This update provides information on activities of the World Wide Web Consortium's (W3C) Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI), for the "Web Accessibility Initiative: Training, Implementation, Education and Support" (WAI-TIES) Project in Europe.

Contents:

1. Improving the Accessibility of Your Web Site
2. Why Standards Harmonization is Essential for Web Accessibility
3. Using Combined Expertise to Evaluate Web Accessibility
4. Inaccessibility of CAPTCHA
5. Information about W3C, WAI, and WAI-TIES

1. Improving the Accessibility of Your Web Site

Improving the Accessibility of Your Web Site provides guidance for fixing accessibility barriers in existing Web sites. It describes strategies for identifying priorities, developing a retrofitting plan, and repairing accessibility barriers efficiently.

2. Why Standards Harmonization is Essential for Web Accessibility

Why Standards Harmonization is Essential for Web Accessibility describes the benefits of adopting a consistent set of international technical standards for Web accessibility. It explores reasons why people develop different standards, as well as the accelerated progress that can be made through adoption of a common standard.

3. Using Combined Expertise to Evaluate Web Accessibility

Using Combined Expertise to Evaluate Web Accessibility explores how to conduct higher quality evaluations of Web site accessibility by combining diverse kinds of expertise from different evaluators.

4. Inaccessibility of CAPTCHA

The W3C Note "Inaccessibility of CAPTCHA: Alternatives to Visual Turing Tests on the Web provides an updated explanation of why these increasingly frequent features of Web sites, often required to gain permission to sign up for services on a Web site, present accessibility barriers to many people with disabilities.

5. Information about W3C, WAI, and WAI-TIES

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is an international forum which develops interoperable technologies (specifications, guidelines, software, and tools) to lead the Web to its full potential.

W3C's Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) addresses accessibility of the Web for people with disabilities, through a variety of activities, including technical and guidelines development and educational work.

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WAI Training, Implementation, Education and Support (WAI-TIES) a project of WAI, was funded by the European Commission Information Society Technologies (IST) Programme to increase training and implementation support on Web accessibility in Europe. This is the final WAI-TIES Update.

This WAI-TIES Update may be circulated to other mailing lists as appropriate, avoiding cross-postings. Additional materials produced through this project can be found at the WAI-TIES site.

Regards,

• Sylvie Duchateau, for the WAI-TIES Project.
• Shadi Abou-Zahra, W3C Web Accessibility Initiative and WAI-TIES
• Judy Brewer, W3C Web Accessibility Initiative