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A11YSIG WEBINAR OCT 6 – Introduction to screenreader.app

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You are invited to an Accessibility SIG webinar ‘Introduction to screenreader.app‘ on Thursday October 6 2022 at 11:00 UTC.

The free ScreenReader app, developed by Abra and available to download at https://screenreader.app, can be used to learn how to use VoiceOver and TalkBack. Initiated during a COVID lockdown to help visually impaired people to digitally learn how to use a screen reader, now it is also used to create awareness and help other target groups, such as professional developers and testers, how to use a screen reader.

PRESENTER – Paul van Workum

As an app and software builder Paul van Workum noticed that there is a lack of awareness, knowledge and tools to make apps accessible. Together with Jan Jaap de Groot he formed Abra, which helps professionals and organisations with creating accessible apps. They have initiated a knowledge platform appt.org, a reporting app to report inaccessible apps, and an app to learn how to use the screen reader.

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The Dhaka Declaration on Disability Leadership in Digital Rights and Internet Governance

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logosBetween 24 and 27 June 2022, the Asia Pacific School of Internet Governance (APSIG) in partnership with the Internet Society Accessibility Standing Group organized the first Disability Leadership Training Workshop in Digital Rights and Internet Governance in Dhaka, with support from local hosts Internet Society Bangladesh Chapter, plus Article 19 and the APNIC Foundation.

Invited participants from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, subsequently issued the Dhaka Declaration advocating core principles for the participation of persons with disability in Internet-related decision-making processes.

  1. The ratification and implementation of international instruments such as the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Marrakesh VIP Treaty  and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (as related to persons with disability) in our region
  2. The commitment by Governments to make ICT and the digital environment in our countries accessible for persons with disability by formulating and implementing legislation and regulation in accordance with the international instruments. This includes making e-government services accessible adhering to the current version of W3C’s Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. This commitment should be enforced by the governments with designated trained staff as well as reasonable financial resources. Furthermore, research and development in accessible technology is to be supported for low cost availability of digital products to persons with disability.
  3. Making educational facilities and curriculum at all levels accessible through an equal delivery mechanism. Developing and delivering university courses on digital accessibility.
  4. Providing an enabling environment facilitated by accessible digital resources in the public and private sector for creating employment opportunities for people with disability.
  5. Businesses and the private sector making their online services accessible and adhering to the current version of W3C’s Web Content Accessibility Guidelines.
  6. International donor agencies and IGOs providing accessible technologies, both hardware and software, to people with disability in their developing country programs. This includes training in the effective and safe use of the Internet.
  7. The accessibility of communication, advertisement and public messaging through the provision of alternate formats and the use of inclusive design.
  8. Internet Governance organizations welcoming people with disability to their deliberations, ensuring that their programs and communications are accessible, thereby enabling people with disability to participate proactively and productively in order to project their voices in global, regional and national Internet Governance processes.

Further activity (Capacity building roll-outs in 6 countries, tentatively during Oct 2022 – Mar 2023) is planned, wherein the leadership group from the Dhaka Workshop will work with their local communities to further engage with Internet Governance and related topics.

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10th Meeting of the EC Web Accessibility Directive Expert Group (WADEX)

The European Commission’s Web Accessibility Directive Expert Group (WADEX) 10th meeting took place online on a monthly basis between February and June 2022.

Topics covered were

* Web Accessibility Directive
* Cognitive Study: final report / Monitoring Web Applications
* Monitoring tools / Accessibility Conformance Testing Rules / Organisations registry and automatic sampling
* WAD, Standards and eAccessibility
* European Accessibility Act / Easy Reading
* Projects: “Live IT” & “Buddy”
* WAD review findings and open discussion on future actions

Minutes of each session and the relevant material (presentations, links, and documents) can be found on the EU website

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WebAim 2022 Web accessibility report

WEBAIM

WEBAIMFor the fourth consecutive year, WebAIM conducted an accessibility evaluation of the home pages for the top 1,000,000 web sites. The evaluation was conducted using the WAVE stand-alone API (with additional tools to collect site technology and sector parameters). The results provide an overview of and insight into the current state of web accessibility for individuals with disabilities and trends over time.

