There has been extensive development of resources and guidelines for accessibility of the Web for people with disabilities. While these guidelines address many requirements of the ageing population, the relevance of these guidelines to the needs of the ageing population is not well understood by many organizations representing and/or serving the needs of the ageing community nor by many of the technology developers. There is a need to better understand the relationship and overlap of the requirements, and to develop educational resources to help developers provide Web sites that work better for people who experience changes in abilities due to ageing, as well as for people with disabilities.
The WAI-AGE project has been designed to help bridge the gap between the disability and the ageing communities by researching some of the common accessibility needs as well as identifying differences in the needs of the two groups. The activities of the project are conducted through ERCIM, the European host for the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). The Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI), one of the five domains of W3C, has achieved worldwide recognition for its work developing guidelines and resources to promote accessibility for people with disabilities.
The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is an international consortium where Member organizations, a full-time staff, and the public work together to develop Web standards. W3C's mission is to lead the World Wide Web to its full potential by developing protocols and guidelines that ensure long-term growth for the Web. W3C operates from three host sites: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) for North America; the European Research Consortium for Informatics and Mathematics (ERCIM) for Europe; and the Keio University for Asia. W3C operations are supported by a combination of Member dues, research grants, and other sources of public and private funding.
W3C primarily pursues its mission through the creation of Web standards and guidelines. W3C also engages in education and outreach, develops software, and serves as an open forum for discussion about the Web. In order for the Web to reach its full potential, the most fundamental Web technologies must be compatible with one another and allow any hardware and software used to access the Web to work together. W3C refers to this goal as "Web interoperability." By publishing open (non-proprietary) standards for Web languages and protocols, W3C seeks to avoid market fragmentation and thus Web fragmentation.
The W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) is one of five domains of technical work under W3C. In partnership with organizations around the world, WAI pursues accessibility of the Web for people with disabilities through five primary activities:
WAI benefits from multi-stakeholder involvement throughout its work, including representation from industry, disability communities, accessibility research, and government. Since its inception in 1997, WAI has produced and is widely known for its guidelines that include:
WAI is currently working on advanced versions of its guidelines. In addition, WAI is responsible for ensuring the accessibility support in scores of W3C technologies, and has produced scores of educational resources which are all available online.
The WAI-AGE project (Web Accessibility Initiative: Ageing Education and Harmonisation) is a W3C/WAI project that is funded by the European Commission under its 6th Framework Programme (FP6) of the Information Society Technologies (IST). It is an IST Specific Support Action (SSA) with the goal of increasing accessibility of the Web for the ageing community, by researching and informing on the common needs for people with disabilities. It includes activities to:
A significant part of this work includes researching existing literature with regard to information technology access for the ageing community, and comparing the overlap with solutions provided by the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI). It is this literature review and possible recommendations that we wish to particularly expand upon at the upcoming W4A conference.
Beyond analyzing these technical specifications, the educational resources developed by WAI are also being reviewed to determine overlapping needs. This includes resources to introduce the topic of Web accessibility, to introduce the guidelines, and to help manage or evaluate the accessibility of Web sites. The aim of this comprehensive analysis is to provide input into the development of updated or new materials and resources that better explain the development of Web sites for people with disabilities and the ageing community to industry and users.
The WAI-AGE project officially started in April 2007 with W3C/ERCIM as the EC project partner. The project runs for 36 months and has the following five main objectives for increasing the accessibility of the Web for those with accessibility needs related to ageing:
The first objective of the WAI-AGE project is to inform the development of extensions on WAI guidelines and supplemental educational materials which can better promote and meet the needs of people who have accessibility needs related to ageing, with particular relevance to the needs of the elderly in Europe.
Some literature already exists on the needs of elders with regard to information technology access, and in some cases these needs have been developed into general guidance, but without cross-reference or comparison to the three W3C/WAI accessibility guidelines and supporting materials or resources. This lack of a clear analysis of discrepancies and gaps makes it difficult to prioritise and plan coordinated work.
The needs of elders with regard to Web accessibility are often functionally similar to those of people with disabilities on a feature-by-feature requirements basis. Yet sometimes because of the gradual onset of multiple functional changes, such as vision, hearing, dexterity, and/or memory, and their lack of familiarity with assistive technologies used by many people with disabilities, it can become overwhelming for some people with ageing-related accessibility needs to learn and remember the necessary steps and strategies for navigating and interacting with Web sites. At the same time, it is increasingly imperative for the elderly to be able to use Web-based services such as telemedicine or eGovernment.
This objective is accomplished through a needs compilation and comparison, by reviewing and carefully comparing differences and similarities between the technical and outreach needs of people with accessibility needs due to ageing, and the technical and outreach needs of people with disabilities, with regard to Web accessibility. An early draft of this scientific analysis is currently under development, and we expected to present some preliminary findings during the W4A conference.
