- From: Ian Jacobs <ij@w3.org>
- Date: Thu, 20 Mar 2014 11:17:57 -0500
- To: "w3c-news@w3.org" <w3c-news@w3.org>
Hello,
W3C issued a press release a moment ago:
W3C's Accessible Rich Internet Applications (WAI-ARIA) 1.0 Expands
Accessibility of the Open Web Platform
https://www.w3.org/2014/03/aria.html.en
There are links in the online version, and the text and testimonials
are below.
Any translations and new testimonials will be available at:
http://www.w3.org/Press/Releases-2014#aria
Media contact:
Ian Jacobs, <w3t-pr@w3.org>, +1.718 260 9447
=============
http://www.w3.org/ — 20 March 2014 — Today the World Wide Web
Consortium (W3C) Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) took an important
step to make web content and applications more accessible to people
with disabilities by publishing Accessible Rich Internet Applications
(WAI-ARIA) 1.0 as a W3C Recommendation. WAI-ARIA defines ways that
developers of browsers, media players, mobile devices and assistive
technologies, as well as content developers, can achieve greater
cross-platform accessibility. WAI-ARIA is introduced in the WAI-ARIA
Overview.
"ARIA is general tool which can be used to add accessibility to many
different technologies," said Tim Berners-Lee, W3C Director. "It is
used by HTML 5 now and is being built into additional W3C
specifications. In the dynamic and interactive world of the web today,
it essential to describe to accessibility software what the different
parts of a web page do, so that users with disabilities can use them
effectively."
WAI-ARIA helps close the gap between the advanced capabilities of the
Open Web Platform and technologies available for implementing
accessibility requirements. Web developers increasingly create user
interface controls that allow users to get new Web content without
requesting a full page refresh. WAI-ARIA supports interoperability
between browsers and assistive technologies when using interactive
features such as expandable menus and drag-and-drop features on
websites. This provides key support for conforming with the Web
Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0, the international
standard for accessibility of websites and applications.
Cross-platform and cross-device accessibility solution
"As we celebrate the Web's 25th anniversary, enabling usable,
accessible rich Internet applications through a growing array of
mobile devices, from smartphones to automotive is vital," said Rod
Smith, IBM VP of Emerging Software Technologies. "When IBM introduced
this technology to W3C our goal was to ensure a more inclusive rich
web. WAI-ARIA sets this precedent by lowering barriers for people with
disabilities universally across devices."
WAI-ARIA brings the accessibility features of desktop applications to
the Web. In a desktop environment, people who use specialized
assistive technologies to help operate their computers must rely on
accessibility application programming interfaces (APIs) specific to
each operating system. WAI-ARIA makes that same type of information
directly available to web applications.
As part of today's announcement, W3C also published the WAI-ARIA 1.0
User Agent Implementation Guide, which maps WAI-ARIA to
accessibility-supporting features on different platforms, indicating
how web browsers, media players and mobile applications can benefit
from those features. Content authors who use WAI-ARIA can now more
easily re-purpose the same web content across different platforms,
without loss of accessibility support. Implementation Progress
Implementation testing during the W3C standards development process
showed extensive implementation in several major browsers; details are
available in the implementation report.
"We saw major progress in quality and comprehensiveness of ARIA
implementations in browsers, media players and mobile devices during
the Candidate Recommendation phase of ARIA development, and look
forward to broader implementations now that the standard has been
finalized," said Janina Sajka, Chair of the Protocols and Formats
Working Group. "ARIA provides web developers an overlay technology
suitable for delivering stable accessibility support on modern web
apps, as well as for rapid remediation of accessibility issues on
older web content."
Why W3C
Twenty years ago, web inventor Tim Berners-Lee created the World Wide
Web Consortium (W3C) as a forum to steward the development of open
technology standards ensuring the long-term growth of the Web. W3C is
vendor neutral in its approach and maintains a royalty-free patent
policy. W3C activities are conducted openly and are transparent to the
public. In addition, all W3C standards are available free of charge to
encourage quick industry adoption. Together, the community is
rebuilding the Web into an Open Web Platform for the delivery of
services and rich applications across a broad set of industries,
including mobile, payments, television, publishing, and
transportation.