Read the report

 

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U.S. DoJ Issues Web Accessibility Guidance Under the Americans with Disabilities Act

ADA Web Guidance

ADA Web GuidanceThe U.S. Department of Justice published guidance today on web accessibility and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). It explains how state and local governments (entities covered by ADA Title II) and businesses open to the public (entities covered by ADA Title III) can make sure their websites are accessible to people with disabilities in line with the ADA’s requirements.

The guidance discusses a range of topics, including the importance of web accessibility, barriers that inaccessible websites create for some people with disabilities, when the ADA requires web content to be accessible, tips on making web content accessible and other information and resources. The guidance offers plain language and user-friendly explanations to ensure that it can be followed by people without a legal or technical background.

The full guidance is available is available at https://beta.ada.gov/web-guidance/

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Accessibility SIG is going back to its roots!

As a consequence of the Internet Society de-chartering its existing Special Interest Groups, on January 1 2022 the Accessibility Special Interest Group (A11ySIG) has reverted to its former status as a project of the Internet Society New York Chapter (ISOC-NY).

A11ySIG was formed in September 2017 to rejuvenate the existing Internet Society Disability and Special Needs Chapter (DSNC), which was founded way back in 2002 by web accessibility pioneer Cynthia Waddell. On April 9 2019 A11ySIG was chartered by the Internet Society as a Special Interest Group, taking the place of the former chapter.

A11ySIG activities include webinars, participation in major policy conferences, a website, a wiki, a calendar, a mailing list, a whatsapp group, providing secretariat and funding support for the Dynamic Coalition on Accessibility and Disability (IGF DCAD), and livestream support for other accessibility-related events and groups such as WSIS, Accessibility NYC Meetup, and Accessibility VR Meetup.

A new separate ‘Accessibility Standing Group‘ (Accessibility SG) has been constituted by the Internet Society, which has yet to establish a program. A11ySIG expects to engage and support all efforts of the new group, while independently carrying on the ongoing wider activities. A11ySIG will still be open to worldwide membership.

Interested people are invited to join both groups. A11ySIG can be joined at https://a11ysig.org/join, the Accessibility SG by joining the Internet Society.

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MAR 26 2021 – Accessible Banking for the Blind in the 21st Century: Experience Sharing from the Developed and Developing Countries

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Register on ZoomThink about the different digital services that your bank offers you to pay your bills and do shopping without visiting your bank for months. However, even in this day and age people with blindness in some countries despite knowledge, skills and willingness, have to physically go to the bank branch to do their business because of the stubbornness of the bankers and/or their Ignorance to accessible digital technologies.

Join Internet Society Accessibility Special Interest Group (Accessibility-SIG) in an interesting webinar where people with blindness from developed and developing countries come together to share their experiences with the banking sector in the 21st century.

This discussion is a part of a series of webinars that ISOC Accessibility-SIG is organizing to spread the message of digital accessibility for Persons With Disabilities (PWDs). The current pandemic has highlighted the grave importance of increasing the awareness of how to make digital spaces accessible. During this current Pandemic, where everything is virtual many online platforms, digital environments and even conferences are just not accessible to people with disabilities. Through this series of webinars, we hope to increase the awareness so that the digital spaces can be made more accessible and inclusive to all irrespective of the disability. Our goal is to make sure that the Internet is really for everyone just as the ISOC tagline states. In the next webinar of this series, we are bringing experts and users from around different parts of the world together to discuss the challenges that people with visual impairment/blindness face particularly with regards to the banking system.

DATE / TIME

The webinar will be organized on Friday March 26th 2021 from 1300-1430 UTC

AGENDA

Moderator, Muhammad Shabbir Awan (President, ISOC Accessibility SIG)

Welcome and Introduction to SIG by Judith Hellerstein Secretary ISOC Accessibility SIG), (5 mins)
Stage setting by the moderator (3 mins)
Experience Sharing by:
Majid Khan, USA, (7 mins)
Vashkar Bhattacharjee, Bangladesh, (7 mins)
Abdul Qadir, Jordan, (7 mins)
Abdul Busuulwa, Uganda, (7 mins)
Imran Shaikh, Pakistan, (7 mins)
Gerry Ellis, Ireland, (7 mins)
Anatoliy Popko, Russia, (7 mins)
Open discussion, (30 mins)
Wrap up by the Moderator, (3 mins).

LIVESTREAM http://livestream.com/internetsociety/a11ysigcovid6 (Open Captions )

DOWNLOAD video | audio | pdf transcript | text transcript

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FEB 25 2021 – Accessibility Challenges: A conversation with ISOC Armenia

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On Thursday 25 February 2021 at 14:00-15:30 UTC the Internet Society Accessibility Special Interest Group (Accessibility SIG) convenes a meeting with the theme ‘Accessibility Challenges: A conversation with ISOC Armenia‘. All are invited!

TOPICS
1. Internet Availability Center of Blind and Visually Impaired People
2. Internet Radio for People with Visual Impairments
3. A tool for Autistic Children and Children with social anxiety
4. Let’s talk: AAC App for Armenian non-verbal individuals


LIVESTREAM http://livestream.com/internetsociety/a11ysigcovid5

ARCHIVE
https://archive.org/details/a11ysigcovid5

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JAN 17 2021: Digital Accessibility Awareness in times of Covid-19

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On Sunday 17 January 2021 at 14:30-16:00 UTC the Internet Society Accessibility Special Interest Group (Accessibility SIG) will convene a meeting with the theme ‘Digital Accessibility Awareness in times of Covid-19‘. All are invited!

AGENDA
1. Mr. Praveen Misra (India) – Overview of Digital Accessibility and Prominence & Challenges in times of Covid19
2. Ms. Judith Hellerstein (US) – Secretary A11YSIG – Overview of A11ySIG and outreach activities that can be undertaken
3. Ms. Kelly Colman (US) – Accessibility in Home Health Care and the impacts of SDOH” (social determinants of health)
4. Dr. Emmanuelle Gutierrez (Spain) Artificial Intelligence and the importance of accessibility training
5. Mr. Kindy Vereus MONTREUIL (Haïti) – Digital Accessibility between Necessity and Opportunity
6. Discussion & Question Answer

 

LIVESTREAM http://livestream.com/internetsociety/a11ysigcovid (Open Captions, ASL)

ARCHIVE
https://archive.org/details/a11ysigcovid

 

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DEC 3 2020 – Commemorating the International Day of Persons With Disabilities: Building an Accessible Internet for Everyone

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On Thursday 3rd December 2020 at 2pm-3pm EST (19:00-20:00 UTC) the Internet Society Accessibility Special Interest Group (Accessibility SIG) will host a webinar ‘Commemorating the International Day of Persons With Disabilities: Building an Accessible Internet for Everyone‘. This event will bring ISOC leadership and community together to observe the International Day of Persons With Disabilities (IDPD).

The United Nations General Assembly resolution 47/3 proclaimed the annual observance of the IDPD in 1992. The observance of IDPD aims to promote an understanding of disability issues and mobilize support for the dignity, rights and well-being of persons with disabilities. It also seeks to increase awareness of gains to be derived from the integration of persons with disabilities in every aspect of political, social, economic and cultural life. The theme for IDPD 2020 is “Building Back Better: toward a disability-inclusive, accessible and sustainable post COVID-19 World”.

SPEAKERS
Andrew Sullivan,Internet Society CEO and President, will be the keynote speaker at the webinar.
Gunela Astbrink, VP Accessibility SIG, will also introduce and present the 2nd edition of the Accessibility Toolkit.

LIVESTREAM http://livestream.com/internetsociety/idpd2020 (Captions, ASL*)

ARCHIVE
https://archive.org/details/idpd2020