Within the technology industry, there’s a growing push for accessibility and representation, with a goal to transform how communities collaborate, innovate and make space for underrepresented voices. That’s playing out during KubeCon + CloudNativeCon NA with the Cloud Native Computing Foundation’s Deaf and Hard of Hearing Working Group and its goal for cloud-native accessibility.

It’s been a little more than a year since theCUBE first profiled the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Working Group. The conference has swiftly implemented feedback, and there have been various milestones since then, according to Destiny O’Connor (pictured, right), co-chair of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Working Group and tech evangelist at Deaf Kids Code.

Travis Johnson with Convo Communications and Destiny O’Connor of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Working Group talk with theCUBE.

“We’re making a few more documentation for best practices and accessibility for other people who are deaf and do not sign, who use their own voice and read lips,” O’Connor said. “Right now, we are creating a sign language glossary as well for cloud-native terminology.”

O’Connor and Travis Johnson (left), Level 3 engineer at Convo Communications LLC, spoke with theCUBE Research’s Savannah Peterson at KubeCon + CloudNativeCon NA, during an exclusive broadcast on theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio. They discussed advancing cloud-native accessibility and fostering inclusive spaces through initiatives such as the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and BIPOC working groups. (* Disclosure below.)

Deaf and Hard of Hearing Working Group aims for cloud-native accessibility

When it comes to the sign language glossary for cloud-native terminology, there’s much to consider. It involves gathering together to discuss the next steps around cloud-native accessibility, according to O’Connor.

“We have deaf people in tech who work in the cloud-native space, and we get together and have a conversation on it, and if we don’t agree on it, we don’t do it,” O’Connor said. “We keep asking other input from other communities, and if the sign makes sense for our deaf constituents, then we do that. Of course, we improve them as we go. Sometimes in open source, just like open source tech, it’s open-source language for the glossary.”

The primary objective for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Working Group at the moment is to create an ASL glossary for signs related to Kubernetes, according to Johnson. That’s important because not everyone knows what those are.

“They don’t know what Kubernetes is. So, definitely, we’re thinking about teaching some additional workshops and trying to encourage more deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals to come to this tech space and to feel more comfortable participating and learning and enjoying the process and the different lessons that we provide,” Johnson said.

The BIPOC Working Group was also founded a few weeks ago, according to O’Connor. The goal is to spread the word about that group, much as it has been for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Working Group.

“It’s about representation and making sure people have advocates and mentors and allies so that people can say, ‘Oh, there is help out there that they can get,’” O’Connor said.

The goal is to encourage people to know that they can do everything, according to O’Connor. That’s important, because sometimes people don’t know how they can contribute.

“They don’t know how to get on the stage to give a talk. And it’s the same experience we’re having with the BIPOC group as we did with the Deaf and Hard of Hearing group,” O’Connor said. “Really, we’re just trying to get the community more visible.”

Here’s the complete video interview, part of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE Research’s coverage of KubeCon + CloudNativeCon NA:

 (* Disclosure: The Cloud Native Computing Foundation sponsored this segment of theCUBE. Neither the CNCF nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE