Web Accessibility Seminar in Manila, Philippines

Right after the web accessibility workshop in Malaysia, we conducted another web accessibility seminar, this time in the Philippines. This event was a joint effort of Even Grounds and ATRIEV Computer School for the Blind.

Accessibility in the Philippines is gradually being recognized by more and more groups in the country. Through events such as this, we aim to further establish web accessibility as a standard and help present and future web developers create more accessible websites.

This web accessibility seminar was held from January 21 to 22, 2010 at the National Computer Center of the Philippines. On the first day, we covered a set of topics regarding web accessibility, and screen readers as well as other assistive technologies. On the second day, we talked about the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0, and the procedures in identifying and solving accessibility issues in websites.

We welcomed more than 20 attendees in this seminar. The audience consisted of professors and students of web development subjects and representatives of organizations focused on persons with disabilities. The participants came from Schools and organizations such as Asia Pacific College, Informatics International College, Manila Christian Computer Institute for the Deaf College of Technology (MCCID College), Resources for the Blind Incorporated, and University of Sto. Tomas.

The main thing that set this seminar apart from other similar events was that there were groups representing different types of disabilities. The audience included persons with hearing impairment, low vision individuals, and people who are totally blind. As a result, each group was able to share its own perspective and distinct opinions about web accessibility and its principles.

At the conclusion of the seminar, everyone expressed the desire to promote web accessibility and realized the need to collaborate with other accessibility advocates. Even Grounds is very happy to have conducted this seminar alongside ATRIEV, and is looking forward to participating in future accessibility events in the country.