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WAI-AGE Project (IST 035015)

Web Accessibility Initiative: Ageing Education and Harmonisation (WAI-AGE)
European Commission Project, 6th Framework, IST 035015

Announcements

Developing a Web Accessibility Business Case for Your Organization is updated to more thoroughly address the impact of Web accessibility on older users. Older users are an increasing market segment and an important target group for many organizations. This update also includes references to the new WCAG 2. Get more details on recent and upcoming updates from the WAI IG e-mail.    (2009-June-25)

Forthcoming Task Force meetings:

• 15 July - no meeting
• 29 July 2009
• 12 August 2009
• 26 August 2009
• Latest Minutes - 1 July 2009

Current Work

The WAI-AGE project plans a number of educational and outreach Project Deliverables to extend the findings of the project both to industry and to users. Current work-in-progress includes:

• Slide Set introducing WAI-AGE (Draft)
  • Requirements for the WAI-AGE Slide Set
• Before and After Demonstrations (Draft revision)
• Requirements for the Before and After Demonstrations update
• Responding to Organizations with Inaccessible Websites (Draft)
  • Requirements for Responding to Organizations with Inaccessible Websites
• Involving Users in Web Development and Evaluation (revision)
  • Requirements for Involving Users in Web Development and Evaluation (draft)
• How People with Disabilities use the Web (revision)
  • Requirements for How People with Disabilities use the Web (draft)

These resources are being developed through the Education and Outreach Working Group (EOWG).

Publications and Presentations

Literature Review

A draft Literature Review and Analysis of Comparative Needs regarding the needs of people who have Web accessibility needs related to ageing has been published:

• Web Accessibility for Older Users: A Literature Review, W3C Working Draft 14 May 2008
  • Requirements for WAI-AGE Literature Review document
• WAI Guidelines and Older Web Users: Findings from the WAI-AGE Literature Review (draft)
• Observations and Conclusions from the WAI-AGE Literature Review and Analysis (draft)

Feedback on these documents is still welcome.

Presentations at Conferences and Workshops

• W3C Hungary Office - Web Accessibility Day (November 2008)
• Senioren im Web: Barrierefreiheit für ältere Menschen [German] (September 2008)
• ADDW Conference, York (September 2008)
• HCI and the Older Population, Liverpool (September 2008) - available on request
• ICCHP Conference (July 2008)
• Web Cognition Conference, Granada (April 2008) - available on request
• Keynote at W4A, Beijing (April 2008)
• CSUN Presentation (March 2008)
• AAATE (October 2007)

Papers & Articles

• How Web Accessibility Guidelines Apply to Design for the Ageing Population (Word, 286kb),
  Proceedings of Accessible Design in a Digital World Conference, York UK, September 2008
• Towards Bridging the Accessibility Needs of People with Disabilities and the Ageing Community,
  ACM Paper presented at the W4A 2008 Conference
• Web Accessibility and the Ageing Population (Word, 108kb),
  Proceedings of Cognition and the Web conference, Granada, April 2008

About WAI-AGE

WAI-AGE is a European Commission IST Specific Support Action with the goal of increasing accessibility of the Web for older people as well as for people with disabilities in European Union Member States.

The project was planned during 2005 and 2006 and officially started in April 2007. W3C/ERCIM is the primary partner. The project runs for 36 months and has 5 main objectives for increasing the accessibility of the Web for those with accessibility needs related to ageing within European Union Member States:

• 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 older people in Europe;
• to better inform the ongoing work of W3C/WAI with regard to the needs of older people, 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;
• to provide educational resources focused towards industry implementors, including developers of mainstream technologies, assistive technologies, and Web designers and developers, 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;
• to provide educational resources focused towards organizations representing and serving ageing communities, and towards individuals with accessibility needs related to ageing, through reviewing and revising existing WAI educational resources and to develop new educational resources which support promotion and implementation of Web accessibility solutions for people with accessibility needs due to ageing;
• 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, 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.

We welcome contributions by researchers, developers and users through comment on existing work in development or by active participation in the WAI-AGE task force. Contact Andrew Arch for further information.

Task force

A Task Force has been established under the Education and Outreach Working Group (EOWG) to guide the work of the project.

Meetings

• The WAI-AGE Task Force meets every second week via teleconference and IRC.
  • Refer to the WAI-AGE Teleconferences page for more information.
• Previous Task Force teleconference Minutes

Let us know if you are interested in participating regularly in the WAI-AGE Task Force or if you would just like to subscribe to the WAI-AGE mailing list. Contact Andrew Arch with questions.

WAI-AGE Staff

• Judy Brewer (jbrewer@w3.org), WAI-AGE Project Coordinator
• Shadi Abou-Zahra (shadi@w3.org), WAI-AGE Web Accessibility Specialist for Europe
• Andrew Arch (andrew@w3.org), WAI-AGE Web Accessibility and Ageing Specialist
• Marie-Claire Forgue, W3C Communications Team
• Web Accessibility and Ageing Consultant (part time, to be announced)

Document Information

[Contacting WAI] Comments about this Web site: wai-site-comments@w3.org (a publicly archived list).

File (not necessarily content) last updated on $Date: 2009/07/03 10:46:20 $ by $Author: andrew $