WAI Handout 2007A, Updated 21 March 2008

Web Accessibility Resources from W3C WAI

The Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) works with organizations around the world to develop strategies, guidelines, and resources to help make the Web accessible to people with disabilities. WAI is part of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) that develops Web standards for HTML, XML, CSS, etc. See www.w3.org/WAI/about.html

The WAI home page www.w3.org/WAI/ has announcements, highlights, and links to documents such as:

• Essential Components of Web Accessibility - shows how Web accessibility depends on several components of Web development and interaction working together and shows the relationship between the WAI guidelines:
  • WCAG - Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
  • ATAG - Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines
  • UAAG - User Agent Accessibility Guidelines
  www.w3.org/WAI/intro/components
  
• WAI-ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) Overview - defines a way to make Web content and Web applications more accessible to people with disabilities. It especially helps with dynamic content and advanced user interface controls developed with Ajax, HTML, JavaScript, and related technologies. www.w3.org/WAI/intro/aria
• How WAI Develops Accessibility Guidelines through the W3C Process: Milestones and Opportunities to Contribute - introduces how WAI works through a process designed to:
  • ensure broad community input, and
  • encourage consensus development.
  It describes the milestones that a technical report goes through on its way to becoming a W3C Recommendation. www.w3.org/WAI/intro/w3c-process
     
• Participating in WAI - describes participation opportunities ranging from volunteering to implement, promote, and review guidelines; to occasional participation in an interest group; to dedicated participation in a working group. www.w3.org/WAI/participation

See www.w3.org/WAI/flyer/handout2007a for updates since 21 March 2008.