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Web accessibility in Europe - The Portuguese case
September 2002
by Pedro Mendes
Accessibility is one of the most discussed and important topics as regards the Internet today. Everyone from designers to gurus, from readers to programmers, has an opinion on it. Even governments worldwide have something to say and provide developers with legislation on it. Is this good? I think so, as long as we adhere to the standards and use that magic gift called common sense. Portugal was a pioneer in Web accessibility guidelines. Below is a summary of my research on the subject.
The petition
In December 1998, a group of people concerned about the issue of accessibility started an online petition to the Portuguese Parliament, called 'Petition for Accessibility to the Internet in Portugal'. The petition asked the Government to establish a basic set of rules in order to make access to the Internet easier for people with special needs.
At the time, hardly any developers in Portugal knew what Web accessibility was, let alone how to implement it on their Web sites.
A total of 9,000 people subscribed to this online petition, which was sent by email to the Parliament. It was the first time ever in Europe that a petition had been submitted that way. The petition was accepted and recommendations were made for the Portuguese Government to look into the matter. And so it did. On July 29, 1999, the Council of Ministers approved a resolution stating that public institutions, such as government offices, public institutes, and universities should make their Web content available in such a way that people with disabilities would be able to gain access to it.
Leading the way
Portugal was the first European country and the fourth in the world after the United States, Canada, and Australia, to regulate accessibility issues. In the first semester of 2000, during the Portuguese presidency of the European Union (EU), European directives were approved to extend the guidelines to all EU countries, under a project called eEurope.
The guidelines themselves, like the ones recommended by most countries, are based on the Web Accessibility Initiative of the W3C, following the standards proposed by the consortium.
Looking ahead
The European Union is making an effort to enforce the guidelines and has produced studies on progress made as regards their implementation. The Portuguese authorities issue an annual evaluation report on Web sites related to the Government and issue recommendations on accessibility and best practices issues. These studies deserve some attention in a future article. The conclusions reached provide an important perspective on how Europe is dealing with these issues.
In the meantime, I hope this overview has been helpful, and has contributed
to the sharing of a common goal, which is to delve into the important issue
of accessibility and, with that, make the Web a truly accessible place.
