A Survey of Accessibility Errors on Homepages of Official Government Websites Peter Major (Member of the Dynamic Coalition on Accessibility and Disability – DCAD) 4 th Internet Governance Forum November, Sharm El Sheik

Outline Objectives of the survey Resources Methodology used Data sampling and statistics Conclusion

Objectives Check accessibility compliance of official government websites Restrict survey to websites of signatory countries of UN Convention Check home pages only and with respect to WCAG 1.0 WCAG 1.0 Compile statistics Give recommendations based on findings

Resources Convention, guidelines, recommendations UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Web Access Initiative Guidelines (WAI) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 Section 508 Evaluation tools Section 508 WAVE, Cynthiasays Report WAVE Cynthiasays United Nations Global Audit of Web Accessibility

Methodology Identify all signatory countries of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (as of 26/09/2009) Find the official websites of signatory countries Check for accessibility errors of home pages, use semi automatic tools: WAVE Cynthiasays Compile statistics for sites of signatory countries

Data Sampling UN Convention of the rights of persons with disabilities: 144 signatory/ratifying countries (end of September 2009) 136 official government websites Accessibility snapshots of home pages (end of September 2009) 40 European, 38 African, 32 Asia-Pacific and 26 American sites

Statistics – World

Accessibility errors on homepages of 136 signatory countries

Statistics – Europe

Accessibility errors on homepages of 40 European signatory countries

Statistics – Africa

Accessibility errors on homepages of 40 African signatory countries

Statistics – Asia-Pacific

Accessibility errors on homepages of 32 Asia-Pacific signatory countries

Statistics – American Countries

Accessibility errors on homepages of 26 American signatory countries

Accessibility errors on home pages of signatory/ratifying countries of the UN Convention EuropeAfricaAsia-PacificAmericaAll error country% % % % % > Total

Conclusion Situation slightly improved since the end of 2006 (publication of United Nations Global Audit of Web Accessibility by Nomensa)Nomensa 12% of all homepages are error free 23 % with few errors (between 1 and 5) Situation is uneven: best in Europe (30% error free, 25% few errors) Typical errors: missing alt text for an image form label missing or empty empty link, linked image with no alt text

Conclusion (cont’d) Retrofit “legacy” websites and/or Redesign and apply accessibility rules Raising awareness if there is a will – there is a way Important step towards e-government Capacity building/assistance

Contact: Peter Major Dynamic Coalition on Accessibility and Disability or