Web accessibility initiatives in the Philippines

=Backgrounder=

In May 2002, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) adopted the resolution “Promoting an inclusive, barrier-free and rights-based society for people with disabilities in the Asian and Pacific region in the twenty-first century”. The resolution also proclaimed the extension of the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons from 1993–2002, to another decade, 2003–2012. UNESCAP promotes economic and social development through regional and sub-regional cooperation and integration. [ [http://www.unescap.org/unis/press/2007/sep/n43.asp UNESCAP News Article] ]

The "Biwako Millennium Framework" outlines issues, action plans and strategies towards an inclusive, barrier-free and rights-based society for persons with disabilities.

To achieve the goal, the framework identifies seven priority areas for action, in each of which critical issues and targets with specific time frames and actions follow. In all, 18 targets and 15 strategies supporting the achievement of all the targets are identified.

The seven priority areas for actions are: (1) Self-help organizations of persons with disabilities; (2) Women with disabilities; (3) Early intervention and education; (4) Training and employment, including self-employment; (5) Access to built environment and public transport; (6) Access to information and communication including ICT; (7) Poverty alleviation through social security and livelihood programmes. [ [http://www.dinf.ne.jp/doc/english/intl/bf/index_e.html Disability Information Resources] ]

Focus on Information and Communication Technology

(6) Access to information and communication including ICT

In the last 10 years, there has been much progress in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) development, and it opens up many opportunities for people with disabilities in networking, solidarity employment and independent living. But it has also widened the gap between persons with disabilities and the non-disabled. The Digital divide includes inaccessibility to infrastructure for ICT, Internet, and ICT skills. These problems are acute in rural areas. The multi-media environment is creating barriers for people with visual disabilities. Three targets are set to improve the situation:

1) By 2005, persons with disabilities should have at least the same rate of access to the Internet and related services as the rest of citizens in a country of the region.

2) By 2004, international organizations should incorporate web accessibility standards for persons with disabilities in their international ICT standards.

3) Governments should adopt, by 2005, ICT accessibility guidelines for persons with disabilities in their national ICT policies.

Time Line

1993–2002 - UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) proclaimed the “Declaration of Asia-Pacific Decade for Disabled Persons”. Being a member, the Philippines adopted the declaration.

January 15, 1993 - Proclamation No. 125 was issued by then President Fidel Ramos giving mandate to the National Council for the Welfare of Disabled Persons (Philippines) to coordinate activities and to monitor the observance of the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons (1993–2002) in the Philippines.

2003–2012 - UNESCAP proclaimed the extension of Declaration of Asia-Pacific Decade for Disabled Persons.

May 2002 - UNESCAP adopted the resolution “Promoting an inclusive, barrier-free and rights-based society for people with disabilities in the Asian and Pacific region in the twenty-first century” naming it the “Biwako Millennium Framework”

May 3–7, 2003 - Interregional Seminar and Regional Demonstration Workshop on Accessible Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) to Persons with Disabilities was held at Bayview Park Hotel, Manila, Philippines where 11 countries from Asia - Pacific were represented. The Manila Accessible Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) Design Recommendations was drafted and adopted.

October 26 - 28, 2004 - First Regional Workshop on Accessible ICT for Persons with Disabilities was held in Tagaytay City. Web accessibility was introduced to 25 webmasters from different government, non-government agencies and the academe. Mr. Leo Valdes of Vision Office Support Services was the lecturer. Webmasters from the Luzon and Metro Manila areas were invited to attend.

Follow up activities were formed. These are:

1. Search for Good Practices - The National Computer Center (NCC) and NCWDP periodically review participants' websites for improvements and ideas. Model websites by participants are introduced during succeeding workshops.

2. Disabled-Friendly Website Awards - These were given to those participating websites who passed the accessibility recommendations set by NCC and NCWDP.

3. Development of Standards and Training Manuals - NCC takes a lead role in coordinating the development of technical recommendations in preparation for a national policy, and in the development of training manuals for these recommendations.

May 24 - 26, 2005 - Second Regional Workshop on Accessible ICT for PWDs was held in Marco Polo Hotel, Davao City. Mindanao webmasters and advocates attended this workshop.

June 2, 2005 - Philippine House of Representatives Official Website www.congress.gov.ph was the first recipient of “Disabled Friendly Website Award” given by NCWDP, National Computer Center, Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT), Department of Social Welfare and Development (Philippines) (DSWD) and Vision Office. [http://www.dollierv.info/ Ms. Dahlia Villacorte] , participant in Tagaytay City workshop, was the web designer.

October 18–20, 2005 - Third Regional Workshop on Accessible ICT for PWDs was held at Golden Peak Hotel, Cebu City. This event is aimed for Visayas webmasters and advocates.

