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This appendix details good practice from elsewhere in the world than the EU so that we might identify any lessons from other countries.
A combination of reading through past research documentation and online research provided a list of countries who were active in the field of web accessibility. From this list Australia, Canada and Hong Kong were identified as key players through their early and continuing initiatives. Countries such as Japan are topical in the field of web accessibility owing to the recent release of their first ever public web access guidelines in June 2004 and Kazuhito Kidachi recently joining the Web Standards Project (WaSP) in August 2005. This appendix, however, focuses more on those countries at the cornerstone of web accessibility for a number of years.
Most notably, Australia is an early player with initiatives dating back to 1997, whilst Hong Kong’s Digital 21 Strategy was released in 1998 and Canada’s Common Look and Feel Standards in 2000. When one looks at countries that have had accessibility policies in place for nearly a decade, it is clear, however, that, although there is improvement, much still has to be done to ensure conformance with guidelines in all public websites. This confirms the complexity of achieving and sustaining web accessibility.
Australia is notably an early player in government web accessibility and is the only jurisdiction where a major web accessibility case has been lodged and won by the complainant. The Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Commission ruled that the Sydney Organising Committee of the Olympic Games was in breach of the Disability Discrimination Act in providing a website containing accessibility barriers. Website accessibility initiatives within Australia have been present since 1997 and since June 2000, and all government agencies have been required to make their websites accessible and to include accessibility as a key performance measure in new website contracts. Some key initiatives developing within Australia are:
In a communication from Senator Richard Alston in March 2002, he congratulated Parliament on the launch of the revamped Australian Parliament House website, http://www.aph.gov.au/. He suggested that the website provides an excellent example of a customer-focused e-government website. The website was redesigned to enhance the accessibility and provide better access for individuals with disabilities.
Additionally, a communication also dated March 2002 reported that levels of accessibility have continued to increase, with 63% of agencies reporting full compliance with accessibility guidelines and nearly half of remaining agencies reporting a compliance rate of 70% or more of website pages.
Canada’s Government On-Line Initiative is the Government of Canada’s project to provide Canadians with enhanced access to improved citizen-centred, integrated services, anytime, anywhere and in the official language of their choice by 2005. It has continued to emphasise website design so that navigation and better information flow is facilitated. Usability and accessibility tests are completed on an ongoing basis to ensure websites are accessible to all individuals regardless of disability.
A recent communication by the United Nations in its Global e-Government Readiness Report 2004 stated that ‘Canada is an example of a best practice approach for multilingual online information illustrated on its national site which offers mirror pages in English and French.’ It was suggested that this well-earned praise is partly attributed to Canada’s Common Look and Feel Standards, which were created to ensure Canadian Government websites conform with policies and legislation.
Canada’s Common Look and Feel Standards ensure that all departmental and government agency websites are accessible to people with disabilities. The minimum standard which must be met is Level Double-A with additional conformance criteria that have been set out by the Canadian Government. A compliance deadline for government agencies was set to December 2002. Some key initiatives developing within Canada are:
Hong Kong’s Digital 21 Strategy is a government initiative. Originally written in 1998, the strategy provides:
Web Access by People with Disabilities is a Government initiative to facilitate access to websites by people with disabilities. Set up in 2001 it provides:
A capital account commitment of HK$4.5million was provided so that government departments that needed financial assistance for revamping their work could gain access to funding. The IT Hong Kong Campaign is to raise awareness and promote wider adoption of IT in the community and includes:
Some new initiatives have been developed in Hong Kong to promote accessibility. These include: