ictQATAR's Website Upgraded


Website Achieves "AA" Level of Accessibility

Rasid, surfing a website using assistive technologyWebsite now accessible for the visually impaired 
ictQATAR announced on December 3rd, 2008 that its website has been enhanced to fully comply with the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Level AA accessibility standards. The upgraded website is part of ictQATAR's ongoing effort to provide universal access to people with disabilities, and is being launched on the United Nations' International Day of Persons with Disabilities, which celebrates the values of dignity and justice for all.

ictQATAR aims to provide a website that is accessible to the widest possible audience, regardless of visual, hearing, motor and cognitive impairments. The latest update will elevate ictQATAR's site from WAI "A" Compliance to a minimum of WAI "AA" Compliance as outlined in W3C's Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) guidelines.

Working in close conjunction with the website's developers, the upgrade featured a full review of the existing website code, updating items such as navigation links and alternative image names. Multimedia content will be accompanied by text descriptions to ensure that all users will be able to understand the audio or visual content, regardless of their impairments. Further upgrades were also made to the Content Management System used to maintain the site to ensure that all future content is "AA" accessible.

"All of us working to harness the power of ICT have a responsibility to ensure that its promise is for everybody, not just a select few," said Dr. Hessa Al-Jaber, ictQATAR's Secretary General. "About 650 million people worldwide live with disabilities at any one time. We all need to be aware of this group's unique needs and work to create an
information society that is truly inclusive. I am proud that ictQATAR has taken this step forward in providing universal access and complying with international standards, and I hope that this will serve as an inspiration for others to take similar steps."

The UN's International Day of Persons with Disabilities is an opportunity for people around the world to recognize the importance of being inclusive of people with disabilities. With about 10 percent of the world's population living with disabilities, it is absolutely critical that the global community make every effort to guarantee these citizens are ensured the same opportunities as their peers.

You can download ictQATAR's interview with Gwilym Lewis, Kieon Consultant, who discusses web accessibility and best worldwide practices in such field. To listen to the audio interview, follow this link.

To view the PDF press release announcing ictQATAR's web upgrade, follow this link.







Add Comments