LASIGE researchers will be involved in WAI-Coop, a new EU-funded project. WAI-Coop (Web Accessibility Initiative – Communities of Practice) aims at providing support for the implementation of international standards for digital accessibility, including the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and the EN 301 549. To achieve this goal, WAI-Coop will identify available training, tools, and resources, will perform an analysis of technological advancements in the field of accessibility, and coordinate relevant research and will provide opportunities for key stakeholders in this field to share resources and exchange best practices.

The principle researcher Carlos Duarte and its LASIGE integrated researchers' team, Luís Carriço and Tiago Guerreiro, will contribute to the identification and characterization of existing web accessibility evaluation tools, will coordinate the analysis of existing gaps for accessibility in digital technologies, including mobile and wearables, immersive environments, AI and IoT, and will organize research symposia aiming at exploring pressing research questions in the field of accessibility.

Besides LASIGE, the other members of the WAI-Coop include the W3C (the coordinator of the project), the European Disability Forum, the Accessibility Foundation, and Deque. The project, with an overall budget of 1.5 million euros, will have a duration of 36 months and is expected to begin in January 2021.