WAI-CooP

Announcements

• 28 September: Open Meeting on EU Web Accessibility Directive (WAD)
• 6 October: Paper Deadline for Online Research Symposium
• 7 November: Registration Deadline for Online Research Symposium
• 10 November: Online Research Symposium “Shape the Future”
• Sign-Up: to receive WAI-CooP Project Updates
• Held First Online Open Meeting on 23 June 2021
• Held ACT Rules Community Group Meeting on 19 March 2021
• WAI-CooP Project started on 1 January 2021

Project Results

Current project results include:

List of Courses on Digital Accessibility

Includes developing a user interface with filtering functionality, a taxonomy to describe courses and certification on digital accessibility with mapping to the WAI Curricula, and promoting and gathering list entries. An early prototype is available. This work is being carried out in the W3C Accessibility Education and Outreach Working Group (EOWG).

Accessibility Conformance Testing (ACT) Rules

Includes promoting, tracking, and validating implementations of “Accessibility Conformance Testing (ACT) Rules” in automated testing tools and manual testing methodologies. This includes redesign of the user interface to better integrate implementation reports submitted by different vendors. This work is being carried out in the ACT Task Force of the W3C Accessibility Guidelines Working Group (AGWG).

Project Deliverables

Technical project deliverables include:

• Monitor Market Developments
  • Accessibility Training and Certification — establish a W3C List of Web Accessibility Training and Certification with mappings to the WAI Curricula
  • Web Accessibility Evaluation Tools — revise and expand the W3C List of Web Accessibility Evaluation Tools with focus on large-scale monitoring
  • Policies and Practices Internationally — revise and expand the W3C List of International Policies on Web Accessibility with focus on Europe
• Monitor Technology Developments
  • Support Harmonized Accessibility Testing — monitor, promote, and document implementation of W3C Accessibility Conformance Testing (ACT) Rules
  • Analyze Gaps in Digital Technologies — analyze potential support and gaps for accessibility in evolving and emerging technologies
  • Advancements in Research and Development — hold open research symposia to explore research questions on accessibility implementation
• Promote and Exchange Best Practices
  • Hold Regular Open Meetings — hold open meetings to promote the involvement of people with disabilities in implementation and monitoring efforts
  • Provide Help Desk Support — respond to questions from all stakeholders on implementing the EU Web Accessibility Directive (WAD)
  • Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) — establish a curated collection of frequently asked questions on the EU Web Accessibility Directive (WAD)
  • Revise Key WAI Resources — revise WAI resources that are relevant to implementation of the EU Web Accessibility Directive (WAD)

These deliverables are complemented by project management, dissemination, and engagement efforts.

How To Participate

Most of the project work listed above is developed through or in coordination with:

• W3C Accessibility Education and Outreach Working Group (EOWG)
• W3C Accessibility Conformance Testing (ACT) Task Force
• W3C Research Questions Task Force (RQTF)

We invite participation, comments, and contributions by anyone interested. This includes reviewing drafts of these resources and actively participating in the relevant groups to help develop these resources. All project results will be provided openly on royalty-free basis, and will be linked from this page.

See also Participating in WAI. If you have any questions, contact Shadi Abou-Zahra (Scientific Coordinator).

About the Project

WAI-CooP, Communities of Practice, is a Coordination and Support Action project, co-funded by the European Commission (EC) under the Horizon 2020 program (Grant Agreement 101004794). The project is schedule to start on 1 January 2021 for a duration of three years. WAI-CooP support implementation of the international standards for digital accessibility through:

• Establishing vendor-neutral overview on available training, tools, and resources internationally
• Analyzing technological advancements and coordinating with relevant research and development
• Providing opportunities for key stakeholders to share resources and to exchange best practices

WAI-CooP achieves this by building on the existing wealth of authoritative guidance available from the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI), to provide a one-stop shop for the broad spectrum of key stakeholders involved in the implementation of digital accessibility. This includes public bodies and private entities; organisations representing people with disabilities; product, service, and training providers; researchers; and policy makers.

See project deliverables above and contact Shadi Abou-Zahra (Scientific Coordinator) for more information.

Project Partners

WAI-CooP project partners include:

• Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) – as part of W3C, France
• European Disability Forum (EDF) , Belgium
• HAN University of Applied Sciences , Netherlands
• University of Lisbon, Faculty of Sciences Association for Research and Development , Portugal
• Deque Research , Netherlands