Government employees were taught how to write and create publications in such a way that they could be used by all people, including those with visual impairments.
More than 120 public servants took part in the web accessibility training held on June 29-30 in Lviv. The training was organized in partnership with the Lviv Regional Military Administration with the financial support of Japan as part of the Action Support Project, which the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Ukraine implements with funding from Sweden.
Public servants from the regional, city and district councils of the Lviv region, as well as representatives of various levels of authorities from the Volyn, Ternopil, and Ivano-Frankivsk regions took part in the training. During two days, they were taught how to write texts and create videos, publications and websites in such a way that they are accessible to all people, including those who cannot see and use special assistive technologies on the Internet – screen readers.
This is the second training in a series of regional web accessibility trainings organized by UNDP in Ukraine. Earlier, the training was held in Vinnytsia, and next week it will take place in Poltava.
The Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, with the support of its partners, strives to achieve maximum digital accessibility in the country, Mstislav Banik, head of the development of electronic services at the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, emphasized in his welcoming speech.
“Despite the fact that the number of Diya users is growing, and their user experience is mostly positive, it remains important for the Ministry of Digital Affairs that all Ukrainians, without exception, can use Diya and all state electronic services and web resources in general. Including those who have permanent or temporary impairment of vision, hearing, locomotor functions,” he said.
Web accessibility is one of the key areas that UNDP in Ukraine is working on together with the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine. Thanks to joint efforts with Sweden, in recent years the country has fundamentally changed the legislation regulating the web accessibility of state websites. Thus, on June 15, 2022, a new state web accessibility standard based on the progressive European standard EN 301 549 entered into legal force in Ukraine. After the adoption of the Resolution developed by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, all executive authorities will be required to comply with its requirements. And in order to make it easier for domestic developers to implement them, the Ministry of Digitization and UNDP in Ukraine initiated the first official translation into Ukrainian of the WCAG international web accessibility guidelines, which formed the basis of the new state standard.
As a result, such measures lead to easier life for people with disabilities, because the websites of the authorities become convenient for them to use. And this is one of the foundations of building a modern digital state, emphasized Oleksandr Kulepin, Deputy Head of the Regional Military Administration for Digital Development, Digital Transformations and Digitalization (CDTO), welcoming the participants of the training.
Conducting regional trainings on web accessibility for public servants on the ground became another element of the joint efforts of UNDP in Ukraine and the Ministry of Digital Affairs to increase the accessibility of the country’s state resources and prepare the authorities for the entry into force of the new legislation, noted Oksana Grechko, digitalization policy specialist of the Action Support Project. opening the training.
“Government resources should first of all take into account the requirements of web accessibility, because there is no alternative where a person can get a state digital service if the website of the authority is unavailable and he cannot use it,” she said. – That is why, with the support of Japan, we are happy to help civil servants in the region acquire the necessary knowledge and skills so that the products they will create are accessible and convenient for as many citizens as possible.”
Earlier in February of this year, the Ministry of Digital and UNDP in Ukraine, with the financial support of Sweden, developed the thematic educational series “Web accessibility” for the Diya.Osvita portal. In a short and interesting form, he explains all the basics of this concept and recommendations for eliminating typical digital barriers. The course formed the basis of the subsequently created “Quick Guide to Web Accessibility”, which contained all the instructions in text form.
Similar trainings were also conducted for civil servants of central executive bodies. Their recordings can be found on the YouTube channel of UNDP in Ukraine.