Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI)

Events, Meetings, Presentations

At W4A2009 - Conference on Web Accessibility in Madrid, Spain on 20 April: "Web Accessibility for Older Users - Successes and Opportunities" presentation by Andrew Arch
At STC Technical Communication Summit in Atlanta, GA, USA on 3 and 4 May: "Unleashing Opportunities through Accessibility" and "Advancing Web Accessibility" presented by Shawn Henry
At Do Web Accessibility Guidelines guarantee Universal Design? in Oslo, Norway on 7 May: "WCAG 2.0 - addressing the needs of people with disabilities and older people." presented by Andrew Arch
At ICTA 2009 International Conference on Information and Communication Technology & Accessibility in Hammamet, Tunisia on 7 and 9 May: "Web Accessibility with WCAG 2.0: International Cooperation, Local Implementation" and "Improving Your Web Site with WCAG 2.0" presented by Shawn Henry

[WAI Presentations]
[Past WAI Events]

Documents in Progress

WAI-ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) Last Call 24 February 2009 (WAI-ARIA Call for Review)
Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 Working Draft 17 March 2009 (ATAG 2.0 Call for Review)
User Agent Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 Working Draft 11 March 2009 (UAAG 2.0 Call for Review)
Web Accessibility for Older Users: A Literature Review 14 May 2008 (WAI-AGE Call for Review and Participation)

[More documents listed on the WAI IG page]

Highlights

Which links to what: Referencing WCAG, ATAG, UAAG, and WAI-ARIA

Ever wonder which URI (Web address) you should use for links to WCAG or other WAI technical documents? To learn which URI to use for what, which have stable content, and which give you the latest version, see Referencing and Linking to WAI Guidelines and Technical Documents. (2009-03-12)

For Review: UAAG 2.0 Updated Working Draft

WAI has published an updated User Agent Accessibility Guidelines (UAAG) 2.0 Working Draft. UAAG defines how browsers, media players, and other "user agents" should support accessibility for people with disabilities and work with assistive technologies. WAI encourages you to review UAAG 2.0 and submit any comments, particularly on keyboard accessibility and defining Web applications as user agents. See:

Please send comments by 22 April 2009. (2009-03-11)

For Review: Pointer Methods in RDF (EARL Companion Document)

WAI has published Pointer Methods in RDF as a First Public Working Draft. This document provides a framework for representing pointers to identify locations in content or portions of content, using Resource Description Framework (RDF). It is a companion to Evaluation and Report Language (EARL), a format to exchange, combine, and analyze results from different evaluation tools. See:

Please send comments by 7 April 2009. (2009-03-10)

WCAG 2.0 Official in Multiple Languages

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 will soon be available in several languages as W3C Authorized Translations. The Policy for Authorized W3C Translations provides a process for stakeholder review and designation as an official translation. Draft "Candidate Authorized Translations" available for review will be announced to the WAI Interest Group (IG) mailing list.

WCAG 2.0 Translations lists completed and planned translations, and links to more information on W3C translations. (2009-03-03)

For Review: WAI-ARIA Last Call

WAI has published the Last Call Working Draft of WAI-ARIA, the Accessible Rich Internet Applications technical specification. This Last Call is provided for public review of the document with all resolutions from previous comments incorporated. See:

Please send comments by 17 April 2009. (2009-02-24)

For Review: New WAI-ARIA document for browsers

WAI has published the First Public Working Draft of the WAI-ARIA User Agent Implementation Guide that describes how browsers and other user agents should support the Accessible Rich Internet Applications (WAI-ARIA) technical specification, particularly how they should expose WAI-ARIA features to platform accessibility APIs. See:

Call for Review: WAI-ARIA Last Call and New Document for Browsers announcement e-mail
WAI-ARIA Overview

Please send comments by 17 April 2009. (2009-02-24)

For Review: ATAG 2.0 Updated Working Draft

An updated Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines (ATAG) 2.0 Working Draft that is synchronized with the finalized WCAG 2.0 was published 17 February 2009. ATAG defines how authoring tools should help Web developers produce Web content that is accessible and conforms to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0. ATAG also defines how to make authoring tools accessible so that people with disabilities can use them. WAI encourages you to review ATAG 2.0 and submit any comments. See:

Please send comments by 16 March 2009. (2009-02-17)

WCAG 2.0 is Finalized: W3C Web Standard Defines Accessibility for Next Generation Web

On 11 December 2008 W3C announced a new standard that will help Web designers and developers create sites that better meet the needs of users with disabilities and older users. Drawing on extensive experience and community feedback, Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 improves upon W3C's groundbreaking initial standard for accessible Web content, applies to more advanced technologies, and is more precisely testable. Please see additional information in:

A New Era for Web Accessibility: WCAG 2.0 is Finalized blog post,
W3C Web Standard Defines Accessibility for Next Generation Web press release,
WCAG Overview that links to several related resources.

(2008-12-11)

Shared Web Experiences: Mobile and Accessibility Barriers

WAI has just published an updated draft of Shared Web Experiences: Barriers Common to Mobile Device Users and People with Disabilities. This document is particularly useful for demonstrating the overlap between accessible and mobile-friendly Web content, for developing a business case for accessibility, and for more efficiently developing your Web site for both accessibility and mobile devices. See:

Please send comments by 20 August 2008, if possible. (2008-07-29)

For Review: WCAG 2 at a Glance

Web Accessibility: WCAG 2.0 at a Glance provides a summary of Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0. We welcome your comments on this draft, preferably by 15 July 2008. (2008-07-07)

For Review: Updated Accessibility-Mobile Web Overlap Document

Web sites can be designed more efficiently to be accessible for people with disabilities and also for people using mobile devices when developers understand the significant overlap between the two design goals and guidelines. W3C recently published updated material describing this overlap. See:

Call For Review: Relationship Between Mobile Web and Web Content Accessibility Updated announcement e-mail
Web Content Accessibility and Mobile Web: Making a Web Site Accessible Both for People with Disabilities and for Mobile Devices introductory page
Relationship between Mobile Web Best Practices (MWBP) and Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) Working Draft

We welcome your comments on these documents, preferably by 15 August 2008. (2008-07-07)

WAI-AGE: Addressing Accessibility Needs Due to Ageing

The WAI-AGE Project (Ageing Education and Harmonisation) focuses on education and outreach regarding the requirements of people with Web accessibility needs related to ageing. One of the WAI-AGE project deliverables is Web Accessibility for Older Users: A Literature Review, which was published on 14 March as a First Public Working Draft. WAI encourages you to review this draft and submit any comments by 4 June 2008, if possible.

See Call for Review and Participation: WAI-AGE Literature Review and Task Force for an introduction to the project and an invitation to contribute to the literature review and other WAI-AGE work. (2008-05-14)

WAI Interviews: Shadi and Shawn Talk Web Accessibility

Recent interviews with Shadi Abou-Zahra and Shawn Lawton Henry are available online:

Webtalk: Shadi Abou-Zahra über die Web Accessibility Initiative with Shadi is in German.
Radio New Zealand Interview, February 2008 with Shawn is audio with a text transcript.

(2008-03-05)

Pass It On: WCAG 2.0 Presentation Materials

"About WCAG 2.0 Web Content Accessibility Guidelines" is a presentation that covers the benefits of WCAG 2.0, shortcuts for using WCAG 2.0, how it differs from WCAG 1.0, and related topics. The presentation "slides" and extensive notes are designed for presenters to use for their own presentations. It's also available for anyone who wants to learn about WCAG 2.0. See Instructions for the "About WCAG 2.0" Presentation. (2007-10-31)

Updates: WCAG 2.0 and WAI Resources Handouts

WCAG 2.0 primary points, current status, and Web accessibility resources from W3C WAI are topics covered in new handouts that you can use for conferences and presentations. The handouts direct readers to the updated WCAG 2 FAQ, How WAI Develops Accessibility Guidelines through the W3C Process, and other documents. See:

(2007-04-04)

Want to know how people with disabilities use your Web site? Ask.

Web accessibility guidelines, techniques, and tools provide the basis for Web accessibility. Including people with disabilities in the Web development process helps to understand the "why" behind accessibility. It leads to more effective accessibility solutions, developed more efficiently. See "Involving Users in Web Accessibility Evaluation". (2005-11-02)

Web Accessibility: The Fellowship of the Guidelines

Many people know about WAI's Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and the responsibilities of Web developers in making the Web accessible to people with disabilities. But Web developers alone cannot make the Web accessible.

Web browsers, assistive technologies, and authoring tools also have a vital role in Web accessibility. Essential Components of Web Accessibility describes these roles along with the WAI guidelines. (2005-07-22)

See additional highlights in the Highlights Archive.
WAI home page Highlights are edited by Shawn Henry, WAI's Education and Outreach Working Group, and other WAI Team and Working Groups.

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