W3CWeb Accessibility initiative

WAI: Strategies, guidelines, resources to make the Web accessible to people with disabilities

Participating in WAI

Page Contents

Introduction

A key aspect of the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) is providing an international forum for collaboration between industry, disability organizations, accessibility researchers, government, and others interested in Web accessibility.

WAI encourages participation from individuals and organizations around the world in activities that help improve accessibility of the Web. Participation opportunities described below range from volunteering to implement, promote, and review guidelines; to occasional participation in an interest group; to dedicated participation in a working group.

Participating in Guidelines and Groups

See How WAI Develops Accessibility Guidelines through the W3C Process: Milestones and Opportunities to Contribute to learn how WAI works through a process designed to:

Reviewing Guidelines and Documents

WAI welcomes comments on documents at any time. Comments are handled differently depending on the stage of document development. See the "Feedback on Specific Documents" section of Contacting WAI for where to send comments.

One of the best times to comment on developing technical documents is during a formal period for public review. Calls for review of WAI documents are announced on the WAI home page, the WAI Highlights RSS feed, and WAI Interest Group mailing list. You can also get a direct email when updated Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines (ATAG), or Evaluation and Repair Tools Language (EARL) documents are ready for review. To be added to these reviewer lists, contact the corresponding Working Group Team Contact.

Submitting Techniques for Implementing Guidelines

WAI's Web accessibility guidelines have associated Techniques documents that tell you how to meet the guidelines, such as Techniques for WCAG 2.0, which is in development. You can submit ideas for techniques to the work group. There is a form for submitting WCAG 2.0 Techniques; for others, contact the Working Group's Team Contact.

Participating in Interest Groups

The WAI Interest Group (WAI IG) is for general discussion and feedback on all areas of WAI's work. Most of the interaction within WAI IG is through the public mailing list. WAI IG usually meets once per year in conjunction with the CSUN conference in March in Los Angeles, California, USA.

The Research and Development Interest Group (RDIG) facilitates discussion and discovery of the accessibility aspects of research and development of future Web technologies. Upcoming participation opportunities include:

Participating in Working Groups

Anyone can join a WAI Working Group public mailing list, or read the public list archives. There are specific criteria for joining Working Groups, including requirements for participation and contribution. See the Working Group pages below to find what group best fits your interests, and to get information on participation and links to the mailing list archives.

Sponsoring WAI

WAI's work is supported in part by sponsorship from industry, disability, and government organizations interested in contributing to WAI's efforts to make the Web more accessible. Please see the list of current sponsors on the WAI home page, and Sponsoring WAI for more information on WAI sponsorship.

Promoting and Implementing Web Accessibility

Implementing Guidelines

Promoting Awareness

Encouraging Accessibility