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<div id="Contents">
<h1>WAI Technical Activity Statement</h1>

<p class="firstelement">The <span style="font-weight:bold;">Web Accessibility
Initiative (WAI) Technical Activity</span> addresses barriers to Web
accessibility on several levels. First, it seeks to ensure that the full range
of core technologies of the Web, from HTML to the Semantic Web, is accessible.
Barriers exist when these technologies lack features needed by users with
visual, auditory, physical, cognitive or neurological disabilities; or when the
accessibility potential in the technology is not implemented in Web content or
applications. The WAI Technical Activity coordinates closely with the <a href="http://www.w3.org/WAI/IPO/Activity.html">WAI International Program
Office</a>, which focuses on WAI education and outreach, research and
development, and overall coordination of WAI activities.</p>

<p>The WAI Technical Activity reviews accessibility support across all W3C
specifications, and develops the WAI-ARIA suite of resources for making Rich
Internet Applications accessible through the work of the Protocols and Formats
Working Group (PFWG). The WAI Technical Activity promotes implementation of
accessibility improvements in Web technologies through development of a set of
three WAI guidelines as Recommendations: Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
(WCAG), User Agent Accessibility Guidelines (UAAG), and Authoring Tool
Accessibility Guidelines (ATAG). These guidelines describe features needed to
achieve different levels of accessibility, and include reference checklists and
implementation techniques. The WAI Technical Activity also develops techniques
to improve tools for evaluation and repair of Web sites through the work of the
Evaluation and Repair Tools Working Group (ERT WG).</p>

<h2>Highlights Since the Previous Advisory Committee Meeting</h2>

<p>Since the previous W3C Advisory Committee Meeting in May 2011, the WAI
Technical Activity accomplished the following through its five Working
Groups.</p>

<p>The <a href="http://www.w3.org/WAI/PF/">Protocols and Formats Working
Group</a> (PFWG) (<a href="http://www.w3.org/WAI/PF/Group/">Member PFWG
page</a>):</p>
<ul>
  <li>Processed <a href="/WAI/PF/comments/">public comments</a> on the <a href="http://www.w3.org/TR/2011/CR-wai-aria-20110118/">Accessible Rich
    Internet Applications (WAI-ARIA) 1.0</a> Candidate Recommendation and <a href="http://www.w3.org/TR/2011/WD-role-attribute-20110113/">Role Attribute
    1.0</a> Last Call Working Draft.</li>
  <li>Began to identify testable statements for WAI-ARIA, which are stored in
    the <a href="http://www.w3.org/WAI/ARIA/1.0/CR/implementation-report">draft
    implementation report</a>, and began the creation of a set of <a href="https://dvcs.w3.org/hg/pfwg/ARIA/1.0/tests/test-files">test files</a>
    as primary steps in the <a href="http://www.w3.org/WAI/ARIA/1.0/CR/testplan">test plan</a>.</li>
  <li>Continued review of W3C Last Call Working Drafts and dialog with other
    W3C Working Groups to address accessibility issues in W3C specifications.
    The PFWG reviewed and in some cases sent comments on Authoring Tool
    Accessibility Guidelines, Contacts API, CSS Regions, CSS Speech,
    DeviceOrientation Event, DOM 3 Events, EmotionML, Evaluation and Report
    Language (EARL), Points of Interest, Progress Events, Touch Events, and Web
    Workers. The group organized a comprehensive proactive review of the entire
    Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) suite comprised of approximately 50 modules at
    all stages of development.</li>
  <li>The joint <a href="http://www.w3.org/WAI/PF/html-task-force">HTML
    Accessibility Task Force</a> with the HTML 5 WG has been actively
    addressing a suite of issues. The task force completed a <a href="http://www.w3.org/WAI/PF/HTML/wiki/Spec_Review/All">comprehensive
    review</a> of the HTML 5 Last Call Working Draft and filed approximately
    130 issues. In addition to the main task force, its five sub-groups work on
    canvas, media, ARIA mapping, text alternatives, and issue management. Focus
    has been on complete engineering of new features and avoiding removal of
    older but still needed features.</li>
  <li>Explored and assigned delegates to the <a href="http://www.w3.org/2011/04/webrtc/">Real-Time Communications Working
    Group</a> and the <a href="http://www.w3.org/2011/webtv/">Web &amp; TV
    Interest Group</a>.</li>
  <li>Participated in the creation of a joint <a href="http://www.w3.org/WAI/GL/wcag-pf-html5-task-force">HTML 5 Techniques
    Task Force</a> with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines Working
  Group.</li>
  <li>Began the process to spin off a new Working Group, the <a href="http://www.w3.org/2011/08/intentional-events-charter">Intentional
    Events Working Group</a>, to develop User Action Events with the <a href="http://www.w3.org/2010/webevents/">Web Events Working Group</a>. User
    Action Events is an abstraction between device-specific user interaction
    events and inferred user intent such as scroll, activate, etc. that
    facilitate interaction in Web applications that are accessible to people
    with disabilities.</li>
</ul>