A second objective is to better inform the ongoing work of W3C/WAI with regard to the needs of the elderly, and to create an ongoing dialog between ageing communities and disability communities, and other stakeholder groups on the needs of people who have accessibility needs related to ageing.
W3C/WAI has created a unique forum where industry, disability communities, accessibility researchers and government cooperate together to develop consensus-based accessibility solutions for the Web. However, individuals and representatives from the ageing community have not been as involved in the dialog and in development of W3C/WAI resources as have other communities.
Consequently, while the WAI guidelines cover the majority of technical needs of people with accessibility needs due to ageing, the guidelines may not cover some relevant technical needs or combinations thereof. In general, W3C/WAI promotional and educational resources are directed towards people with disabilities, and do not speak as clearly to awareness and advocacy perspectives of the ageing community as is needed -- especially given that many people with accessibility needs due to ageing do not identify themselves as disabled and would not necessarily look towards disability-related resources for solutions to functional problems that they encounter as they may experience changes in visual, hearing, dexterity, memory, and more.
This objective is accomplished through promoting and facilitating participation in WAI groups and events and contributions to WAI work from organizations serving the needs of people with accessibility needs related to ageing, and from individuals who themselves have accessibility needs due to ageing.
A key objective of this project is to provide educational resources focused towards industry implementors, including developers of mainstream technologies, assistive technologies, and Web designers and developers. This is accomplished through reviewing and revising existing WAI educational resources, and developing new educational resources which support the promotion and implementation of Web accessibility solutions for people with accessibility needs due to ageing.
For the majority of developers of Web technology, W3C is the primary source of technical specifications, and increasingly, of guidelines for accessibility, internationalisation, device independence, mobile access and more. Previous experience has shown that even the most valuable technical resources are not fully utilized if they do not have clear introductory and promotional materials associated with them. W3C/WAI has taken an approach of developing effective technical solutions and, increasingly, pairing those with educational and outreach resources in order to increase utilization of the technical resources. W3C/WAI educational materials undergo extensive scrutiny during their development, generally in the Education and Outreach Working Group. They have a high degree of credibility, and are used and cited extensively in the Web community.
This objective aims to ensure that W3C/WAI educational resources clearly encompass the needs of the ageing community with regard to Web accessibility, and in addition that those resources are widely disseminated throughout the Web community. These resources will be made available to industry implementors involved in W3C/WAI groups; to all W3C Member Organisations; and to the public.
A parallel objective to Objective Three, is to provide educational resources focused towards organizations representing and serving ageing communities, and towards individuals with accessibility needs related to ageing. This is accomplished through reviewing and revising existing WAI educational resources and developing new educational resources which support promotion and implementation of Web accessibility solutions for people with accessibility needs due to ageing.
Often organisations that represent and serve the needs of the elderly with regard to ICT Access are unaware of the existence of WAI accessibility guidelines, or unaware of the relevance of these to the ageing population, given that the WAI guidelines are referred to as guidelines for "people with disabilities" and many people with functional problems related to ageing do not consider themselves disabled.
Consequently, organisations may miss relevant resources and likewise miss the opportunity to co-promote the need for all three WAI accessibility guidelines (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines; Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines; and User Agent Accessibility Guidelines) to be used in order to achieve accessibility of the Web, including access for older people.
This objective aims to get materials that explain and promote the relevance of Web accessibility guidelines and resources into the hands of organisations representing and serving the needs of the ageing population. These resources will be made available to W3C/WAI Working Groups, W3C Member organisations, and the public, but in particular will be distributed electronically to organisations representing and serving the elderly.
A final yet crucial objective is to promote increased harmonisation of Web accessibility standards so as to further build a unified market for technology developers and expedite the production of Web accessibility solutions. This will be accomplished through promoting ongoing dialog between organisations representing the needs of the ageing community, and educating standards organisations and policy makers on commonalities between the needs of people with disabilities and people with accessibility needs due to ageing.
Especially in Europe over the past several years there has been flourishing activity on Web accessibility. This activity has included standardization efforts around Web accessibility guidelines in a number of EU Member States - in some cases harmonised with WAI guidelines but in other cases introducing fragmentation through changes to the provisions of W3C/WAI guidelines, and thereby fragmenting the market that both authoring tool and evaluation tool developers must contend with. These European activities have included the development of process guidelines; evaluation methodologies; quality mark and certification approaches; and more. In all of these cases there is the potential to either strengthen harmonisation among Web standards and thereby accelerate the development of supporting software, training resources, etc.; or conversely to introduce more fragmentation into the area of accessibility standards.
W3C/WAI has devoted an increasing amount of effort towards promoting harmonisation of Web accessibility standards in Europe, as well as internationally. The European Commission Communication of 13 September 2005, on eAccessibility, further emphasizes the importance of continued efforts to harmonise Web accessibility standards in Europe. WAI-AGE will increase WAI's activities promoting standards harmonisation, likewise incorporating coordinated approaches with organisations representing and serving the needs of the ageing community.
