October 21, Karen Jex (Crunchy Data / Snowflake) and I talked about accessibility and the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower program at the Community Organizers Conf the day before PGConf EU. A summary of what we discussed is below.
PostgreSQL Europe, via the PGEU Diversity Committee, has signed up to be a Hidden Disabilities Sunflower member. They pledged to make this year’s PGConf.EU "Sunflower Friendly”, and they will be encouraging and helping other PostgreSQL Europe events to become Sunflower friendly over the next year.
But what does it mean to be a "Sunflower Friendly" event? And how does it help to make events more accessible and welcoming?
Accessible events
Karen is a PostgreSQL Europe board member, and Diversity Committee chair. I'm a member of the Diversity Committee, which puts in place initiatives to support diversity and inclusion within the PostgreSQL Europe community.
The committee is responsible for the long-term management of diversity initiatives and activities within the PostgreSQL Europe community, such as providing financial and other support for underrepresented groups, and ensuring that the community offers a welcoming, inclusive environment that fosters productive engagement between individuals.
We created a Diversity Committee because it is important to us that everyone feels welcomed and valued within the PostgreSQL Europe community.
We also know that a diverse community brings a range of viewpoints, skills and expertise that is essential to the ongoing success of the PostgreSQL project.
What are some of the accessibility measures we’re already taking at different Postgres events in Europe?
- Slidedeck upload to view slides after the event
- Talk recordings for folks who cannot physically attend the event, because they have care tasks to attend to, their travel isn’t supported by their employer, visa applications don’t always succeed, because they have some sort of risk profile, or don’t fare well in crowds
- Like at PGDay Lowlands: Livestreaming to follow the event in real-time and interact in the chat, with the opportunity to ask questions
- Like at the Postgres Extension Ecosystem Mini-Summits (virtual event): fix the closed captions YouTube / some external tool generate (since they don’t have great Postgres-context-awareness) after the live event, and turning the transcript into a blog post. Example: https://justatheory.com/2025/04/mini-summit-two/
- Like at PGConf DEV Day 0: (collaborative) scribing / note taking
- Like at PGConf EU: quiet room, with fidget toys, relaxed seating, and no laptops / calls.
What else could we do?
- Speaker to share a link to slides at the start of their talk so the audience can look at them at their own device, zoom in, etc - for those who have trouble seeing, or because your view of the screen is obstructed
- Provide live captioning (by a human), on screens at key points in the room / accessible via personal devices
- Provide guidance for speakers to use high-contrast slides, large fonts, to avoid relying solely on color to convey meaning, use a light theme for code slides/demos
- Ask about accessibility needs during registration (e.g., sign language interpreters, captioning, mobility support)
- Share accessibility details in advance (wheelchair access, quiet rooms, prayer spaces, sensory-friendly areas, etc.)
- Provide seating options in networking areas / during the conference party, not just standing-room
- …
The Sunflower program
The Hidden Disabilities Sunflower is a tool for you to voluntarily share that you have a disability or condition that may not be immediately apparent – and that you may need a helping hand, understanding, or more time in shops, at work, on transport, or in public spaces.
Globally 1 in 6 of us live with a disability. That is approximately 1.3 billion people.
But while some of us experience a disability that is visible, many have a non-visible condition or experience a combination of both visible and non-visible conditions. These disabilities can be temporary, situational or permanent. They can be neurological, cognitive and neurodevelopmental as well as physical, visual, auditory and include sensory and processing difficulties. They can also be respiratory as well as chronic health conditions such as arthritis and diabetes, chronic pain and sleep disorders.
As diverse as these conditions are, so are your individual access needs and the barriers you face in your daily life. So you can opt to wear the Sunflower to discreetly be seen in shops, at work, on transport, or in public spaces.
How we piloted the Sunflower at PGConf EU
- All organizers have followed Sunflower training ~20 minutes
- All volunteers have followed the summarized training, and organizers were available for questions
- Sunflower lanyards were available at the registration desk for folks who don’t have one
- As well as signage to explain the Sunflower program
- There has been communication about the Sunflower program on the conference social media
- There's information on the PostgreSQL Europe website: https://www.postgresql.eu/diversity/hd_sunflower/
- PGConf EU is listed on the Sunflower website https://hdsunflower.com/row/insights/post/postgresql-conference-europe
- As part of the program there’s a Quiet room at the conference venue with ear plugs and fidget toys for folks who need to decompress - explicitly not to be used for people want to do calls
What's next?
Organizing a Postgres event and you'd like to adopt the Sunflower as well? Reach out to the Diversity Committee or to me personally! Reach out to us if you have ideas about how to make events more accessible as well.
Karen and I also participated in a panel on mental health, and neurodiversity in the open source community and at work, at PGConf EU. We hope to make Postgres a leading example of inclusivity and collaboration in open source, attracting and retaining a community of contributors who feel respected, supported, and empowered. I'll try and publish a summary of the discussion on here.
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