<p>The <a href="http://www.w3.org/WAI/GL/">Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
Working Group</a> (<acronym title="Web Content Accessibility Guidelines">WCAG</acronym> WG):</p>
<ul>
  <li>Processed public comments received on the <a href="http://www.w3.org/TR/2008/CR-WCAG20-20080430/">Web Content
    Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0</a> W3C Recommendation, <a href="http://www.w3.org/TR/UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20/">Understanding WCAG
    2.0</a> Working Group Note, and <a href="http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG20-TECHS/">Techniques for WCAG 2.0</a>
    Working Group Notes. </li>
  <li>Added new techniques for WCAG 2.0, particularly focused on Silverlight
    and PDF.</li>
  <li>Announced public review editors' drafts of <a href="http://www.w3.org/WAI/GL/2011/WD-UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20-20110621/">Understanding
    WCAG 2.0</a> and <a href="http://www.w3.org/WAI/GL/2011/WD-WCAG20-TECHS-20110621/">WCAG 2.0
    Techniques</a> to collect input prior to publication of updated Working
    Group Notes, and processed feedback received from this review.</li>
  <li>Participated in the creation of a joint <a href="http://www.w3.org/WAI/ER/2011/eval/eval-tf">Evaluation Methodology
    Task Force</a> with the Evaluation and Repair Tools Working Group.</li>
  <li>Participated in the creation of a joint <a href="http://www.w3.org/WAI/GL/wcag-pf-html5-task-force">HTML 5 Techniques
    Task Force</a> with the Protocols and Formats Working Group.</li>
</ul>

<p>The <a href="/WAI/AU/">Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines Working
Group</a> (AUWG):</p>
<ul>
  <li>AUWG focused on completing changes to <a href="http://www.w3.org/TR/ATAG20/">Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines
    (ATAG) 2.0</a> and <a href="http://www.w3.org/TR/IMPLEMENTING-ATAG20/">Implementing ATAG 2.0</a>
    based on the <a href="http://www.w3.org/WAI/AU/2011/atag20-8Jul10LC-comments-updated14july2011.html">comments
    from the Last Call working draft</a> and formal responses to commenters.
    AUWG published a working draft consolidating the changes for review and
    received <a href="http://www.w3.org/WAI/AU/2011/atag20-8Jul10LC-comments-updated14july2011.html">new
    comments</a> in response to the July 2011 working draft. Once these changes
    are negotiated, the working group expects to publish a final Last Call
    working draft. AUWG has been assembling a preliminary implementation report
    based on current market products and promoting implementations of ATAG 2.0
    in preparation for Candidate Recommendation. </li>
</ul>

<p>The <a href="/WAI/UA/">User Agent Accessibility Guidelines Working Group</a>
(UAWG):</p>
<ul>
  <li>UAWG has been writing <a href="http://www.w3.org/TR/IMPLEMENTING-UAAG20/">Implementing UAAG 2.0</a>
    and improving <a href="http://www.w3.org/TR/UAAG20/">User Agent
    Accessibility Guidelines (UAAG) 2.0</a>. UAWG has received feedback from
    individual members of the disability community, and incorporated
    improvements based on that feedback. UAWG reviewed and commented on the
    HTML5 Last Call and has been coordinating with the Protocol &amp; Formats
    Working Group on WAI-ARIA coordination issues. UAWG contributed to the
    HTML5-Accessibility Task Force Media Subgroup. A subgroup of UAWG is
    reviewing UAAG 2.0 for applicability to mobile platforms. UAWG continues to
    look for implementations of UAAG 2.0 in preparation for Candidate
    Recommendation, since queuing features for development cycles can take a
    long time.</li>
</ul>

