2026-01-29 –, Session Room
With the EU's Web Accessibility Directive (WAD) and the European Accessibility Act (EAA) now in effect, government agencies face new challenges in digital compliance. This talk addresses the critical question: "Now what?" We will cut through the legal jargon to reveal the practical steps departments must take to meet these regulations. The session will highlight the crucial gap between the EAA's broad requirements and the specific needs of government implementation. Using data from the Web Almanac, we'll expose where government sites are failing and discuss how strategic procurement and the use of platforms like Drupal can build a foundation for sustained compliance, ensuring services are truly accessible to all citizens.
Ensuring an accessible government website isn't just a legal obligation; it's a collaborative effort. This session will break down the roles and responsibilities of key players in building a more inclusive web. We will explore how to work together to address modern accessibility requirements.
Topics will include:
Best practices for building accessible themes and modules in Drupal. Learn how to use core features and contrib modules to handle accessible markup, keyboard navigation, and ARIA attributes correctly.
Strategies for integrating accessibility requirements into contracts and RFPs. Discover how to incentivize vendors to prioritize accessibility from the outset, ensuring the final product meets and exceeds compliance standards.
A walkthrough of a collaborative workflow that ensures all teams are aligned on accessibility goals, from project kickoff to continuous maintenance. We will show how a whole-of-team approach can prevent accessibility issues before they happen.
Mike Gifford is the Open Standards & Practices Lead at CivicActions, a company that helps government agencies build modern digital services. A thought leader on open government and accessibility, he has a deep background in open source, including extensive experience with the Drupal CMS. Mike's work focuses on helping governments become better buyers of digital services, and he is a recognized expert on accessibility and procurement.