{"id":4626,"date":"2025-05-10T13:36:50","date_gmt":"2025-05-10T11:36:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/verwaltungsgestaltung.de\/notizen\/?p=4626"},"modified":"2025-05-10T14:06:03","modified_gmt":"2025-05-10T12:06:03","slug":"week-158-at-the-digital-service-notes-for-5-9-may-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/verwaltungsgestaltung.de\/notizen\/2025\/05\/10\/week-158-at-the-digital-service-notes-for-5-9-may-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Week #158 at the Digital Service: Notes for 5\u20139 May 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If it\u2019s not accessible, it\u2019s not user-centred. And, we didn\u2019t do our job properly. Cause our government and the public sector need to serve all people. Yet collectively, we are pretty bad at that.

The German government\u2019s accessibility monitoring body, BFIT-Bund, found that none of 7,239 checked public sector websites and apps met all accessibility criteria. They had to report that to the European Commission<\/a> a few weeks ago. Even then, compliance with all accessibility criteria does not equal fully accessible, barrier-free services either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recognising our gaps in practical accessibility capability<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Despite a decade-old accessibility practice in computer science and information technology, the awareness, capacity and capability levels in public, private and third sectors remain shockingly poor. That includes many tech companies. New EU legislation is forcing private sector companies to become compliant by summer. The problem is: It\u2019s considered a legal task and risk management exercise. It\u2019s rarely seen as an opportunity to serve more people better.

Since engaging with colleagues from across other German ministries and government bodies, I was taken aback by how little practical knowledge there is. All too often, the focus is on making PDF documents as accessible as possible. At the same time, commissioned public-facing services and procured internal services and tools frequently don\u2019t meet crucial criteria for accessibility. Even people in formal accessibility officer roles lack a deeper practical understanding of how we make public offerings accessible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learning about accessibility together<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Global Accessibility Awareness Day, or GAAD, is around the corner. On Thursday, 15 May, thousands of people around the world will get together to learn more about accessibility, upskill themselves and connect with others. I am taking an active role in this.

We will be running 2 events. With our international Gov Design community, we will run a call on \u2018accessibility and inclusion\u2019. We will hear from <\/a>Hidde de Vries from the Dutch goverment about web standards, the NL DesignSystem and built-in accessibility. Priyanca De\u2019Souza will discuss intersectionality and lived experience when we approach accessibility \u2013 from a user research perspective. My colleagues <\/a>Christoph Schmidl and <\/a>Marion Couesnon will report on how we built accessibility culture, structure, formats, and tools at Digital Service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you work for any government around the world and are interested in #accessibility, join us next week for our int\u2019l #GovDesign #GAAD special call:\nWe will be discussing accessibility and inclusion and will hear from @hidde.blog, @priyanca.bsky.social, and @digitalservice.bund.de colleagues.\n#A11y

[image or embed]<\/a><\/p>— Martin Jordan (@martinjordan.com<\/a>) May 6, 2025 at 6:36 PM<\/a><\/blockquote>