1. IMPORTANT: Instructions
See 1
IMPORTANT: Instructions
Please read carefully the Instructions for the "Web Accessibility for Older Users" Presentation at for an introduction, tips, and permission to use.
The Notes section for each slide contains important information. Make sure you can read the Notes. On this slide, the notes start with “[NOTES SECTION: This is where the important information is…]”
Copyright © W3C® (MIT, ERCIM, Keio)
[NOTES SECTION This is where the important information is: for each slide.]
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Note to presenters: Please read carefully the Instructions for the “Web Accessibility for Older Users" Presentation at

2. Web Accessibility for Older Users
*DRAFT* Last Updated 27 July 2009
Welcome!
[Please leave this here in case the first slide gets deleted:
Please read the Instructions for the "Benefits of WCAG 2" Presentation at
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Note to presenters: Remember that some people may not be able to see the slides, for example, people who are blind or people listening to an audio-only recording of the presentation. Make sure that you say all of the information that is on each slide. See Advice for Presenters at

3. Presentation overview
Introducing WAI-AGE
Demographic forecasts
Ageing and functional decline
Findings from the literature review
Relevance of WAI guidelines
Ongoing work for WAI-AGE
Today I'll be talking about Web accessibility and older people, based on findings provided by the W3C WAI-AGE Project.
The presentation will introduce WAI-AGE, talk about the changing world wide demographic situation and the prevalence of age-related limitations, introduce some of the findings from a literature review, highlight some of the requirements of older users, and talk about the current activities of the project.

4. WAI-AGE Project (IST 355015) (WAI Ageing, Education and Harmonisation)
European Commission funded project focused on:
Better understanding the needs of older web users
Participation of older users in W3C standardization
Development of educational materials
Pursuit of standards harmonization
WAI-AGE project page
The Web Accessibility Initiative: Ageing Education and Harmonisation (WAI-AGE) project is funded as a European Commission IST Specific Support Action with the goal of increasing accessibility of the Web for older people as well as for people with disabilities in European Union Member States.
The WAI-AGE project is specifically intended to:
develop a better understanding of the needs of older people using the Web and how existing Web accessibility guidelines meet those needs
encourage participation of older people and organizations representing older people in W3C standardization and development
revise existing WAI educational materials and develop new materials to better reflect the needs of older users, and to support industry and users
pursue standards coordination to promote adoption and implementation of a common set of accessibility guidelines for people with disabilities and older users
More information is available from the WAI-AGE project page (
Let's first look at the motivations behind this project: changing demographics and age-related impairments

5. World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)
Leading the Web to Its Full Potential:
International vendor-neutral consortium
Evolution and interoperability of the Web for everyone, everywhere on everything
Operates from: MIT, ERCIM, and Keio
Multi-stakeholder, consensus process
Open and royalty-free Web standards:
HTML, CSS, XML, SVG, SMIL, ...
The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is an international vendor-neutral consortium where Member organizations, a full-time staff, and the public work together to develop open and royalty free Web standards. W3C's mission is:
To lead the World Wide Web to its full potential by developing protocols and guidelines that ensure long-term growth for the Web
It is about ensuring that the evolution of the Web is for everyone, everywhere, on everything. W3C operates from MIT (US), ERCIM (France) and Keio Univ (Japan). Key technologies developed through a multi-stakeholder, consensus process, include HTML, CSS, XML, SVG, SMIL etc
Note to presenters: More information about the W3C (

6. Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI)
Works to help make the Web accessible to people with disabilities through:
Accessibility support in W3C technologies
Guidelines for implementing accessibility
Methods for evaluating accessibility
Conducting education and outreach
Coordinating with R&D world-wide
Within the W3C, the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) operates fully under the W3C process and pursues accessibility of the Web through five primary activities:
ensuring that core technologies of the Web support accessibility
developing guidelines for Web content, user agents, and authoring tools
facilitating development of evaluation and repair tools for accessibility
conducting education and outreach
coordinating with research and development that can affect future accessibility of the Web.
Note to presenters: More information about WAI (

