Accessibility education and outreach: Another milestone in W3C’s 30-year history and evolution

As W3C celebrates 30 years, we also celebrate the success of the Accessibility Education and Outreach Working Group (EOWG), share news of its closure, and look forward to a new chapter in W3C accessibility work.

EOWG impact

When W3C launched the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) way back in 1997, the web community had little awareness of accessibility. In 1998, W3C chartered the Education and Outreach Working Group (EOWG) with a mission to develop strategies and materials to increase awareness of the need for web accessibility, and educate the community on web accessibility solutions. EOWG's mission evolved over the years to develop strategies and resources to promote awareness, understanding, implementation, and conformance testing for W3C accessibility standards; and to support the accessibility work of other W3C Groups.

It's now 25 years later and accessibility is an integral part of the web. EOWG was part of that evolution.

EOWG crafted a body of resources that fill a vital role in understanding the need for accessibility, in the adoption of W3C's accessibility standards around the world, and in accessibility implementation throughout a wide range of environments. To highlight a few:

• How people with disabilities use the web
• Tips for getting started designing, writing, and developing for accessibility
• Tutorials covering page structure, menus, images, tables, carousels, and forms
• Making audio and video media accessible
• Planning and managing web accessibility
• Easy checks – a first review of web accessibility
• those listed in Accessibility fundamentals overview and Resources for roles including for managers, testers, policy makers, and educators

EOWG has also:

• Supported the accessibility work of other W3C Groups, for example, significantly contributing to the approach and content design of the Website Accessibility Conformance Evaluation Methodology (WCAG-EM)
• Developed tools such as the How to Meet WCAG (Quick Reference), WCAG-EM Report Tool: Website Accessibility Evaluation Report Generator, and Accessibility Statement Generator
• Supported W3C-wide accessibility, for example, developing Making Events Accessible: Checklist for meetings, conferences, training, and presentations that are remote/virtual, in-person, or hybrid

EOWG resources have been viewed millions of times and are used in a wide range of contexts, including governments, universities, and industry. EOWG resources have been translated into multiple languages.

Structure for W3C's accessibility education and outreach work

Web accessibility has evolved and W3C's options for group work have evolved. While most W3C Members strongly support W3C's continued work on accessibility education and outreach, there is insufficient Membership support for the work in a Working Group.

After much deliberation, we made the difficult decision not to propose re-chartering the Working Group in 2024 and we will be closing EOWG. Several former EOWG participants are already contributing through other WAI Working Groups and Task Forces.

Be assured that W3C's accessibility education and outreach work will continue!

• Existing and new WAI staff, including a full-time accessibility content specialist, will update and develop accessibility resources and expand outreach. This staff work is funded by a grant and non-Member funds.
• We will encourage collaboration and vetting through the new Advancing Accessibility Resources Community Group. The W3C Community Group model has several advantages, including that participation is open to anyone. You can join!
• We will seek input through GitHub, through user studies, and through the existing WAI Interest Group (IG) mailing lists. You can subscribe to the Announcements list to learn about drafts for review.

Thank you EO

As an Invited Expert, Chair, W3C Team Contact, and Editor for EOWG over nearly 23 years, I (Shawn) am proud of all that the Group accomplished. Please join me in heartfelt thanks to:

• Co-Chairs: Sharron Rush, Brent Bakken, Kris Anne Kinney, Brian Elton; and the first Chair: Judy Brewer
• Editors: Shadi Abou-Zahra, Eric Eggert, Kevin White, Daniel Montalvo, Andrew Arch, Hidde de Vries, Sharron Rush, and others listed in the footer of each resource
• EOWG participants who contributed their valuable time, knowledge, and perspectives

EOWG has been a positive, supportive group with plenty of laughs along the way. Among the many resources the group developed collaboratively are videos that illustrate:

• Accessibility: Essential for some, useful for all
• Accessibility: It's about people
• The importance of involving users in web projects

EO next

W3C's accessibility education and outreach work continues. We look forward to this next chapter in the evolution to support W3C's mission that humanity can experience all that the web has to offer. We will continue working to make the web and related technologies accessible so that people with disabilities around the globe can participate equally in the digital world.

We invite you to learn more about all of W3C's accessibility work and how you can contribute:

• Read What We're Working On - Accessibility Activities and Publications
• Subscribe to Get WAI News

Onward!