Proposed Europe-Wide Quality Mark For Website Accessibility
Open Invitation For Input/Participation

16 February 2005

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Dublin City University is currently a partner in an EU-funded project (Support-EAM) which is exploring the establishment of a Europe-wide "quality mark" for web site accessibility to all people including people with disabilities and the elderly. This is potentially a very significant development, affecting developers, commissioners/procurers, managers, and, of course, users of websites throughout Europe. It is very important that this activity be strongly influenced by the views of all these stakeholders. To that end, there are two immediate opportunities to participate in this process:

• The project has just opened an online "Questionaire on Stakeholders needs for a European eAccessibility certification and services". It is estimated that this should take only about 15 minutes to complete. Please consider completing this questionaire as a very lightweight way of contributing your views at this critical early stage. The questionaire is open for only a restricted period of time, so please respond as soon as possible.

• Separately, at the request of the European Commission, the project has entered into an agreement with the European Standards Body, CEN, to conduct a formal standardisation workshop in relation to the European certification of website accessibility. This will specifically look at the organisational and business arrangements necessary to underpin and sustain such a Europe wide scheme.

  CEN Workshop Agreements (CWAs) are consensus-based specifications, drawn up in an open Workshop environment. Membership of CEN Workshops is open to all interested parties. However, members have to be formally registered in order to participate to the consensus process (and CEN does charge a participation fee).

  We would invite all interested individuals and organisations in Ireland to read the relevant documentation carefully, and consider whether it may be appropriate to consider participation. Please monitor the S-EAM CEN Workshop Page for further details on registration and participation.

Contact Information: eAccess Lab at RINCE, Dublin City University. Director: Dr. Barry McMullin:

• Phone: +353-1-700-5432
• email: Barry.McMullin@rince.ie