7. Global demographic changes
United Nations global demographic forecast
Year
65+ years
80+ years
2010
7.6%
1.5%
2020
9.3%
1.9%
2030
11.7%
2.3%
2040
14.2%
3.3%
2050
16.2%
4.3%
The UN estimates that the global population of people aged 65 years ands older will grow from 7.6% in 2010 to 11.7% in 2020 to 16.2% in 2050 with the population over 80 years also increasing - from just 1.5% in 2010 to 4.3% in Europe today has the oldest population in the world, and is expected to continue to experience growth in its older population ... (see next slide)
UN Reference:
Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat, World Population Prospects: The 2008 Revision
Note to presenters:
The following slide provide some European statistics on the demographic changes. Several slides are provided in the Appendix with specific country demographic forecasts for you to select from - you will probably just select one or two.
The point to emphasize is that the population is getting older.
Data from Table and Graph:
Year 2010 7.6% of population will be 65+ years; 1.5% will be 80+ years
Year 2020 9.3% of population will be 65+ years; 1.9% will be 80+ years
Year % of population will be 65+ years; 2.3% will be 80+ years
Year % of population will be 65+ years; 3.3% will be 80+ years
Year % of population will be 65+ years; 4.3% will be 80+ years

8. Demographic forecast for the EU
European situation
Demographic forecast for the EU
Year
65+ years
80+ years
2010
17% 5%
2020
20% 6%
2030
24% 7%
2040
27% 8%
2050
29%
12%
In the European Union, the EU-27 group of countries are predicted to to have nearly 30% of their population over 65 years by 2050, up from 17% in 2010 to 20% in 2020, 24% in 2030, and 27% in The proportion over 50, and potentially still in employment, is forecast to increase from 36% in 2010 to 47% in 2050 and the proportion of older-old (those over 80) will also increase - from 5% in 2010 to 12% in 2050.
These forecast changes over the next few decades highlights the significance of this older group and emphasizes the need to:
support older people in the workplace (note that many EU countries are currently raising the retirement age and people are also choosing to work longer)
support older people in the community (providing an increased ability for people to age in place)
References:
Eurostat Population and Social Conditions [PDF] for 80+ (
Eurostat - Statistics database - Population projections for 50+ (
Definition:
"EU-27" represents the 27 countries that comprised the EU as at 1 January 2007 (
Note to presenters:
Several slides are provided in the Appendix with specific country demographic forecasts for you to select from as an additional slide to emphasize the local situation if appropriate.
Data from Table and Graph:
Year 2010 17% of population will be 65+ years; 5% will be 80+ years
Year 2020 20% of population will be 65+ years; 6% will be 80+ years
Year % of population will be 65+ years; 7% will be 80+ years
Year %of population will be 65+ years; 8% will be 80+ years
Year % of population will be 65+ years; 12% will be 80+ years

9. Ageing and hearing loss
Impact:
Audio can be difficult to discern
Higher pitch sounds can be missed
Prevalence:
47% of people 61 to 80 years
93% of people 81+ years
Hearing starts to decline at around 50 years and affects a person's ability to hear higher pitched sounds as well as discern the foreground "information" from background "noise" such as music.
Some hearing loss is experienced by 47% of people 61 to 80 years and 93% of people over 81 years.
Moderate or severe hearing loss or profound deafness is experienced by 20% of people aged and 75% of people over 80.
Reference:
RNID Facts and figures on deafness and tinnitus (
Note to presenters:
Additional background on ageing and hearing loss is provided in Web Accessibility for Older Users: A Literature Review (