<p>The <a href="/WAI/ER/">Evaluation and Repair Tools Working Group (ERT
WG)</a>:</p>
<ul>
  <li>Resumed work on the <a href="http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/earl">Evaluation
    and Report Language (EARL)</a></li>
  <li>Participated in the creation of a joint <a href="http://www.w3.org/WAI/ER/2011/eval/eval-tf">Evaluation Methodology
    Task Force</a> with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines Working
  Group.</li>
</ul>

<h2>Upcoming Activity Highlights</h2>

<p>Protocols and Formats Working Group:</p>
<ul>
  <li>Publish WAI-ARIA User Agent Implementation Guide Proposed
  Recommendation.</li>
  <li>Publish Role Attribute Candidate Recommendation and Proposed
    Recommendation.</li>
  <li>Publish updated Working Drafts of the WAI-ARIA Authoring Practices,
    WAI-ARIA Primer, and WAI-ARIA Roadmap.</li>
  <li>Prepare a test harness (repository of test files and test result data)
    for WAI-ARIA.</li>
  <li>Continue to process high-priority accessibility issues that were not
    addressed in the Last Call or introduced since then.</li>
  <li>Continue review and dialog on accessibility issues in W3C Working
  Drafts.</li>
</ul>

<p>Web Content Accessibility Guidelines Working Group:</p>
<ul>
  <li>Document additional techniques for WCAG 2.0, primarily focused on HTML 5
    and WAI-ARIA.</li>
  <li>Maintain and improve Understanding WCAG 2.0.</li>
  <li>Respond to public comments on WCAG 2.0 and support materials.</li>
  <li>Publish updated Working Group Notes of Understanding WCAG 2.0 and WCAG
    2.0 Techniques.</li>
  <li>Publish a public review draft of Understanding WCAG 2.0 and WCAG 2.0
    Techniques reflecting the above work.</li>
  <li>Coordinate with other groups to support understanding and implementation
    of WCAG 2.0.</li>
  <li>Improve the effectiveness of How to Meet WCAG 2.0, also known as the
    Quick Reference.</li>
</ul>

<p>Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines Working Group:</p>
<ul>
  <li>AUWG will finish processing comments from the most recent working draft
    and plans to go to Last Call when complete. AUWG is beginning work on a
    test suite and plans to use the new framework being developed by the
    Testing IG. The working group will continue to test and develop a
    implementation report to determine gaps in implementations. Outreach to
    authoring tool vendors will continue to raise awareness and promote
    implementation. </li>
</ul>

<p>User Agent Accessibility Guidelines Working Group:</p>
<ul>
  <li>UAWG plans to publish a Last Call working draft when the documents are
    complete. Plans for the face to face meeting during TPAC week include:
    complete writing, resolve outstanding issues, and prioritize any remaining
    tasks to be completed before Last Call. UAWG will continue to promote UAAG
    2.0 and look for implementations for Candidate Recommendation. The working
    group will begin developing a test suite for UAAG 2.0 and plans to use the
    test framework being developed by the Testing IG.</li>
</ul>

<p>Evaluation and Repair Tools Working Group:</p>
<ul>
  <li>Publish Last Call Working Draft of EARL 1.0, including:
    <ul>
      <li>Publish the Evaluation and Report Language (EARL) 1.0 Schema as a
        Last Call Working Draft</li>
      <li>Publish the Evaluation and Report Language (EARL) 1.0 Guide as a Last
        Call Working Draft</li>
      <li>Publish HTTP Vocabulary in RDF as a Working Group Note</li>
      <li>Publish Representing Content in RDF as a Working Group Note</li>
      <li>Publish Pointer Methods in RDF as a Working Draft</li>
    </ul>
  </li>
  <li>Contribute to the <a href="http://www.w3.org/wiki/Testing">W3C testing
    infrastructure</a> to develop evaluation and testing methodologies for WAI
    guidelines and specifications</li>
</ul>

<h2>Summary of Activity Structure</h2>
<!--THIS TABLE GENERATED From Member/Mail-->
<!--THIS TABLE GENERATED From Member/Mail-->

