World Wide Web Consortium Works to Bridge "Digital Divide"
Web Accessibility Initiative Director Presenting at White House Digital Divide Event
http://www.w3.org/ -- 21 September 2000 -- The White House has invited Judy Brewer, Director of the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), to speak at its Digital Divide Event on Accessible Technologies on 21 September 2000 in Flint, Michigan.
Ms. Brewer is presenting on issues regarding accessibility of the Web for people with disabilities, highlighting solutions developed by WAI to produce a Web that is more usable by all. "WAI works by bringing together industry, disability organizations, accessibility researchers, and government," explained Brewer. "We can show that accessible design is not only possible; but is also good design, and well within reach of all Web content publishers."
WAI's achievements include the development of guidelines for the creation of Web content that can be accessed by any user, regardless of disability, as well as guidelines for the production of software that makes it easier to produce accessible Web content automatically. The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines serve as a definitive resource for Web designers to produce sites that work for the widest possible audience, and have received international endorsement.
About the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI)
The World Wide Web Consortium's (W3C) commitment to lead the Web to its full potential includes promoting a high degree of usability for people with disabilities. WAI, in coordination with organizations around the world, pursues accessibility of the Web through five primary areas of work: technology, guidelines, tools, education and outreach, and research and development.
About the World Wide Web Consortium [W3C]
The W3C was created to lead the Web to its full potential by developing common protocols that promote its evolution and ensure its interoperability. It is an international industry consortium jointly run by the MIT Laboratory for Computer Science (MIT LCS) in the USA, the National Institute for Research in Computer Science and Control (INRIA) in France and Keio University in Japan. Services provided by the Consortium include: a repository of information about the World Wide Web for developers and users, and various prototype and sample applications to demonstrate use of new technology. To date, over 440 organizations are Members of the Consortium.
- Contact --
- Janet Daly, <janet@w3.org>, +1.617.253.5884 or +1.617.253.2613
