Accessibility Lab, based in Mexico, is an organization that works with public and private companies as well as Civil Society Organizations to ensure the inclusion of people with disabilities in the digital world. They specialize in accessibility audits, assessing websites, tools, and resources to make sure they can be accessed by persons with disabilities. Through the UXFund, Internews aimed to expand their capacity to work directly with open source tool teams, providing guidance and specific recommendations to improve the accessibility of tools and websites.
Completed Audits
Through the UXFund grant, Accessibility Lab completed audits and provided recommendations for:
- KeePassXC’s website, desktop tool, and browser extension. Prioritized recommendations were applied and released in KPXC’s most recent update.
- Mailvelope’s website and browser extension. Prioritized recommendations were applied and released with their new website in July 2019.
- Guardian Project’s Orbot tool website and Android application. Prioritized recommendations will be applied with their next website release.
- SecureDrop’s website and Source & Journalist Experience. Recommendations are expected to be applied in an upcoming release.
Additionally, the Accessibility Lab project lead, Nancy Reyes, attended RightsCon Tunis, and was able to participate in the UX Help Desk alongside the USABLE team and organizations such as Simply Secure, EFF, and Access Now. At RightsCon, Nancy was able to connect with new organizations and explore future collaborations, such as one with Least Authority, which has plans to work with Accessibility Lab on a website audit.
What’s next for Accessibility Lab?
Accessibility Lab has begun collaborations with organizations such as the “Inclusion con Equidad” alliance, and “Fundacion Taiyari” alliance. They have also been working with the “Federal Institute of Telecommunications” to provide training focused on creating accessible web content.
They plan to continue their consultant services and trainings for the private sector, government, and universities, as well as providing digital accessibility certifications to companies and government websites, designers, and developers. They hope to provide information and content for other countries around the world, and organize the first “Global Festival of Universal Design and Digital Inclusion”.