About the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)
The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is an international consortium
where Member organizations, a full-time staff, and the public work
together to develop Web standards. W3C primarily pursues its mission
through the creation of Web standards and guidelines designed to
ensure long-term growth for the Web. The Open Web Platform is a
current major focus. Over 375 organizations are Members of the
Consortium. W3C is jointly run by the MIT Computer Science and
Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (MIT CSAIL) in the USA, the
European Research Consortium for Informatics and Mathematics (ERCIM)
headquartered in France, Keio University in Japan, and Beihang
University in China, and has additional Offices worldwide. For more
information see http://www.w3.org/
About the Web Accessibility Initiative
W3C's Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) works with organizations
around the world to make the Web more accessible for people with
disabilities and older users. WAI pursues accessibility of the Web by
ensuring that Web technologies support accessibility; developing
guidelines for web content, browsers and media players, and authoring
tools; developing resources to support improved evaluation tools;
developing resources for education and outreach; and coordinating with
research and development efforts that can affect future accessibility
of the Web. WAI is supported in part by the U.S. Department of
Education's National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation
Research (NIDRR), the European Commission's Information Society
Technologies Programme, Adobe Systems, Deque Systems, Hewlett-Packard,
and IBM. For more information see http://www.w3.org/WAI/
============
Testimonials
Adobe
Adobe applauds the release of WAI-ARIA 1.0. This important
specification enables improved support for accessibility in web
content for people with disabilities. WAI-ARIA enables developers
to convey critical information such as object role and state for
custom controls, provides additional avenues for the repair of web
content authored without adequate attention to accessibility, and
offers promise for greater accessibility in rich interactive
content provided using SVG or Canvas. Adobe already makes use of
WAI-ARIA in multiple products, supports the development of
WAI-ARIA support in the open-source NVDA screen reader, and will
continue to work to help make the web more accessible with
WAI-ARIA.
-- Andrew Kirkpatrick, Accessibility Group Product Manager, Adobe Systems
American Foundation for the Blind
The Web Accessibility Initiative has once again taken a critical
step to help ensure that the power and benefit of the Internet
becomes available to people with vision loss and other
disabilities. The adoption of the ARIA recommendation will provide
website developers with tools and guidance to ensure that
Web-based software and functionality can be used with a variety of
specialized assistive technology. As a provider of significant Web
content ourselves, AFB relies on WCAG and the work of WAI.
-- Paul Schroeder, VP for Programs and Policy, American Foundation
for the Blind
BarrierBreak
With rich interactions on the web becoming the norm, WAI-ARIA 1.0
is the right step towards ensuring that people with disabilities
have access to a wide range of applications. BarrierBreak is proud
and excited to see WAI-ARIA as W3C Recommendations, since we can
now promote the use of accessible rich internet applications. We
are looking forward to working towards implementing this in
indisutry and seeing its impact in the lives of people with
disabilities around the globe.
-- Shilpi Kapoor, Director, BarrierBreak
Benetech
Benetech welcomes the release of the WAI-ARIA specification, which
is a significant step toward the future of accessible educational
materials in an increasingly online and interactive environment.
We expect to leverage this specification in digital books
delivered through our Bookshare service, to hundreds of thousands
of users worldwide, as well as through our DIAGRAM Center work on
the accessibility of visual content.
-- Betsy Beaumon, VP and General Manager of the Global Literacy
Program, Benetech
CTIC
WAI-ARIA brings accessibility to user interfaces for web
applications. Given the current trend of using web applications
instead of desktop applications, this new Recommendation
reinforces the commitment of W3C and the community in its goal of
enabling universal access to the Web. In our consulting activity,
we already recommend the use of WAI-ARIA to enhance web
accessibility. The confirmation of WAI-ARIA as a W3C standard is
an incentive for us to continue proposing solutions based on it.
