Viadrina Language Centre goes online with new pages - Tips for accessible web content

A new filter navigation on the Viadrina Language Centre makes the range of courses available user-friendly. In addition, all information from the language centre is structured on subpages. In the future, the centre's content will also be made available in other languages (FR, PL and UA) in order to emphasise the university's "living multilingualism".

The Centre for Knowledge and Technology Transfer, the Karl Dedecius Foundation and the Hochschul-Präsenzstelle Fürstenwalde have been given a new look in the university cosmos.

Digital accessibility becomes mandatory

It is not only Viadrina's language programme that is essential for the university's inclusive orientation, but also the digital accessibility of its website. In June of this year, the Barrierefreiheitsstärkungsgesetz comes into force in Germany. It stipulates that public institutions should improve digital accessibility. This also applies to the website of the European University Viadrina. This enables people with impairments (visual, auditory, motor or cognitive) to participate in the university's content.

Screen readers enable people with visual impairments to access websites, for example. In order for the content to be read out via the screen reader in a meaningful and comprehensible way, the corresponding fields must be filled out in the CMS.

How do I make websites accessible?

The modules, the colour contrasts and the keyboard accessibility for all elements of the Viadrina website are programmed to be barrier-free; however, we are dependent on your help as CMS editors when filling in the content:

• Give files unique, short names without special characters in the "Name" field. The names must be in lower case; please do not use underscores, but hyphens instead.
• Fill in the titles of images sensibly so that screen readers can briefly describe what can be seen there in the context of the content (e.g. "Group picture with twelve people from the Department of Communication").

• Avoid PDFs or other documents that require a separate programme to open the content. If PDFs cannot be avoided, please ensure that the content is accessible (this can be easily checked in Word before saving as a PDF).
• Subdivide long texts using subheadings; use h3 or h4 in the formatting. Bolded or italicised content is not an accessible structure as it is not described as such by the screen reader.

• Use simple language: avoid nested sentences and abbreviations.

You can find more information on editorial topics on the CMS training pages.

Heike Stralau