Notes # 5: Italy's Accessibility Guidelines, Digital Euro, Accessible Math...

Personal Notes

On March 10, I attended an accessible art event hosted by Paribu Art. With the support of Binclusive, we watched a documentary called “The In Between” with audio description. The description was initially generated by AI and then edited by a human. The AI-human cooperation did a great job in terms of description content, requiring less effort compared to fully manual description work. However, since the documentary was based mostly on interviews, there were instances where the description conflicted with the speech. Anyway, we saw that movies can be described more easily with the help of AI if producers are willing to make it. During the event, Turkish Sign Language interpretation and live captioning were provided by Erişilebilir Her Şey, a Turkish accessibility consultancy company. They are also working on the physical accessibility of the Paribu Art venue. Overall, it was a great event that showcased the power of collaboration, and this collaboration made accessibility more comprehensive

News

AgID Publishes Guidelines On Digital Accessibility

Source: agid.gov.it

The Agency for Digital Italy published its official guidelines and makes European Accessibility Act implementation real. The guidelines do not say different things from EN 301 549 standards and the official European Accessibility Act text. The important point is that AgID's reporting portal is live now and consumers can file a complaint. Penalties range from €2,500 to €40,000. However, I saw a login option with citizen ID in the portal. So, a question: As a person with disabilities and not a citizen of Italy, can't I file a complaint as well? For example, if I am trying to buy a flight ticket from an Italian airline company and encounter an accessibility issue, I would want to file it

The Digital Euro And Its Financial Inclusion Opportunities

Source: ZeroCon26 YouTube

As a digital form of cash, the digital euro will provide more secure, private, and free transactions. It will also create a unified payment market across Europe. The pilot phase is set to begin in 2027. The European Central Bank aims to make all aspects of the digital euro accessible. The card will have some tactile features, and the app will be born-accessible, especially with the support of ONCE Foundation. This “born-accessible” method, along with partnerships and a comprehensive approach to financial inclusion, excites me. Waiting for the updates.

Accessible Math In PDF – Finally!

Source: PDF Association

Copying directly from the text: “On the web, math is made accessible to users with disabilities via MathML technology. Until very recently, math in PDF wasn’t accessible to those users, who had to make do with unstructured, alternative text descriptions of mathematical formulae that cannot be represented using braille math codes. Today, math in PDF 2.0 is finally fully accessible”. Great update for inclusive STEM!

WCAG 3 Working Draft Update

Source W3C

A new working draft of WCAG 3 has been released and is open for feedback. You can review the draft and comment on user needs that are not covered, the structure of the standards, assertions, and the conformance model via GitHub. Creating an issue in GitHub as WCAG 3 feedback is very easy. You just need to click the link that is shared on the draft, sign in and click “New Issue”. I've started to look at the standards and have created two issues related to the needs of people with low vision.

Inspirations

A Guide To Accessible Focus Indicators

Source: Pope Tech

Recently, I started testing the accessibility of focus indicators in our digital products, but sometimes understanding WCAG criteria and applying it can be overwhelming. Pope Tech provides easy-to-understand guidelines for most accessibility issues. I benefited from the “Common Pitfalls” section the most, due to the solution suggestions they provided.

Website Accessibility Testing Checklist

Source: Equalize Digital

Generally, I don't love checklists because they often create more questions than answers due to their summarized nature. However, Equalize Digital has created a customizable component-based checklist and made it available on Google Sheets. You can select the criteria that are relevant to your needs and add additional columns if necessary. It's a great starting point for creating internal checklists.

When I Get That Low Contrast Feeling, I Need Non-Textual Healing [Quiz]

Source: Vispero

I solve this quiz every 3 months to refresh my knowledge. It's funnier than reading the WCAG Understanding Documents. Try it and see how non-text contrast accessibility can be tricky and confusing.

An Article From Me

There are no very strict accessibility standards that clearly indicate which typefaces should be used in design and how they should be used. This area often falls within the designer’s creative freedom. For this reason, designers who are interested in accessibility frequently ask similar questions. In this article, I have compiled some of the most common ones: Typefaces and Accessible Writing