The Web Accessibility Initiative
Web Enabled
By Mike Paciello
On April 7, 1997, the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) announced the launch of the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI). The primary purpose of the WAI (pronounced "way") is to promote and achieve Web functionality for people with disabilities. Endorsed by the White House, the W3C, industry members, the European Community (EC), and disability organizations all over the world, the WAI is the largest technological effort ever established on the behalf of people with disabilities.
According to Charles Opperman, Internet Explorer accessibility program manager:
Microsoft has made the technology available. Now it's a cultural issue to make people aware of the issues of providing textual descriptions and to implement sites that are accessible to the visually impaired.
Even President Clinton is involved. In a letter to the W3C, the President wrote:
Given the explosive growth in the use of the World Wide Web for publishing, electronic commerce, lifelong learning and the delivery of government services, it is vital that the Web be accessible to everyone.
But one has to wonder: Are we witnessing an emerging market or a new government agenda?
Background
As creator and author of the original WAI project proposal, my initial motivation was human interest. I work as an assistive-technology consultant at Digital Equipment Corp.,
