axes4 Day 2026 in Review

State Commissioner for Accessible IT and Digital Participation for the State of Hesse, Head of LBIT (State Competence Center for Accessible IT), Head of the Enforcement and Monitoring Agency

About the Talk: How Is the State of Hesse Implementing Digital Accessibility?
As Commissioner of the Hessian State Government for Accessible IT, Prof. Dr. Erdmuthe Meyer zu Bexten offered an inside look at the structures, strategies, and challenges involved, covering everything from enforcement and monitoring to market surveillance under Germany's Accessibility Strengthening Act (BFSG). A hands-on report from the space between legal mandate and lived digital inclusion.

einmanncombo, Publishing & Workflow Experte, Certified InDesign Expert, InDesign User Group Representative

About the talk: Creating accessible PDF forms efficiently
Accessible PDF forms are regarded as the ultimate challenge in document accessibility: complex tag structures, a lack of practical tools, and many unanswered questions hold back even seasoned professionals. Klaas Posselt showed how these challenges can be tackled efficiently: from clean semantics and the right structure to time-saving tools. The goal: creating accessible PDF forms just as quickly as accessible PDF documents.

Country Manager DACH, Dialog Group

About the talk: Documents reimagined: Accessibility as the key to intelligent communication
Accessible documents are far more than a compliance requirement. Achim Schuch from Dialog Group used a large-scale project with a leading German mobile network provider to show how high-volume customer communication can be produced in an accessible and structured way. The focus is on semantic document structures, hybrid formats such as ZUGFeRD, and the insight that accessibility also forms the foundation for reliable machine processing.

Senior Software Developer, axes4 

About the talk: PAC 2027: PAC loves Mac and gets a completely new, fully accessible UI
The PDF Accessibility Checker has been the world's established tool for checking accessible PDFs for over 15 years. With PAC 2027, a new era begins: Patrick Foster from axes4 presented an exclusive preview of the next generation, which runs on Mac for the first time and features a completely redesigned, thoroughly accessible user interface. A glimpse into the future of accessibility testing tools, straight from development.

Accessibility Expert, mindscreen GmbH

About the talk: PDFs don't lie! Ten years of PDF accessibility in the public sector: a data-driven reality check
Stefan Farnetani from mindscreen took a data-driven look at ten years of PDF accessibility in public administration. Based on extensive automated analyses with CAAT and axesSense, he showed how the quality and error patterns of PDFs from federal ministries have actually developed over time, which production chains systematically cause problems, and why good intentions alone are not enough.

Specialist for Digital Accessibility, Federal Monitoring Body for the Accessibility of Information Technology

About the talk: PAC: Does a green checkmark mean accessibility?
A green checkmark in the PAC test is often cited as proof of accessibility, but does a positive test result really mean that a document is accessible? Alexander Pfingstl from BFit Bund shared insights from his consulting practice, explaining why a PAC test alone cannot replace an expert assessment, how to address this widespread misconception, and which simple methods can quickly uncover obvious accessibility errors in PDFs.

Head of Development & Software Developer, axes4

About the talk: Accessible PDFs: AI will thank you for it!
For a computer, an untagged PDF is nothing more than an unstructured collection of text and graphics. Only PDF/UA tags convey semantics, and it's not just screen readers that benefit from this. Tamas Nemes and Thomas Schempp shared insights from the axes4 lab, showing how AI search and analysis deliver significantly better results in accessible documents. They also opened up surprising new perspectives on PDF/UA with Document Intelligence, RAG, and vector databases.

Vice CEO and CTO, Competence Network Information Technology for the Promotion of the Integration of People with Disabilities

About the talk: Accessible PDFs: Just for blind users?
Accessibility is often viewed only from the perspective of screen reader users, but what about people whose challenge is not seeing, but operating a device? Gerhard Nussbaum from KI-I gave insights into his daily working life with a keyboard and mouth stick, showing through concrete examples why details like tab order, focus indicators, or document navigation make the difference between accessibility and frustration.

Accessibility Consultant and expert in accessible documents, adesso SE

About the talk: Mind the gap: Challenges between the ideal workflow and reality
There is often a large gap between the ideal workflow for accessible documents and the reality in companies. Dorothea Hayh from adesso SE shares hands-on insights from the consulting work of the Accessibility Consulting team and presents concrete processes and approaches with which companies can successfully bridge these challenges.

Freelance senior accessibility expert 

About the talk: PDF is not the problem. Ignorance is.
PDF is often seen as an obstacle to accessibility, but it's not the format that's the problem, it's the lack of knowledge. Standard tools like Microsoft Office and Acrobat Pro do not deliver reliably accessible results, and many fixes fall short. Iacobien Riezebosch showed when PDF is the right choice, why PDF/UA is indispensable, and how we can reduce our dependence on Big Tech through better standards, tools, and education.

Quality Engineer for Accessibility, Accessible Document Specialist (IAAP ADS), Telekom MMS

About the talk: AI & PDF accessibility: Hype, help, or hindrance?Jessica Ozimec from Telekom MMS examined what AI-supported tools can achieve today, where their limits lie, and when the use of AI tends to jeopardize PDF accessibility rather than promote it. A hands-on reality check between automation and human expertise.

Member of the State Parliament for Alliance 90/The Greens

About the talk: Participation as a human right MEETS finance
Participation is a human right, but its implementation requires political will and financial resources. As a financial policy maker, Peter Seimer shed light on how priorities in the budget are set, why the protection of minorities is indispensable, and what role laws like the Federal Participation Act play in this. A talk at the intersection of human rights, budgetary policy, and digital participation, showing why justice must be actively shaped.

Managing Partner, Accessible PDF OG

About the talk: Practical tips and hidden features of Microsoft Word & axesWord
axesWord offers numerous ways to build in accessibility right in the Word source document, yet many of its practical features remain undiscovered in everyday use. Birgit Peböck, PDF Accessibility Expert and long-time power user, shared hidden features and real game changers with us that noticeably ease the document workflow. In addition, as Co-Chair, she introduced the international working group "Techniques for Accessible PDF" of the PDF Association.

CEO, Austrian Association in Support of the Blind and Visually Impaired

About the talk: AccessibleEU: Europe's infrastructure for digital accessibility
With the European Accessibility Act, a new phase of digital accessibility has begun in Europe, but laws alone do not create accessible products or documents. Klaus Höckner from the Austrian Association in Support of the Blind and Visually Impaired gave us insight into AccessibleEU, a European initiative that connects knowledge and stakeholders around accessibility, and showed how companies, public authorities, and professionals can benefit from it in concrete ways.

Expert for digital, accessible documents at Dataport AöR

About the talk: Accessible documents as a continuous learning process at Dataport
Julia Schauer took us into the everyday practice of a company that is actively shaping this path: How has Dataport approached the topic of accessibility, which programs, training sessions, and licensing solutions are in use, and how does a maturity model help drive the process forward systematically?

CEO, axes4 & Managing Director, Docolution 

About the talk: Accessible mass PDFs as an essential part of the digital infrastructure
Invoices, medical letters, and official notices shape our everyday lives, yet they are systematically overlooked when digital accessibility is assessed. Markus Mayer from docolution and Markus Erle from axes4 showed why precisely these "hidden documents" are part of the infrastructure of an inclusive society and how accessible mass PDFs can be put into practice.