EuroAccessibility: Twenty-four European Organisations Launch Effort for a More Accessible Web

Focus will be on evaluation, technical assistance, and certification based on W3C/WAI Guidelines

Paris, France, April 28, 2003 - Twenty four (24) European organisations from twelve (12) countries working in the field of Web Accessibility, together with the W3C/WAI (Web Accessibility Initiative), on Monday, April 28, 2003 have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the creation of the EuroAccessibility Project. The MoU sets out governing principles for their co-operation towards the goal of establishing a harmonised set of support services over Europe, which would include a common evaluation methodology, technical assistance, and a European certification authority for Web accessibility.

All the signatories of the MoU consider that equal access to Web is a key factor in the inclusion of people with disabilities in the society.

They also observe that:

• the W3C/WAI guidelines, which address accessibility of Web sites, browsers and media players, and authoring tools, may be promoted and implemented differently in different countries,
• there is no harmonised methodology for their application and for assessing the quality of Web sites,
• several "labels" are emerging over Europe,
• governmental organisations express the need of a guarantee of quality concerning Web accessibility,
• the Council Resolution on "eAccessibility" - improving the access of people with disabilities to the Knowledge Based Society (doc. 5165/03), under section II, paragraph 2, letter a, calls on the member states and invites the Commission to consider the provision of an "eAccessibility mark" for goods and services which comply with relevant standards for eAccessibility.

Consequently, the signatories want to join their efforts in order to :

• co-ordinate with W3C/WAI to develop testing methodology based on the W3C/WAI Web Content Accessibility Guidelines,
• set up a common certification methodology,
• create an Accessibility Quality Mark based on common rules,
• develop an harmonised set of supporting services over Europe, based on a network,
• set up regional consulting desks,
• disseminate good practices,
• establish a certification authority for Web Accessibility.

In setting up this project, the signatories expect:

• to contribute to reinforce the European co-operation toward the full accessibility of e-services based on the W3C/WAI guidelines,
• to avoid the risks of fragmentation of the WAI outcomes, and finally,
• to significantly increase the number of accessible Web sites.

The 24 European organisations are:

• AbilityNet Ltd (UK)
• Accessibility Foundation (Netherlands)
• Accessinmind Ltd (UK)
• ASPHI (Association for the Development of ITC Projects for people with disabilities, Italy)
• Blindensorg Licht en Liefde (Belgium)
• ONA (Belgium)
• BrailleNet (France)
• Cellule Wall-On-Line (Belgium)
• AEGEAN (The Department of Product and Systems Design Engineering of the University, Greece)
• European Blind Union
• FIT (The Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Information Technology, Germany)
• France Telecom R&D (France)
• IBM Europe
• Linz University (Austria)
• Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Belgium)
• KFKI Research Institute for Particle and Nuclear Physics (Hungary)
• Palo Alto (Belgium)
• RINCE (Ireland)
• RNIB (Royal National Institute for the Blind, (UK)
• RNID (Royal National Institute for Deaf People, (UK)
• Fundación Sidar - Acceso Universal (Spain)
• Fundosa Teleservicios S.A (Spain)
• Videncenter for Synshandicap (Visual Impairment Knowledge Centre, Denmark)
• Web for All (Germany).

Web Site soon available at : www.euroaccessibility.org

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

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