December 12, 2005 - Second “Disabled Friendly Website Award” was given to Adaptive Technology for Rehabilitation, Integration and Empowerment of Visually Impaired (ATRIEV) www.atriev.org.ph with Ms. Lourdes Borgonia, a blind person, as web designer. She was also one of the participants during the Tagaytay City workshop.

March 18 and 25, 2006 - Manila Christian Computer Institute for the Deaf (MCCID) developed four accessible websites for GOs and NGOs needing technical assistance and continues to do so. They also held two-Saturday seminar on Accessible ICT for deaf web designers. Mr. Ervin Reyes, deaf bronze medalist in the web design category during the [http://www.abilympicsindia.org/Event%20Diary/results.htm 6th International Abilympics Skills Competition] held in New Delhi, India was the lecturer. He is also one of the participants in the first workshop. The web sites can be viewed at [http://www.mccidonline.net MCCIDONLINE.NET]

May 16–19, 2006 - Following three successful workshops organized by DSWD and NCWDP the Webmasters' Interface on Accessible ICT for PWDS held a national event in Mango Park Hotel, Cebu City. It brings together the country's webmasters, policy-makers, disability advocates and ICT practitioners to forge a vision for accessible web content.

June 2, 2006 - Remberto I. Esposa Jr. of MCCID became the first Philippine web designer accepted as a member of the UK based international Guild of Accessible Web Designers.

June 29, 2006 - Post evaluation and appreciation meeting about the Cebu activity was held at Max’s Restaurant, Quezon City. Also, the third “Disabled Friendly Website” award was given to Manila Christian Computer Institute for the Deaf www.mccid.edu.ph with Mr. Remberto I. Esposa Jr. as the web designer. He was also the participant in the Tagaytay City workshop.

Initial discussion on the forming of “Association of Accessible Web Designers” were made.

July 27, 2006 - After the proposal presented by Esposa and Reynaldo Mendoza, former web designer of De La Salle University Website, the NCWDP board approved the recommendation of forming an adhoc or core group of webmasters that will implement the consensus made by Cebu City participants.

August 11, 2006 - First initial and informal meeting of the core group held at the NCWDP Office. It was named Philippine Web Accessibility Group (PWAG).

August 27, 2006 - After five years of negotiations, countries meeting at United Nations Headquarters in New York have agreed on a new treaty to protect the rights of persons with disabilities. Paragraphs g and h of Article 9 pushing for accessible ICT for PWDs were largely based on “Manila Declaration and Manila Recommendations on Accessible ICT”, two outcome documents passed by 13 countries in the UN-funded “Interregional Workshop on Accessible ICT” hosted by the Philippines and submitted to the UN in 2003.

October 16, 2006 - The official [http://www.pwag.org www.pwag.org] web site was launched.

December 3, 2006 - In observance of the International Day of Disabled Persons, the National Council for the Welfare of Disabled Persons has relaunched their official web site [http://www.ncwdp.gov.ph www.ncwdp.gov.ph] and was subjected for PWAG's validation.

December 17, 2006 - Additional five Philippine designed web sites were subjected to PWAG's evaluation and passed the accessibility compliance. The group also agreed on the following recommendations:

1. [http://www.pwag.org/accesskeys.htm Access key Assignments]

2. [http://www.pwag.org/validationchecklist.htm Visual Validation Checklist]

January 7, 2007 - A few months after it was established, a total of 30 web developers and advocates from the Philippines and in other countries have joined PWAG.

February 14, 2007 - PWAG officially announces its Recommended Web Design Accessibility Checkpoints. The primary basis is still the adoption of the Manila ICT Design Recommendations. The term used in defining the priority checkpoints are Maturity Stage. A Maturity Stage 1 means the web site needs to meet the requirements set by the Manila ICT Design Recommendations A Maturity Stage 2 means the web site should meet the criteria set by PWAG.

February 19–23, 2007 - "Workshop on Accessible ICT" was held at Baguio City attended by both the IT personnel and focal persons from the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

February 22, 2007 - Fourth "Disabled Friendly Website Award" was given to Official Web Site of the De La Salle University (DLSU) www.dlsu.edu.ph with Mr. Lemuel Cabia as part of its web development team. DLSU participated during the Tagaytay City workshop.

February 22, 2007 - In order to encourage Filipinos to design accessible websites, five more institutions/web designers received the "Disabled Friendly Website Awards" under the initiative of PWAG. These are [http://www.ble.dole.gov.ph BLE-Department of Labor and Employment] , [http://www.cebudoctorsuniversity.edu Cebu Doctors' University] , [http://www.eac.edu.ph Emilio Aguinaldo Colleges] , [http://www.novafoundation.ph Nova Foundation for the Differently Abled] and personal website of [http://www.abcruz.com Mr. Arielle Cruz] .

