W3C

WAI-AGE Task Force
17 Sep 2008

Agenda:

 

Attendees

Present
Andrew, Shadi, Jack, William, Isabelle, Helle
Regrets
Michael, Suzette, Nacho
Chair
Andrew
Scribe
Shadi

Contents


Business Case for Web Accessibility

<andrew> Overview - http://www.w3.org/WAI/bcase/Overview

William: law has become more important

William: integrate ageing into accessibility, rather than isolating

Jack: is there a compelling reason to differentiate vs integrate? May be good to mention several groups to benefit

Andrew: enforce that older people are online and that they are using computers
... bring closer the idea of a larger group and more benefits
... any factors that would benefit from mentioning older users?

William: corporation examples section not specific

Shadi: maybe should mention that the rising average age for the workforce in corporations

Jack: agree with that
... also wondering if we want to switch the order of legal and policy factors
... it is not a nice-to-have but a fundamental right

William: in the legal part it refers to access for older people

Jack: propose putting legal and policy factors first, because people tend to see the first and last items most prominently

Isabelle: good idea for some countries where legal frameworks exist
... but many other countries where this is not the case
... people may not pay attention to this

William: what's an example?

Isabelle: in Belgium there is a law but not strong enough

William: isn't the European Union strict about this?

Isabelle: countries within the Union have different laws

William: do you not want to put this as a first bullet?

Isabelle: there are some good arguments for doing so, but I think in some countries this does not work

Shadi: agree. also think that in many EU countries the private organizations do not feel that they are affected by policies and legislation

Andrew: also in Australia very similar

William: general direction is that accessibility eventually be regulated

Jack: what kind of factors would be most compelling for organizations?
... why would people put the time and energy into changing things

Isabelle: three other arguments are more attractive to organizations
... the market generated by the ageing population is more interesting for businesses in Belgium
...new businesses in Belgium would likely listen to the technical and social factors

Helle: agree with importance of legal arguments
... but haven't seen much of a difference in the previous years
... in EU people are still talking if we may need to have more legislation
... don't see a difference now that we are talking about the older population

Shadi: one difference is the UN Convention on people with disabilities - maybe bring this into the introduction, and emphasise equal access as the paramount goal

Helle: would be good if we could get that into the document

Shadi: maybe a way of formulating this is that equal rights are the basis, and the other arguments are supplementary, but necessary

Isabelle: there use to be a label called BlindSurfer in Belgium, now called AnySurfer

<scribe> ACTION: AA consider revising the first paragraph of the Overview to clarify that the paramount goal is including people with disabilities due to equal rights [recorded in http://www.w3.org/2008/09/17-waiage-minutes.html#action01]

 

<andrew> Social Factors - http://www.w3.org/WAI/bcase/soc.html

Andrew: any specific questions that we want to add?

Helle: second bullet, change social responsibility to equal access?

Shadi: social responsibility is broader that equal opportunities
... could add the term "equal opportunities" into the sentence after the question

William: should focus on older users

Shadi: think that equal opportunities also refers to gender, age, ethical background etc

[discussion if the fourth bullet leads to unnecessary separation]

William: accessibility also benefits other users

Shadi: as we grow older we all face impairments/disabilities, and we should be accounting for this (in section Social: Barriers to Web Use)

Shadi: CSR section ... commitment to providing equal opportunities for xyz? Maybe not.

William: middle block in "Access for Older Users" needs revision

Jack: think the information is good, not sure if good under social factors
... maybe also need to say something about "functional disabilities" or "other types of barriers" due to using other sorts of devices

Andrew: overlap to mobile?

Jack: yes, we don't access the Web only through desktop computers
... important social factor

Check on possible meeting in October

Andrew: W3C holds annual meeting where lots of W3C groups attend
... we may be able to use part of the time of the Education and Outreach Working Group to meet
... short window of opportunity if we want to make use of it
... some have responded already, wondering about interest of others
... 23-24 October 2008 in Cannes, France
... will follow-up by mail to check participation

NEXT MEETING: October 1st

Summary of Action Items

[NEW] ACTION: AA consider revising the first paragraph or the Overview to clarify that the paramount goal is including people with disabilities due to equal rights [recorded in http://www.w3.org/2008/09/17-waiage-minutes.html#action01]
 
[End of minutes]

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