10. Ageing and vision decline
Impact:
Decreasing ability to focus on near tasks
Changing color perception and sensitivity
Decreasing contrast sensitivity
Prevalence: (significant vision loss)
16% of people years
19% of people 75 – 84 years
46% of people 85+ years
Vision decline includes:
Decreasing ability to focus on near tasks, including a computer screen
Changing color perception and sensitivity - less violet light is registered, making it easier to see red and yellows than blues and greens, and often making dark blue and black indistinguishable
Decreasing contrast sensitivity from pupil shrinkage - resulting in the need for more light and higher contrast (an 80 year old typically has 80% less contrast sensitivity than a 20 year old)
Vision decline often starts in a person's mid-40s with, for example, 86% of Australians over 40 requiring reading glasses to correct for near vision. Significant vision loss affecting everyday life is estimated to affect 16% of people 65 to 74 years, and 46% of those over 85 years in the UK.
Reference:
RNIB Statistics - numbers of people with sight problems by age group in the UK (
Global Burden of Presbyopia Tops One Billion People (
Definitions:
Significant sight loss in the UK is estimated using <6/18 as a measure of visual acuity (
Presbyopia - the condition where the eye exhibits a progressively diminished ability to focus on near objects with age (
Note to presenters:
Additional background on ageing and vision decline is provided in Web Accessibility for Older Users: A Literature Review (

11. Ageing and physical decline
Impact: (Motor skill decline commonly results from arthritis or Parkinson's Disease)
Difficulty using mouse or keyboard
Difficult to click small areas
Strain from non-ergonomic tasks
Prevalence:
At least 50% of people over 65 are affected by arthritis
Approximately 4% of those over 85 are affected by Parkinson's disease
Motor skill decline impacts on dexterity, for examples arthritis with associated joint stiffening, and fine motor control, for example Parkinson's Disease with associated hand trembling, making mouse use difficult or impossible for some and also affecting keyboard use. In particular, older people with physical impairments have difficulty clicking small links, selecting radio buttons, or using fly-out and pull-down menus.
Arthritis is estimated to affect at least 50% of people over 65 and Parkinson's affects around 4% of those over 85.
Reference:
Arthritis Prevalence: A Nation in Pain (PDF) (
At what age do people get Parkinson's? (
Note to presenters:
Additional background on ageing and hearing loss is provided in Web Accessibility for Older Users: A Literature Review (

12. Ageing and cognitive decline
Impact: Navigation, comprehension, and task completion can be affected by:
Short term memory problems
Difficulty with concentration
Distraction from movement or irrelevant material
Difficulty coping with information overload
Prevalence:
Dementia:
1.4% of people years
24% of people 85+ years 
Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is more common:
Around 20% of people over 70 years are estimated to experience MCI
Cognitive decline is also common. While Dementia is experienced by some older people (1.4% of people years increasing to 24% of people over 85 years), forms of mild cognitive impairment (or MCI) are much more common, affecting over 20% of those over 70 years. MCI can result in :
short term memory issues (which may result in a person forgetting the purpose of a website visit if they lose orientation on the site)
concentration and distraction issues (consider the volume of information on some pages, and the multiple animated advertisements that are sometimes present)
Reference:
The prevalence of dementia (PDF) (
Prevalence of cognitive impairment (PDF) (
Prevalence of Cognitive Impairment without Dementia in the US (
Note to presenters:
Additional background on ageing and hearing loss is provided in Web Accessibility for Older Users: A Literature Review (

13. Older people online
The Web provides older people with unprecedented opportunities for:
social interaction and communication
shopping and banking
accessing government services
accessing travel and health information
accessing training and learning opportunities
employment, research, and workspaces
The Web is increasingly important to enable older people to people to remain active and productive as they age. In particular it enables older people to:
maintain and extend social networks and overcome isolation and loneliness
access public and commercial services online that become more difficult to access in person as result of mobility issues
access news, sport, travel, health and other information
access employment-related Web applications during their later working life
access training and learning opportunities
continue to live in their own homes, ensuring that they keep their independence for longer
Notes
Older people are increasingly online, for example:
UK 2008
63% of yrs
26% of 65+ yrs (up from 15% in 2006)
Source: UK Office of National Statistics - Internet Access 2008 (PDF) (
USA 2008 (estimates)
66% of yrs
49% of yrs (in particular, the age group increased from 26% in 2005 to 45% in 2008)
27% of 76+ years (up from 17% in 2005)
Source: Pew Internet - Generations Online in (
See also:
Helping older people to access the Information Society (EC) (
Generations Online in 2009 (Pew Internet) (

14. Implications We have seen: Result: Web accessibility is important
Older population is increasing
Functional decline increases with age
Web access is an imperative
Result: Web accessibility is important
The demographic forecasts and the age-related impairment statistics show an increasingly older population who are more likely to experience impairments.
The Web provides unprecedened opportunities to assist people to "age in place" and to remain active and productive and socially connected.
Web accessibility is increasingly important to older people.
What has WAI-AGE found about the Web accessibility needs of older people?