-- Pablo Priesca, CEO, CTIC Foundation
CWI
As the first non-military Internet site in Europe, CWI has always
striven to be at the forefront of Internet technology. One of the
important properties of the Web is that it be accessible to all,
and therefore a technology such as WAI-ARIA is of essential
importance. CWI is happy to have contributed to WAI-ARIA by being
involved, in the person of Steven Pemberton, with the orginal
specification of the role module that led to WAI-ARIA's creation.
-- Jos Baeten, General Director, CWI
Deque Systems Inc
WAI-ARIA is a W3C standard that Deque supports wholeheartedly. I
look forward to wide support by browser and assistive technology
manufacturers, to make the lives of our customers easier and our
mission of digital equality one step closer.
-- Preety Kumar, CEO, Deque Systems Inc
ETS
We are pleased that WAI-ARIA 1.0 has become a W3C Recommendation.
At Educational Testing Service, we recognize the importance of
ARIA in enabling the accessibility of rich interactive content.
The ARIA recommendation is another significant milestone in the
efforts of W3C and the Web Accessibility Initiative in ensuring
that the Web is truly for everyone.
-- Mark Hakkinen, Research Scientist, Educational Testing Service
Fondazione ASPHI Onlus
ASPHI, a non-profit organization working as an accessibility
evaluator in the Italian market, is welcoming the availability of
WAI-ARIA as W3C Recommendation. It will be useful for persons with
disabilities, making new applications more accessible and usable
and allowing the implementation of cross-platform and cross-device
(including mobile) Rich Internet Applications. WAI-ARIA, like
other W3C Recommendations, will become once more the reference for
the community involved in the Web accessibility. We’ll make use of
WAI-ARIA in our activities on accessibility.
-- Ennio Paiella, Fondazione ASPHI Onlus
G3ICT
The publication by the W3C of its latest recommendation for
Accessible Rich Internet Applications (WAI-ARIA) 1.0 represents an
essential complement to WCAG 2.0 for the Open Web Platform : it
will allow for a much greater accessibility of the interactive
features of web sites and provide the foundation for universal
access across multiple platforms, mobile in particular. A much
needed step to be celebrated by all professionals and advocates
involved in web accessibility.
-- Axel Leblois, President & Executive Director, G3ICT
HP
The W3C WAI-ARIA 1.0 expands the accessibility of the Open Web
Platform, and dispels the misconception that accessibility is
boring by enabling flashy, modern websites to be more accessible.
WAI-ARIA 1.0 will be instrumental in helping HP continue our
commitment to making technology and information easier to access
and simpler to use.
-- Glenn Meyer, Director, Accessibility & Aging Program Office, HP
IBM
IBM would like to join with our W3C WAI colleagues in
congratulating the W3C community on the delivery of the WAI-ARIA
standard making it essential in meeting WCAG2-based government
accessibility requirements. When IBM introduced this technology to
W3C, our vision was to deliver usable, accessible rich Internet
applications through the browser on any platform. It has been a
pleasure to work with the W3C community to enhance WAI-ARIA and
see it integrated into HTML5 and SVG2. IBM uses WAI-ARIA in
hundreds of products and services, and look forward to advancing
open Web accessibility, regardless of device or application.
-- Rich Schwerdtfeger, CTO Accessibility, IBM Software
IWA/HWG
As web professional association we are really happy to have this
new W3C Rec that give to our members availability of more
accessible solutions for web apps development. WAI-ARIA is a great
evolution for accessibility problem solving with world wide web
user interfaces that can really help to have a real web
accessibility for all. After WCAG 2.0 this is the main great
innovation in the web accessibility activities, and we will see it
with a great opportunity for web application developers for
increase their competence and their application's audience.
-- Roberto Scano, International Project Manager, IWA/HWG
Microsoft
Microsoft has made a significant investment in ARIA. We use it
extensively to make Windows Store apps, Office Online, and many
other online apps and services accessible. We would not be able
to offer this kind of interactive accessibility without it and
look forward to continued adoption and innovation with ARIA 2.0
and beyond.
