Awareness and knowledge have increased in recent years regarding digital accessibility, but all too often, it is something that is still not prioritized. Digital accessibility is not just a responsibility of the public sector – it is a challenge that affects us all. Making websites and digital services accessible, regardless of the person's functional ability, is fundamental to creating an inclusive and equal digital experience.
It is easy to underestimate the number of people with different functional variations, as their needs are not always clearly reflected in the statistics. In Sweden, the numbers vary between 10-30% or more, depending on survey methods and the definition of the group.
A functional variation can be congenital but also arise during the course of life. Aging can affect vision, and unexpected events such as accidents or illnesses can temporarily limit a person's ability. Audio clips without subtitles, too small a font, and images and colors with poor contrast are examples of a lack of digital accessibility. It is our shared responsibility to design and produce digital content that includes the needs of each end user.
In order to make visible and share knowledge about digital accessibility, 7minds has done important work. They have created a completely public step-by-step guide that offers valuable information and presents it in an accessible way. By using narration, subtitles, and clear images and colors, they aim to increase accessibility at all levels, not only through the content of the guide but also through the method.
Maria, CEO at 7minds who is the creator of the guide "Who needs an accessible digital service?" goes on to say:
For us, it is a fundamental principle that all people should have the opportunity to use digital services and access information provided online. A challenge we often encounter is that many tend to underestimate the presence of people with special needs in their target group.
Our hope is that whoever sees the guide understands that everyone needs digital accessibility, not just a few. We see that many people have taken advantage of it and shared it, and we think that's good. The knowledge needs to be spread!
Click here to see 7minds guide (in Swedish).
7minds receive the Guide of the Month award
Every month we at InfoCaption appoint the Guide of the Month - a guide we want to highlight a little extra because of its value in the organization. As a thank you to the person(s) who created the Guide of the Month, we donate SEK 1,000 monthly to the organization Hand in Hand Sweden, which fights poverty by creating more jobs in vulnerable countries. Hand in Hand works with the "help to self-help" model, which aligns with InfoCaption's mission "to make it easier for employees to help each other."
We at InfoCaption agree with 7minds that knowledge needs to be spread. The guide is a reminder of the importance of making digital services accessible to everyone. The guide shows the way to a more inclusive digital world through simple methods such as narration, subtitles, and clear images. We think that is worth highlighting!
Do you want to learn more about how you can share knowledge in a better way?