15. Understanding older peoples' needs
WAI-AGE literature review included material about:
Impairments associated with ageing
Web site design requirements for older people
Implications of particular impairments on Web use
Older users' interaction with particular aspects of Web sites
See "Web Accessibility for Older Users: A Literature Review" for details
To better understand the needs of older users, the WAI-AGE project undertook an extensive literature review. This review included over 150 resources including scientific papers and popular articles. The range of literature reviewed included those that discussed ...
[read out the bulleted list]

16. Observations from the literature review
While the analysis showed a significant overlap with W3C/WAI recommendations, it was also observed that:
Web inexperience is an influencing factor
Information overload was commonly identified
Less technical, more usability, requirements predominated
Usability features of forms were highlighted
Many studies seemed unaware of the W3C/WAI work
Adaptive strategies were seldom considered
In reviewing the literature and analyzing the findings and recommendations, WAI-AGE found a large overlap between the identified needs of older users and the WAI recommendations. However, it was also observed that:
many older people are still new to the Web, especially among the "older old", and have not had the opportunity to become familiar with computers and the Web. This inexperience is currently an influencing factor in many of the studies discussed in the literature review
especially because declining memory and concentration are common among older people, information overload was a problem that many observers reported - many pages containing more information than some people could assimilate
most of the articles considered the usability factors of a website; very few considered the technical, or coding, aspects that may also assist
online forms were criticized heavily by some, and some suggested improvements such as grouping material and error reporting
the work of W3C and the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) was rarely mentioned and most studies did not draw on the experience of previous work relating to people with disabilities using the Web
very few articles considered the use of adaptive strategies (such as changing browser color and text size) by older users
The implications of the analysis and observations are discussed in the following slides.
Definition:
"older old" are considered as the group of people over 80 years (or sometimes over 85)

17. Observations from the literature - continued
The requirements of older users did not seem well understood by industry or users
Many studies did not seem to build on previous work
Some recommendations reflected a lack of technical knowledge
Hearing as an impairment was ignored
Assistive technology was not discussed
WAI-AGE made some other observations from the literature:
disability and impairment issues relating to older Web users were not well understood by industry and accessibility issues were not well understood by users themselves
there was a strong tendency in much of the literature to "reinvent the wheel" and not build on previous work
some recommendations reflected a lack of technical knowledge, for example
some recommendations suggested that it was not good to have users double-click (something that is unnecessary on the Web)
most of the literature ignored the possibility of adaptive strategies or the use of assistive technology
although hearing decline is common among older people, very few studies looked at the implications of this impairment or discussed the use of captions with video
assistive technology has the potential to help some older users, yet none of the studies investigated this aspect of Web accessibility
These additional observations have implications for ongoing work and also suggest some research needed to fill gaps in our understanding and knowledge.

18. W3C/WAI guidelines WAI guidelines help older Web users
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)
User Agent Accessibility Guidelines (UAAG)
Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines (ATAG)
See Essential Components of Web Accessibility
Web accessibility depends on several components working together:
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) documents explain how to make Web content, including text, images, and multimedia accessible to people with disabilities
The User Agent Accessibility Guidelines (UAAG) documents explain how to make user agents (browsers and media players) accessible to people with disabilities, particularly to increase accessibility to Web content
The Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines (ATAG) documents define how authoring tools should help Web developers produce Web content that is accessible and conforms to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. The ATAG documents also explain how to make authoring tools accessible so that people with disabilities can use the tools
The following slides describe some of the key findings in relation to the WAI guidelines ...
References:
Essential Components of Web Accessibility -
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) -
User Agent Accessibility Guidelines (UAAG) -
Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines (ATAG) -
Definition:
Web "content" generally refers to the information in a Web page or Web application, including text, images, forms, sounds, etc.
"user agents" include browsers and media players
"authoring tools" include content management systems (CMS), HTML editors, wikis, blogs, forums, social networking applications, and any other application that allows you to add content to the Web