-- Rob Sinclair, Chief Accessibility Officer, Microsoft
NCBI-CFIT
NCBI - Working for People With Sight Loss welcomes the final
release of Accessible Rich Internet Applications (WAI-ARIA) 1.0 as
a Technical Recommendation. NCBI acknowledges the positive work
that the Web Accessibility Initiative have been doing to develop
sophisticated mark up languages that can result in a rich
accessible user experience for people who are blind and vision
impaired, as well as people with other disabilities, when using
the web.
-- Mark Magennis, Director of NCBI Centre for Inclusive Technology
Tencent
Chinese: WAI-ARIA可以让你的网站变得对辅助技术更加友好，它提供了丰富
的角色、属性和状态。这些接口可以帮助残障人士使用辅助技术更加容易的
通过你 的网站获取信息，并与之交互。腾讯一直关注着ARIA，并在QQ空间和
腾讯网中尝试应用，它让我们或得了更多残障用户的认可。很高兴它将成为
一个标准，我 们会更加广泛和深入的使用。
English: WAI-ARIA can make your web become more friendly to
assistive technologies. It provides rich functions of role,
property and state. These application programming interfaces
(APIs) can help people with disabilities get information and
easily interact with widgets in your web applications. Tencent
pays constant attention to ARIA, and we are already using WAI-ARIA
in our Qzone and QQ portals. We're glad to see ARIA become a
Recommendation, and will apply this technology in our products
more widely.
-- Stone Huang, Technical Director of Qzone, Tencent
TPG
WAI-ARIA enables TPG to help organisations deliver modern web
functionality without compromising on Accessible User Experience
(AUX). We're delighted to have contributed to the development of
WAI-ARIA 1.0, and welcome its publication as a W3C recommendation.
-- Léonie Watson, Senior Accessibility Engineer, The Paciello Group (TPG).
Trace R&D Center
WAI-ARIA is one of those rare breakthrough technologies in the
Access world. It provides new and more powerful ways of making
dynamic, interactive web pages accessible and able to meet WCAG
2.0, at a time when we are seeing continually increasing use of
rich interactive content.
-- Gregg Vanderheiden, Director, Trace R&D Center
UIC
WAI-ARIA helps make Web applications more usable by the assistive
technologies even in the case of dynamic and interactive
content. In fact, WAI-Aria allows the effective communication
between the application and the assistive technology as regards to
events and information necessary to properly interpret what is
happening at the user interface level. Thanks to WAI-ARIA we hope
that Web applications can be made more easily accessible via any
desktop and mobile platform since the first release.
-- Barbara Leporini, Regional President, Italian Association of
Blind and Low Vision People (Unione Italiana dei Ciechi e degli
Ipovedenti)
Yandex
Russian: Яндекс рад приветствовать первую рекомендацию W3C ARIA и
надеется, что в будущем ARIA станет серией
рекомендаций. Технология, которая поддерживает право на всеобщий
доступ к веб-сервисам, важна для создания сильного и устойчивого
общества, граждане которого получат возможность улучшить свою
жизнь с помощью интернета. Мы уже используем ARIA, чтобы сделать
наши сервисы более доступными для людей с ограниченными
возможностями, которые рассчитывают на технологии, помогающие
решать ежедневные задачи. Важности ARIA будет расти по мере
развития ее технической реализации. В свою очередь, мы будем
улучшать качество доступа к нашим сервисам для всех без исключения
пользователей.
English: Yandex is pleased to welcome the first of what it hopes
is a series of ARIA recommendations from W3C. Technology that
supports the right to universal access is important to build a
strong sustainable society which allows citizens to make the best
possible choices about their lives. We already use ARIA to make
our services more accessible to people with disabilities who rely
on assistive technologies. We expect it to be increasingly
important as the technology is improved and as we continue to
improve in providing truly universal access to the services our
users need and want.
-- 'Chaals' McCathie Nevile, CTO group, Yandex
--
Ian Jacobs <ij@w3.org> http://www.w3.org/People/Jacobs
Tel: +1 718 260 9447
Received on Thursday, 20 March 2014 16:17:58 UTC