Web Accessibility Policy and practice

1. Web Accessibility Policy and practice ITU Europe and CIS Regional Workshop on Mainstreaming ICT Accessibility for Persons with Disabilities Odessa, Ukraine,  1-2 November 2010 Dónal Rice

2. Contents • What is web accessibility • How persons with disabilities use the web • Why make websites accessible • Standards • ITU/G3ict eAccessibility Policy Toolkit for Persons with Disabilities

3. Who am I? • Senior Design Advisor, ICT, Centre for Excellence in Universal Design, National Disability Authority Ireland • PhD, Centre for Disability law and Policy, NUI Galway • Editor, ITU/G3ict e-Accessibility Policy Toolkit for Persons with Disabilities • Author, ITU Connect A School, Connect A Community module on ICTs for persons with disabilities • Chair, CEN Workshop Agreement “Curriculum for Training ICT Professionals in Universal Design” • Author, UNESCO IITE policy guide on using ICT in education for persons with disabilities

4. Introduction to Accessibility • "The power of the Web is in its universality. Access by everyone regardless of disability is an essential aspect."- Tim Berners-Lee, W3C Director and Inventor of the World Wide Web. • “If anybody asks me what the Internet means to me, I will tell him without hesitation: To me (a quadriplegic) the Internet occupies the most important part in my life. It is my feet that can take me to any part of the world; it is my hands which help me to accomplish my work; it is my best friend - it gives my life meaning.” Dr ZhangXu • Different perspectives: • Legal imperative – human right – business case - guidelines • Development - interpret these guidelines • Included or excluded in participating fully in society – living day to day with independence and dignity

5. What makes a good library? Building Librarian Bookshelves Ramp

6. What makes a good library? Building Librarian Bookshelves Ramp

7. What makes a good library? Building Librarian Bookshelves Ramp

8. What makes a good website? Online Presence Universal Design User Interface Information Architecture TechnicalAccessibility

9. How one person uses the web • Filling out online tax return • Braille and Screen reader output • Entering data and navigating – right hand • Feeling output (checking input) – left hand • Listening to output (checking input) – left ear • Talking on phone – right ear

10. The Benefits – 3 Carrots and a Stick Key benefits: Increased reach(increasing the effectiveness of your message, increased market) Increased efficiency (reduce costs of maintenance, support) Requirement (Legal, organisational) Social Responsibility (Ethical, the right thing to do, leading from the front)

11. Guidelines and standards The Web Accessibility Initiative (W3C.WAI) has issued Accessibility Guidelines for the Web • WCAG 2.0 (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) • UAAG 1.0 (User Agent Accessibility Guidelines) • ATAG 1.0 (Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines) • ARIA 1.0 (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) Web compliance is the basis for interoperability (e.g. with assistive technology) and WCAG. Follow the technical Standards of W3C! • HTML, XML, XHTML, CSS, ...

12. In library terms… Conformance Single A Conformance Double A Conformance Triple A

13. What are the main principles of WCAG 2.0? “P°O°U°R” Perceivable: Information and user interface components must be presentable to users in ways they can perceive. This means that users must be able to perceive the information being presented (it can't be invisible to all of their senses) Operable: User interface components and navigation must be operable. This means that users must be able to operate the interface (the interface cannot require interaction that a user cannot perform) Understandable: Information and the operation of user interface must be understandable. This means that users must be able to understand the information as well as the operation of the user interface (the content or operation cannot be beyond their understanding) Robust: Content must be robust enough that it can be interpreted reliably by a wide variety of user agents, including assistive technologies. This means that users must be able to access the content as technologies advance (as technologies and user agents evolve, the content should remain accessible)

14. Some challenges for web accessibility • In Europe rates remain very low • Measuring Progress of eAccessibility in Europe (MeAC) • 2007 figure for government websites passing both automated and manual test for WCAG 1.0 Level A: 5,3% passed both automatic and manual examination • 2008 follow on report the figure for fell to 2% • Correlation between ‘strong’ legislation with levels of accessibility. • Also critical – centralized monitoring and support actions e.g. training, procurement policies, processes

15. E.g. 1: Traditional CMS Workflow

16. Improved CMS Workflow

17. Summary • Goal: compliance check and guarantee • 100% conformity not feasible • “Web Compliance” is a process • Not 100% automatically feasible, expert evaluation necessary • Support by tools necessary • User evaluation completes the evaluation process

18. E.g. 2: IT Procurement Toolkit • Practical advice on procurement: • Writing an Request for Tender document • Assessing candidates and tenders • Evaluating deliverables • eg – sample text to insert into RFT

21. Useful Links • Guidelines by W3C-WAI:http://www.w3.org/WAI/ • Introduction to the guidelines by W3C-WAI: http://www.w3.org/WAI/gettingstarted/Overview.html • Tutorials about the guidelines by W3C-WAI: http://www.opera.com/wsc/ • Tutorials concerning the W3C Standards: http://w3schools.com/default.asp • Centre for Excellence in Universal Design: http://www.universaldesign.ie/ict • ITU/G3ict e-Accessibility Policy Toolkit for Persons with Disabilities: http://e-accessibilitytoolkit.org • CEN Workshop Agreement – “Curriculum for Training ICT Professionals in Universal Design”: http://www.universaldesign.ie/curriculum

22. Thank you! Dónal Rice d.rice1@nuigalway.ie