19. Accessible Web content
Requirements include:
Readable text
Identifiable and understandable links
Clear and identifiable headings
Good orientation and navigation
WAI's Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 addresses these
WAI-AGE found that many of the suggested requirements for making Web sites accessible to people with disabilities match the requirements of older users:
Text
Font choice can affect ease of reading - studies have shown a slight preference for a sans serif font onscreen
Size - many older people require larger font size, so an ability to increase the text size is essential
Contrast - providing a suitably high contrast for text and other important information
Color - not relying on color as an indicator of information such as which words are links or which form elements are required
Links
Clearly distinguished from the regular text and identifying the link destination
Headings
Clearly standing out from the text, and clearly identifying the sections to follow
Orientation and navigation
To help users know where they are in a website and where they can go
WAI's Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 addresses these requirements
Reference:
WAI Guidelines and Older Web Users: Findings from a Literature Review for details on how WCAG 2.0 covers the needs of older users. (

20. Usability improvements
Usability improvements especially help older people and people with disabilities:
Page layout and design - provide consistency and avoid overload
Text presentation - avoid italics and underlining, use left justification, increase line spacing & margins
Forms - avoid complexity and provide clear guidance
Menus and links - provide predictability and consistency
WCAG 2.0 also addresses these areas
Usability improvements that particularly help older Web users also help people with disabilities
Layout - consistent layout across the site (and consistent with other sites) to aid recognition and familiarity
Text presentation - most people prefer sans-serif with left justification (for left to right texts), increased line-spacing, use of proper case, and avoidance of italics, underlining, and other decoration
Forms - grouping like questions, making required fields obvious, giving examples, and providing clear error messages and help
Predictability and consistency - meeting users expectations about how a website is presented and behaves, consistent menus and links, and clearly indicating links.
These improvements benefit many other users too.
WCAG 2.0's principles - Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, Robust - address a broad range of usability issues.
Reference:
WAI Guidelines and Older Web Users: Findings from a Literature Review has details of WCAG 2.0 coverage. (

21. Role of Web browsers Browsers are the entry-point to the Web:
many older users are overwhelmed by the functionality
accessibility features are often not easy to configure
some browsers do not work with assistive technology
people who are new to the Web are especially affected
WAI's User Agent Accessibility Guidelines (UAAG) helps address these issues.
Browsers play the key role in accessing the Web - they are the entry point. However:
Notes
Many older people, and especially the older-old (over 85 years) are often new to computers and the Web - facing a steep learning curve. While this situation will decline as more older people come online and gain experience, it is still a contributing factor at present. Some studies of training older people in Web use found that a simplified browser interface aided learning and understanding, though some wanted a browser with additional features as their familiarity and experience grew.
The lack of studies discussing adaptive strategies like changing text size or color schemes suggests that browsers could make these accommodation more obvious and available to users. Trainers and supporters of older people online need more information about how to adapt the user agent, or even the operating system, to adjust the interface for the age-related impairments that may be being experienced. Some browsers do not even work with some assistive technologies, reducing users' choice.
The User Agent Accessibility Guidelines can help make the learning process easier and Web interactions better.
More information on WAI guidelines:
Essential Components of Web Accessibility (
User Agent Accessibility Guidelines (

22. Web authoring Older people contribute to the Web:
using content management systems such as on a corporate intranet
using social media applications such as wikis, blogs, and forums
developing Web sites professionally or for leisure
WAI's Authoring Tool Guidelines (ATAG) help address these issues.
The Web is also about contributing as well receiving information - being an "author" as well as a "reader".
Many people who are still in the workforce experience age-related impairments . These people may be required to contribute to their employers website and intranet. Hence, the content management systems (CMS) and authoring tools used within an organization need to be accessible themselves and need to create content that is accessible.
User-generated content via wikis, blogs, etc is increasing. Older users are increasingly using online office-style applications, social networking, and photo sharing applications. Older people with impairments have many of the same problems as people with disabilities in accessing some of these newer Web developments because they are not developed to be accessible.
Older people are also involved in developing Web sites - either professionally or for leisure.
More information on WAI guidelines:
Essential Components of Web Accessibility (
Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines (

23. Ongoing WAI-AGE work
Better explaining the applicability of the WAI guidelines for older people
Avoiding potential fragmentation through reinvention of requirements
Raising awareness of Web accessibility for older people
Encouraging participation of older people in W3C/WAI standardization
As we have seen, WAI guidelines are necessary for an accessible Web for many older users as well as for people with disabilities. WAI-AGE will be revising existing resources and developing new educational resources to better explain how WAI guidelines address the needs of older users with age-related impairments. Much of the remainder of the project will concentrate on incorporating the requirements of older people into existing WAI documents and developing new documents to help promote the need for including older people as well as people with disabilities during the development of Web sites and web applications.
One of the issues identified is the duplication of work in this area and the potential for divergence. WAI-AGE has found that older people and people with disabilities have a lot of requirements in common and we need to encourage researchers, developers and the community to work more closely together for an accessible Web. We need to avoid potential fragmentation through reinvention of requirements.
Because many older people do not consider themselves to have disabilities, there is a need to raise awareness of Web accessibility issues, and also of adaptive strategies and assistive technologies that could make Web use easier. Organizations for older people also need to be encouraged to take an interest in Web accessibility and participate in the development of WAI guidelines and promote Web accessibility.

24. Educational resources - industry
WAI-AGE is developing resources to inform developers:
Understand the benefits of developing accessible sites for older users
Understand the accessibility requirements of older people
Understand how the WAI guidelines apply to the needs of older users
Include older people throughout the design and development process
Informing businesses and developers on the accessibility needs of older users:
The web industry (both organizations with Web sites and applications, and web designers and developers) requires information:
about the benefits of developing accessibility Web sites to meet the needs of the increasing numbers of older people
to understand the accessibility requirements of older users and the applicability of WAI guidelines to their needs.
Older people also need to be included more in the Web design and development process.
WAI-AGE is developing a range of materials to increase industry awareness and support industry implementation.
Note to presenters:
The planned revisions and new work are all discussed in WAI-AGE Deliverables (

25. Educational resources - users
WAI-AGE is developing resources for older users and their supporting organizations:
Increase users' awareness of the benefits of Web accessibility
Guidance on using accessibility features
Identifying and reporting Web accessibility problems
Providing information on the findings of the WAI-AGE Project
An increased awareness of Web accessibility is also required among older users themselves, people who are providing training and support, and the organizations that represent them. In particular there is a need to:
Increase awareness of the benefits of Web accessibility
Provide guidance in taking advantage of Web accessibility through adaptive strategies and assistive technologies
Help to identify and report Web accessibility problems
Provide information on the findings of the WAI-AGE Project to assist the promotion of Web accessibility
WAI-AGE is developing materials to support user awareness and facilitate the promotion of Web accessibility to older users and older peoples' organizations.
Note to presenters:
The planned revisions and new work are all discussed in WAI-AGE Deliverables (

26. WAI documents to include more ageing considerations
Several existing WAI documents will be revised, including:
Developing a Web Accessibility Business Case for Your Organization (completed)
Before and After Demonstration (BAD) website (draft)
Involving Users in Web Accessibility Evaluation  
New documents will be developed covering topics including, including:
Improving your Web experience with adaptive strategies
How to report inaccessible Web sites (draft)
The overlapping relationship between Web accessibility and usability
Several existing WAI documents will benefit from having the needs of older users more explicitly addressed. These include:
Developing a Web Accessibility Business Case for Your Organization has been expanded to incorporate more benefits related to older users
the Before and After Demonstration (BAD) pages are being updated to incorporate more requirements of older users
Involving Users in Web Accessibility Evaluation is being expanded to incorporate older users, and to address the incorporation of accessibility throughout the development process
New resources are planned to build on the WAI-AGE findings and the benefits of WCAG 2.0. These include:
Improving your Web experience by using adaptive strategies will provide a general introduction to the use of adaptive strategies and assistive technologies with an emphasis on the needs of older users
Contacting organizations with inaccessible Web sites - will give advice on contacting organizations which have inaccessible Web sites
Overlapping relationship between Web accessibility and usability - will explore and explain this overlap and the importance of usability to people with disabilities and older users
Note to presenters:
The planned revisions and new work are all discussed in WAI-AGE Deliverables (

