Web standards facilitating accessibility in a digitally inclusive South Africa – Perspectives from developing the South African National Accessibility Portal

Abstract

Many factors impact on the ability to create a digitally inclusive society in a developing world context. These include lack of access to information and communication technology (ICT), infrastructure, low literacy levels as well as low ICT related skills. The lack of standards, or poor implementation of existing standards in technology, could also have a significant impact on the pervasiveness and cost of developing applications, thus creating more barriers in society. This paper analyses the importance of Web standards (especially those associated with accessibility) in the creation of an inclusive society using experiences gathered from the development of the South African National Accessibility Portal