The BrailleNet association has entrusted Micropole-Univers, a European company specializing in Business Intelligence, e-Business, ERP and CRM, with the creation of its new resource portal on digital accessibility.
Created in 1998, BrailleNet aims to promote access to information, education, employment and culture for people with disabilities by encouraging digital accessibility. To do so, the association awards a Web accessibility label, the AccessiWeb label, and provides training courses, the AccessiWeb courses, ranging from awareness to expertise.
According to Tim Berners-Lee, director of W3C1 and co-inventor of the World Wide Web, Web accessibility is about "making the Web and its services available to all people, regardless of their hardware or software, network infrastructure, native language, culture, geographic location, or physical or mental abilities.
In France, public services are already obliged to make their sites accessible. Indeed, according to article 47 of the law of February 11, 2005 for the equality of rights and opportunities, participation and citizenship of disabled people: "The online public communication services of the State, local authorities and public establishments that depend on them must be accessible to disabled people". The application decree was published in the Official Journal on May 16.
For Olivier Nourry, Head of the Accessibility Offer at Micropole-Univers, it seems inconceivable that "a company or an administration would cut itself off from 10% of its customers or users". And Dominique Burger, President of the BrailleNet association, added: "the growing success of AccessiWeb shows that Web players are willing to move forward and call on the expertise of specialized organizations.
The AccessiWeb label guarantees that a site complies with the recommendations of the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) of the W3C. The AccessiWeb Working Group (AWG), which brings together nearly 300 evaluation experts, aims to develop expertise in the field of digital accessibility technologies. In particular, it contributes to increasing the number of Web professionals capable of producing accessible digital services.
In order to face a foreseeable increase in demand for resources and services related to digital accessibility, BrailleNet has decided to develop a new portal dedicated to digital accessibility, with the support of the Délégation aux Usages de l'Internet. It has entrusted Micropole-Univers with its development. This portal will include new functionalities and will be a mine of information, both for Web and disability professionals and for the general public.
BrailleNet thus recognizes the real commitment of Micropole-Univers teams to accessibility. Since 2007, Micropole-Univers has been developing sites that meet the requirements of the AccessiWeb label, for example for the Natixis group in 2008 and for the Ile-de-France Carif in 2009. In this field, Micropole-Univers can count on a pole of expertise of about fifteen people. Micropole-Univers was also one of the official sponsors of the 2009 European Digital Accessibility Forum, and its teams took part in the French translation of the W3C recommendations for Web content accessibility.
