The World Wide Web, aka the Web, has changed dramatically since its inception in 1989. From static individual web pages in the early ninetees and the later evolution of highly dynamic and voluminous websites with interactive content and applications, to the current proliferation of internet-enabled devices and sensors using web technologies to provide rich user interfaces and functionality. The core set of web standards that drive the Web can be referred to as the Open Web Platform, that are used to create complex applications and data flows. That is, the Web is now a rich development environment as opposed to a mere hypertext format.

The concurrent evolution of the Web and expansion of the Internet of Things (IoT) provides immense opportunities for people with disabilities, while at the same time raising new and old challenges for accessibility. This includes, but is not limited to:

• Web of Things Accessibility - Uses of Web Standards to Enable an Accessible and Inclusive Internet of Things (IoT), beyond user interface requirements.
• Artificial Intelligence for Accessibility - Uses of Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Heuristics for accessible content authoring, testing, and browsing.
• Big Data and Accessibility - Uses, but in particular also threats to the privacy and security of people with disabilities, of open data repositories for accessibility.
• "Mobile" Accessibility - Ensuring accessibility across the spectrum of web content, electronoc documents, and software, as well as across the plethora of devices.
• Cognitive and Learning Disabilities - Uses of latest research, technologies, and applications to improve accessibility for people with cognitive and learning disabilities.
• Virtual and Augmented Reality - Uses of virtual, augmented, and mixed reality and presence on the Web to enhance accessibility, including ensuring their accessibility.
• Accessibility Conformance Testing - Ensuring conformance of web content, authoring tools, and user agents to the requirements defined by the W3C Accessibility Guidelines.

This ICCHP Special Thematic Session (STS) invites papers on web accessibility, with particular emphasis on the topics mentioned above. Papers on other topics on web accessibility are welcome too.

Contributions to the STS have to be submitted using the standard submission procedures of ICCHP.

Chair

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  Shadi Abou-Zahra, W3C Web Accessibility Initiative