27. Standards harmonization
Working together to avoid fragmentation through:
Ongoing dialogue with different standards organizations
Ongoing dialogue with user organizations
Promoting a better understanding of Web accessibility
Promoting an understanding of the needs of all users
Encouraging the participation of all users in standardization
The reinvention of competing Web accessibility standards for older people poses a source of standards fragmentation, and reduces the level of adoption and implementation of accessibility solutions. Also the low level of participation by older users and organizations representing older users in standardization, including W3C/WAI work, poses a potential source of fragmentation. The Why Standards Harmonization is Essential to Web Accessibility document provides more information about the impact of fragmentation for older people and people with disabilities.
The WAI-AGE project focuses on inviting participation by older people and organizations representing older people in W3C/WAI work, on explaining the relevance of the W3C/WAI guidelines for older people and people with disabilities, and coordinating with standardization organizations to ensure the adoption of unified Web accessibility requirements.
Reference:
Why Standards Harmonization is Essential to Web Accessibility (

28. Research opportunities
Some gaps that need investigation:
Impact of hearing loss on multimedia use
Cognitive decline and page comprehension
Text style and decoration preferences
Use of social networking sites and applications
Use of assistive technologies
WAI-AGE identified some gaps in our understanding of the requirements of older people using the Web including:
Hearing loss and multimedia - how beneficial are captions and/or transcripts for older users who may also be experiencing minor memory loss and concentration difficulty
Cognitive decline - impact of mild cognitive impairment (MCI), including short-term memory loss and distractibility, on website use and comprehension. Also, the impact of "change blindness" and noticing small page changes - how can within-page updates be made more obvious?
Text decoration and fonts - what font weight and type is preferable? Are there any other text decoration preferences or decoration avoidances?
Social networking - what improvements to these sites might be required to better accommodate older users?
Awareness and use of assistive technology by older people, especially the impact of more intuitive interfaces on adoption
Note to presenters:
Depending on your audience, this slide may not be relevant.

29. Become involved People are invited to participate by:
Following the project
Commenting on the WAI-AGE deliverables as they develop
Participating in WAI Working Groups
Contributing relevant research findings
People can actively contribute by:
monitoring WAI-AGE (new outputs will be announced on the WAI-AGE project page -
joining the WAI-AGE mailing list -
commenting on documents while they are being developed
participating in the WAI-AGE Task Force or one of the WAI Working Groups
contributing relevant research findings to fill in some of the gaps in our understanding
See Participating in WAI for WAI participation details. (
Note to presenters:
Please help us improve this presentation by giving us feedback on what worked and what might be improved - that can be one of your ways of contributing to the project. Consider asking the audience for feedback afterwards, too.

30. Questions WAI home page: WAI-AGE project page:
WAI-AGE project page:
The WAI-AGE Project is supported by:
Note to presenters: Before asking for questions, please mention that the WAI-AGE Project is a European Commission IST Specific Support Action funded by Sixth Framework Programme.

31. Appendix (not for display)
Additional material that can be used depending on the audience.
W3C and WAI
an abbreviated W3C & WAI overview slide follows if time doesn't permit the 2 slides currently included
Demographics - you may like to select from among the following slides for your own country:
United Kingdom
Australia
United States
Spain
Japan
Note to presenters:
Usually you should keep the total demographics slides to 3 or 4 as a maximum. The main message is that population demographics are changing and the population is getting older (very quickly in some countries).
Alternative data sources:
Forecasts for all EU countries are available from EUROPE IN FIGURES — Eurostat yearbook (Chapter 1 - Population) PDF (
UN forecasts for most regions and countries are available from the UN's Population database (
Local projections may be available from the national statistics organization or government department in your country

