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Declaration of Accessibility

Statement on accessibility

The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna strives to make its website barrier-free in accordance with the Web Accessibility Act in its current version [ Web-Zugänglichkeits-Gesetz (WZG) idgF ] , which implements the Directive (EU) 2016/2102 of the European Parliament and the Council of 26 October 2016 on the accessibility of the websites and mobile applications of public sector bodies ( https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32016L2102&from=DE ; Official Gazette 327, Dec 2, 2016, 1).

This statement on accessibility applies to the website akbild.ac.at.

Status of compatibility with the requirements

Considering the incompatibilities and exceptions listed below, this website partially fulfils the requirements of Level AA Conformance of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines WCAG 2.1 and the applicable European Standard EN 301 549 V2.1.2 (2018-08).

Non-barrier-free contents

The contents listed below are not barrier-free for the following reasons:

a) Incompatibility with accessibility regulations

  1. Many PDF documents are not barrier-free. They are not tagged, for example, so that screen readers cannot understand and use them or are only able to do so to a limited extent. Voice markups and alternative texts are missing. Thus, WCAG success criterion 4.1.2 (name, role, value) is not met. We intend to make all PDFs in the current section of the website barrier-free by January 2021.
  2. Some videos have no subtitles so that the spoken content is not available for hearing-deaf users. Thus, WCAG success criterion 1.2.2 (captioning recorded) is not met. Most videos being art videos, there is often no correlation between image and sound. We intend to add descriptive texts to supplement the videos by January 2021.
  3. Pictures and slideshows that have no alternative text are usually teasers or atmospheric images and have no explanatory function for the contents. Nevertheless, we intend to add alternative texts to the website during the next update.
  4. Fold-out navigation menus cannot be opened via the keyboard. Yet the view without style allows to select or skip navigation elements up to the third structural level. Alternatively, the sitemap permits navigation of the entire website (on all structural levels). A correction will be made in the foreseeable future.
  5. Forms can be selected via the keyboard in the correct logical order. Form labels are available, but the headline “Contact” is to be found twice in the contact form and defined as a form label the second time. In addition, the group of radio buttons is not encapsulated in a field set at this point, which means that a structural element is missing that would explain the function of the radio buttons. We will evaluate whether the group needs an additional explanation in this regard.
  6. Links do not change their color during mouseover or keyboard control, nor do they visually indicate that they are links. We intend to fix this soon.
  7. The currently implemented background font contrasts are partly insufficient. This concerns navigation menus as well as headers, footers, and a number of texts in portlets. The font size in the right vertical navigation menu is also relatively small and therefore difficult to read. With the introduction of the new corporate design, font and color specifications are to be reworked in a way that conforms to the directive. We are working on the solution of the problem.
  8. The current version of the homepage is not responsive. A new responsive version of the homepage is currently under development.

b) Disproportionate burden

The archives of events, completed research projects, and calls for proposals are not barrier-free. We believe that a correction would represent a disproportionate burden in terms of the given accessibility regulations. Please let us know if you have difficulties with specific entries or documents. We will prepare the content barrier-free on request.

Drawing-up this statement of accessibility

This statement was drawn up on September 29, 2020.

The assessment of the conformance of the website with the Web Accessibility Act for the implementation of the requirements of the Directive (EU) 2016/2102 was carried out in the form of a self-test according to WCAG 2.0 at Conformance Level AA in September 2020. The start page, an overview page, the search, and the search results were examined. Individual page contents are regularly checked by the web editors when new content is published.

Feedback and contact details

The offers and services on this website are continuously improved, exchanged, and extended. Usability and accessibility are of great importance to us in this context.

Please inform us by e-mail if you notice any barriers that prevent you from using our website, including problems that are not described in this statement and shortcomings in terms of compliance with accessibility requirements. We will check your request and contact you as soon as possible.

Please send all messages and suggestions to webmaster@akbild.ac.at with the reference “Reporting a barrier on the website www.akbild.ac.at.”

Enforcement procedure

In case of unsatisfactory answers from the above-mentioned contact, you may turn to the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG) and submit your complaint. The FFG accepts complaints electronically via the contact form.

Contact form of the complaint office

The complaints are examined by the FFG to determine whether they relate to violations of the requirements of the Web Accessibility Act, in particular shortcomings in compliance with accessibility requirements, by the federal government or an institution affiliated with it.

If the complaint is regarded as justified, the FFG is liable to make recommendations to the federal government or the legal entities concerned and propose measures to remedy the flaws in question.

More information on the complaint procedure

All information on accessibility at the locations of the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna