Accessibility Statement

1. Accessibility Statement

The Roots of Change project team is committed to making the web platform as accessible as possible in accordance with the requirements of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1.

This accessibility statement applies to the Roots of Change web platform.

2. Compliance Status

This web platform is partially compliant with the WCAG 2.1 Level AA requirements.

During development, particular emphasis was placed on ensuring the accessibility of the participant-facing user interface. Due to the limited scope and timeframe of the project, however, not all WCAG 2.1 Level AA requirements could be fully implemented. Accessibility improvements for the administration and moderation interfaces were therefore given lower priority than the core user-facing functionality.

3. Non-accessible Content

The following content is currently not fully accessible.

a) Non-compliance with Accessibility Requirements

Some parts of the platform do not yet fully comply with the WCAG 2.1 Level AA success criteria.

These include, among others:

  • Not all images provide meaningful alternative text.
  • Some colour combinations do not fully meet the recommended minimum contrast ratios.
  • Certain interactive elements within the administration and moderation interfaces have not yet been fully optimized for keyboard navigation and screen reader compatibility.
  • Some form fields and error messages are not yet fully accessible to assistive technologies.
  • Certain interface components have only been tested to a limited extent with different screen readers.

These limitations are planned to be addressed in future development iterations.

b) Disproportionate Burden

The platform was developed as part of a time-limited university software engineering project. As a result, it was not possible to fully implement all WCAG 2.1 Level AA requirements within the available project timeframe.

Development efforts were intentionally focused on the primary user-facing features, including authentication, the dashboard, challenges, and challenge submissions. Accessibility improvements for the administration and moderation interfaces were deferred in favour of delivering the core functionality of the platform.

c) Content Outside the Scope

Images and other content uploaded by users cannot be fully guaranteed to meet accessibility requirements.

4. Preparation of this Accessibility Statement

This accessibility statement was prepared as part of the Roots of Change project.

The accessibility evaluation was carried out through a self-assessment based on the WCAG 2.1 Level AAguidelines.

The following areas were reviewed:

  • Authentication via JKU Single Sign-On
  • Dashboard
  • Challenge catalogue
  • Challenge detail pages
  • Challenge submission
  • Gallery
  • Responsive behaviour on mobile devices

In addition, automated accessibility testing tools were used to identify common accessibility issues.

Tools Used

The following tools were used during the accessibility evaluation:

  • WAVE Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool
  • Google Lighthouse
  • axe DevTools
  • Keyboard-only testing
  • Browser Developer Tools

5. Feedback and Contact

The platform is continuously being improved. We welcome feedback regarding accessibility barriers or suggestions for improvement.

If you encounter any accessibility issues or experience difficulties using the platform, please let us know.

When reporting an issue, please include, if possible:

  • the affected page,
  • the action you performed,
  • and a description of the problem encountered.

Contact

Martin Reiter

Email: martin.reiter@jku.at

6. Planned Improvements

The following measures are planned to further improve the accessibility of the platform:

  • Full implementation of the WCAG 2.1 Level AA requirements.
  • Extending accessibility improvements to the administration and moderation interfaces.
  • Integrating accessibility considerations throughout the software development process (Accessibility by Design).
  • Expanding testing with different screen readers and other assistive technologies.
  • Further improving colour contrast and keyboard accessibility throughout the platform.