32. World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)
International vendor-neutral consortium developing key standards for the Web
Within the W3C, the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) works to help ensure the Web is accessible to people with disabilities through:
Technology support
Guidelines development
Evaluation tools
Education and outreach
Coordinating with research and development
The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is an international vendor-neutral consortium where Member organizations, a full-time staff, and the public work together to develop Web standards. W3C's mission is:
To lead the World Wide Web to its full potential by developing protocols and guidelines that ensure long-term growth for the Web
Within the W3C, the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) pursues accessibility of the Web through five primary activities:
ensuring that core technologies of the Web support accessibility
developing guidelines for Web content, user agents, and authoring tools
facilitating development of evaluation and repair tools for accessibility
conducting education and outreach
coordinating with research and development that can affect future accessibility of the Web.
Note to presenters:
More information about the W3C (
More information about WAI (

33. United Kingdom's ageing population
Population over 50 years
2010: 35% (21.5m people)
2020: 38% (25.3m people)
2030: 39% (27.6m people)
Population over 65 years
2010: 17% (10.3m people)
2020: 19% (12.7m people)
2030: 22% (15.4m people)
Source:
UK Office of National Statistics
This slide shows the ageing trend in the UK ... the number of people over 50 years will rise from 35% in 2010 to 38% in 2020 and 39% in 2030, while the population over 65 years will rise from 17% in 2010 to 19% in 2020 to 22% in 2030 (and by 2030, the UK is forecast to have 53,000 people over 100 years!). At the same time the proportion of 'older old' (over 85 years) is expected to increase from 2.2% in 2010 to nearly 5% in 2030.
While the proportion over 50 years is not forecast to grow as rapidly as the proportion over 65 years, it does represent people still in the workforce who may be starting to experience some age-related impairments such as vision and hearing decline (for instance the proportion of people with hearing loss increases sharply at around age 50, and 10% of UK blind and partially sighted people are in the age group [76% are over 65 years]).
Note to presenters:
Don't forget to read the numbers out for those who may have low vision
UK Office of National Statistics:
UK National Population Projections (
and the spreadsheet -

34. Spain's ageing population
Population over 65 years
2008: 17%
2010: 17%
2020: 20%
2030: 25%
2040: 31%
2050: 36%
Source:
EuroStat (PDF)
Spain is forecast to experience similar ageing patterns to the EU average for the next decade, but will exceed the EU average by the 2050.
[read out the data]]
Source:
EUROPE IN FIGURES — Eurostat yearbook (Chapter 1 - Population) PDF (

35. Japan's ageing population
Population over 65 years
2005: 20%
2015: 27%
2035: 34%
2055: 41%
 Source:
Reuters
Discuss the numbers and emphasize that Japan currently has 1 in 5 people over 65; within 20 years it will be 1 in 3 Japan's proportion of people over 65 years is the highest in the world, and the UN forecasts that the "population of Japan is projected to remain the oldest in the world with a median age of 55 years in 2050."
At the same time, Japan's total population is expected to decline from around 127m people at present to less than 90m people by 2050.
Source:
Reuters, undated - Japan's Aging Population (
Reuters, 17 Sept FACTBOX-The outlook for Japan's ageing population (
UN - World Population Prospects: the 2006 Revision (

36. United States' ageing population
Population over 65 years
2010: 13.0%
2015: 14.4%
2020: 16.1%
2025: 17.9%
2030: 19.3%
2035: 19.9%
Source:
US Census
The United States is forecast to experience lower ageing patterns compared with the EU. For example, the US is forecast to have 16% of its population over 65 year of age in 2020, while Europe forecasts 21%.
[read out the data]
Source:
US Population Projections (released 2008) - see Table 3 (

37. Australia's ageing population
Population over 65 years
2006: 13%
2016: 16%
2026: 21%
2036: 24%
Source:
ABS Population Projections
Australian projections are ... [read out numbers]
Australia is forecast to experience lower ageing patterns compared with the EU average. For example, Australia is forecast to only have 19% of its population over 65 year of age in 2026, while Europe forecasts 36% in 2025.
Source:
ABS Australian Population Projections (2006 TO 2101) - Catalogue #