The WAI-AGE project officially started in April 2007 and has to date primarily been developing the scientific literature analysis; identifying key contacts and networks; establishing a forum for exchange and dialog; and has been involved in various standards coordination and harmonisation efforts. While much of the work is currently internal and not yet ready for broad publication, we expect to be able to present some of the preliminary findings during the W4A conference. The following sections provide a brief outline of the current project progress:
The literature analysis, including an extensive list of references, is currently under development and due for publication as a formal W3C/WAI resource in the near future. While developing this analysis, we observe that some of the studies are research-based, some user observation, and some are expert opinion. While some of them have referenced the work of the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) or other resources on accessibility of the Web for people with disabilities, many seem to have been undertaken without awareness of this work. This observation is inline with the core assumption of the project that more education and outreach is needed to better communicate the relevance of Web accessibility guidelines for people with ageing related functional limitations.
Many other studies identify the impairments that develop with age such as vision, dexterity, and hearing as important, while yet others identify the issue of cognitive overload as key to some elders' ability to use Web technologies. A compounding issue is that people with accessibility needs due to ageing are less likely to identify themselves as "disabled" than people who experience these changes earlier in life. As a result, they are less likely to learn of and to avail themselves of resources which can help address their needs. It is also important to note that some people may acquire more than a single impairment, and that a typical characteristic of these impairments is that they are progressive.
Another significant discussion that is emerging from the initial research phase is on exploring the boundaries between usability and accessibility requirements. For example the usage of the Web by elderly may be significantly different, or in some instances the level of computer literacy may be the primary barrier for being able to use the Web effectively. Also the willingness and patience with exploring and learning to use Web interfaces may be less common within the ageing community, while this might often not be regarded as a technical accessibility requirement.
Since the inception of the WAI-AGE project, W3C has been seeking for outreach opportunities to engage with relevant stakeholders including researchers, experts, developers, industry, and users. The project is being introduced to interested parties on an on-going basis, in part to help identify key contacts and networks. These contacts will be of particular importance when the early drafts of the literature analysis becomes available, in order to potentially contribute and provide input. These contacts and networks might also be interested in more direct engagement, to help update or develop new educational resources.
To further facilitate the outreach efforts and encourage the engagement of interested parties, the W3C/WAI Education and Outreach Working Group (EOWG) has set up a dedicated Task Force on Web Accessibility and Ageing (WAA). The primary aim of this task force is to advise the WAI-AGE project with regard to development of educational materials and outreach strategies around the requirements of people with accessibility needs related to ageing, in association with the work of the WAI-AGE project. A Web site and public mailing list have been set up to establish a forum for dialog and exchange within and outside the task force.
W3C participates on behalf of the WAI-AGE project in several standards coordination activities within Europe, to help raise awareness and to promote an understanding of the common goals and requirements between the disability and ageing communities. This undertaking contributes to the improved harmonisation of Web accessibility standards within Europe, which in turn has crucial impact on the accessibility of Web sites and Web production tools for the disability and the ageing communities.
Most notably is the on-going work of the European Commission (EC) mandate "M376", which addresses the standardisation of European accessibility requirements for public procurement of products and services in the ICT domain. Similarly to Section 508 in the United States, such a standardised public procurement policy may have immense impact on the development and availability of accessible technologies and solutions for people with disabilities or with ageing related functional limitations.
Also, on an individual European Union (EU) Member State level, there is a need to improve the situation with regards to standards harmonisation. The relevance of internationally harmonised Web accessibility standards for the ageing community is often not well understood or sufficiently appreciated by both users and industry. Disseminating and promoting the work of the WAI-AGE project within these standards coordination activities is an important step towards bridging the gap between the accessibility needs of people with disabilities and the ageing community.
The WAI-AGE project intends to set a specific support action to promote a deeper understanding of the combined needs of the elderly and people with disabilities, with respect to Web accessibility. It is lead and carried out by the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) which has an established reputation as the leading international authority on Web accessibility, and which can thereby bring its technical expertise and credibility to bear on the work of the project. Furthermore, the project is being situated within W3C, with direct access to close to 400 W3C Members Organisations that are leaders in the Web industry, and thereby the ability to promote and provide assistance on the take-up of accessibility solutions by the Web industry.
To date the project has primarily been developing the initial scientific literature analysis; identifying relevant contacts and networks; establishing a forum for exchange and dialog; and has been involved in different standards coordination activities. While much of the work is currently internal and not yet ready for broad publication, we expect to present some of the preliminary findings during the W4A conference. In particular we wish to expand on the scientific literature analysis, and possible recommendations or conclusions from the review. We also wish to extend an invitation to the researchers, experts, developers, industry, and users to get involved and contribute to the outcomes of the project.