, Yue Jiang, Claudia Loitsch, Megan Hofmann at accessibility@chi2023.acm.org as early as possible if you have further questions or special requests.
We hope to be able to provide a quiet space at the conference but are still checking on availability. Please contact us if you are planning to attend the conference and may need such a space.
In case of emergency call 112 for an ambulance. We are still checking on the distance to the nearest hospital. If you require non-urgent medical care, please contact Benjamin Tannert, Yue Jiang, Claudia Loitsch, Megan Hofmann at accessibility@chi2023.acm.org or ask any student volunteer. They will provide you with information about local doctors, specialists, chiropractors, etc. For non-resident attendees, buying travel insurance that covers medical expenses is strongly recommended as fees for emergency treatment can be very high.