<!--THIS TABLE GENERATED From Member/Mail--><!--THIS TABLE GENERATED From Member/Mail--><!--THIS TABLE GENERATED From Member/Mail--><!--THIS TABLE GENERATED From Member/Mail--><!--THIS TABLE GENERATED From Member/Mail--><!--THIS TABLE GENERATED From Member/Mail--><!--THIS TABLE GENERATED From Member/Mail--><!--THIS TABLE GENERATED From Member/Mail--><!--THIS TABLE GENERATED From Member/Mail--><!--THIS TABLE GENERATED From Member/Mail--><!--THIS TABLE GENERATED From Member/Mail--><!--THIS TABLE GENERATED From Member/Mail--><!--THIS TABLE GENERATED From Member/Mail--><!--THIS TABLE GENERATED From Member/Mail--><!--THIS TABLE GENERATED From Member/Mail--><!--THIS TABLE GENERATED From Member/Mail--><table id="Structure" summary="table of links to groups, Chairs, Team Contacts and charters for the WAI Technical Activity Activity"><thead><tr><th scope="col">Group</th><th scope="col">Chair</th><th scope="col">Team Contact</th><th scope="col">Charter</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><th scope="row"><a href="http://www.w3.org/WAI/AU/">Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines Working Group</a><span class="partlink"><br />
          (<a title="Participants in the Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines Working Group [Member-only link]" href="http://www.w3.org/2000/09/dbwg/details?group=35520">participants</a>)</span></th><td>Jutta Treviranus</td><td>Jeanne Spellman</td><td><a href="http://www.w3.org/WAI/AU/2010/auwg_charter.html">Chartered</a> until 30 June 2013</td></tr><tr><th scope="row"><a href="http://www.w3.org/WAI/ER/">Evaluation and Repair Tools Working Group</a><span class="partlink"><br />
          (<a title="Participants in the Evaluation and Repair Tools Working Group [Member-only link]" href="http://www.w3.org/2000/09/dbwg/details?group=32094">participants</a>)</span></th><td>Shadi Abou-Zahra</td><td>Shadi Abou-Zahra</td><td><a href="http://www.w3.org/WAI/ER/charter4.html">Chartered</a> until 30 June 2013</td></tr><tr><th scope="row"><a href="http://www.w3.org/WAI/PF/">Protocols and Formats Working Group</a><span class="partlink"><br />
          (<a title="Participants in the Protocols and Formats Working Group [Member-only link]" href="http://www.w3.org/2000/09/dbwg/details?group=32212">participants</a>)</span></th><td>Janina Sajka</td><td>Michael Cooper</td><td><a href="http://www.w3.org/WAI/PF/charter201006.html">Chartered</a> until 30 June 2013</td></tr><tr><th scope="row"><a href="http://www.w3.org/WAI/UA/">User Agent Accessibility Guidelines Working Group</a><span class="partlink"><br />
          (<a title="Participants in the User Agent Accessibility Guidelines Working Group [Member-only link]" href="http://www.w3.org/2000/09/dbwg/details?group=36791">participants</a>)</span></th><td>Jim Allan, Kelly Ford</td><td>Jeanne Spellman</td><td><a href="http://www.w3.org/WAI/UA/2010/uawg_charter.html">Chartered</a> until 30 June 2013</td></tr><tr><th scope="row"><a href="http://www.w3.org/WAI/GL/">Web Content Accessibility Guidelines Working Group</a><span class="partlink"><br />
          (<a title="Participants in the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines Working Group [Member-only link]" href="http://www.w3.org/2000/09/dbwg/details?group=35422">participants</a>)</span></th><td>Loretta Guarino Reid, Gregg Vanderheiden</td><td>Michael Cooper</td><td><a href="http://www.w3.org/WAI/GL/2010/06/charter.html">Chartered</a> until 30 June 2013</td></tr></tbody></table>
<hr />

<p id="about-ac-mtg"><!--This paragraph will be updated automatically-->
    This Activity Statement was prepared for
    <a href="http://www.w3.org/2011/11/TPAC/">TPAC 2011</a> per <a href="/Consortium/Process/activities#Activities">section 5</a>
  of the <a href="/Consortium/Process/">W3C Process Document</a>.
  <a href="/2005/04/activity/processActivityStatements.xsl">Generated</a>
  from <a href="http://www.w3.org/2000/04/mem-news/public-groups.rdf">group data</a>.
  </p>
<address>
  <a href="http://www.w3.org/People/Brewer/">Judy Brewer</a>, WAI Technical
  Activity Lead
</address>

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