May 9, 2007 - [http://accessites.org/site/2007/05/philippine-web-accessibility-group Accessites.org] , the website honoring web designers that "meticulously and lovingly build artful yet accessible websites", presents the First Edition Official Website of Philippine Web Accessibility Group the "Notable Universal Design Award".

July 19, 2007 - The 102 page book "Web Accessibility Guide for Filipinos" is now officially published and copyrighted. The book contains definition of web accessibility, types of assistive devices available, laws affecting disability in the Philippines, statistics of Filipino PWDs and Filipino Internet user statistics. It also details the history of web accessibility initiatives in the Philippines from 2003 up to the present.

July 20, 2007 - As an offshoot of the successful staging of Baguio City Workshop on Accessible ICT held last February, focal persons for Persons with Disabilities of the Department of Social Welfare and Development in Region 1 held an "E-Accessibility Forum" last July 20 at Zigzag Hotel, San Fernando City, La Union. The activity coincides with the Philippine celebration of National Disability Prevention and Rehabilitation Week (July 19–23, 2007).

Manila Accessible ICT Design Recommendations

1. Provide an Access Instruction page for visitors (explaining the accessibility features of the Web site and providing an e-mail hyperlink for visitors to communicate problems with Web page accessibility);

2. Provide support for text browsers and descriptive hyperlinks (links such as "this" and "click here" do not alone convey the nature of the target link);

3. Attach ALT (alternative) text to graphic images so that assistive computer technology such as screen readers can reach the content;

4. For each photograph contributing meaningful content to the page, provide a "D" hyperlink to a page providing descriptive text of the image;

5. Provide text transcriptions or descriptions for all audio and video clips;

6. Provide alternative mechanisms for online forms since forms are not supported by all browsers (such as e-mail or voice/TTY phone numbers);

7. Avoid access barriers, such as the posting of documents in Adobe PDF (Portable Document Format), non-linear format, frame format or requiring visitors to download software to access the content. If posting in Adobe PDF, accessible HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) or ASCII text must also be posted by the Web master converting the document.

Visit the complete details at [http://www.worldenable.net/manila2003/DesignRecommendations.htm Manila ICT Design Recommendations]

Philippine Web Accessibility Group

Philippine Web Accessibility Group (PWAG) is a privately led association of Filipino web designers and advocates. It is supervised by the government through the Department of Social Welfare and Development, National Council for the Welfare of Disabled Persons and the National Computer Center Commission on Information and Communications Technology (NCC-CICT), PWAG is also tasked to oversee and implement relevant programs on accessible ICT in the Philippines.

PWAG's main objectives are:

1. To educate and encourage the general public on the benefits of including accessibility on their web sites by providing information and assistance through workshops, seminars, e-groups and other forums;

2. To adopt the Manila Accessible ICT Design Recommendations and recommend the web accessibility guidelines and standards in the Philippine setting;

3. To encourage participation and open up opportunities for persons with disabilities through web accessibility;

4. To work with government and non-government agencies in lobbying for inclusion of web accessibility in pending laws on information and communications technology;

5. To collaborate with international groups in promoting and learning new developments on web accessibility

Links to Disabled Friendly Website of the Philippines Awardees

[http://www.congress.gov.ph House of Representatives of the Republic of the Philippines]

[http://www.atriev.org.ph Adaptive Technology for Rehabilitation, Integration and Empowerment of Visually Impaired]

[http://www.mccid.edu.ph Manila Christian Computer Institute for the Deaf]

[http://www.dlsu.edu.ph De La Salle University - Manila]

References

External links

[http://www.worldenable.net/bangkok2003/biwako0.htm Draft Biwako Millennium Framework]

[http://www.apcdproject.org Asia Pacific Development Center on Disability]

[http://www.ncwdp.gov.ph National Council for the Welfare of Disabled Persons]

[http://www.worldenable.net World Enable Internet Accessibility Initiative]

[http://www.worldenable.net/manila2003 Interregional Seminar and Regional Demonstration Workshop on Accessible ICT and Persons with Disabilities]

[http://www.visionoffice.com/ictpwd/ Vision Office Limited]

[http://www.ncwdp.gov.ph/Interface.htm National Webmasters Interface News Item]

[http://www.pwag.org Philippine Web Accessibility Group Official Web Site]

[http://www.gawds.org/showlog.php?weblogid=139&contentid=1 Guild of Accessible Web Designers Article on PWAG]

[http://accessites.org/site/2007/05/philippine-web-accessibility-group Accessites.org "Notable Universal Design Award for PWAG]

[http://accessites.org/site/2007/05/introducing-the-pwag Featured Article about PWAG from Accessites.org]