The National Commission for Disabled Persons (KNPD) and the Foundation for Information Technology Accessibility (FITA) are working together in order for Maltese websites to be accessible to everyone, including disabled persons.

This activity is one of the main services provided by FITA since its inception six years ago.

Following an agreement with Malta Information Technology and Training Services Limited (MITTS) public websites undergo a quality assurance process, wherein one of the evaluation criteria is specifically web accessibility for all.

Since the year 2000, FITA has processed 118 requests for such accessibility audit reports.

FITA has also strived to raise awareness among private and commercial enterprises.

This was achieved primarily through cooperation with the Malta Web Awards initiative which was organised by the Maltacom Group. During this exercise, 573 different websites were reviewed and assessed.

Nowadays, all public websites are certified for accessibility by FITA, before being brought online on the gov.mt domain. This guarantees that information and services are made accessible to a wider number of people having access to the internet.

The inclusion of disabled persons where information technology is involved is in conformity with the Equal Opportunities Act (Disabled Persons).

The commission and FITA are pleased with this important arrangement and augur that more websites become accessible to everyone.

For more details visit www.knpd.org/mittsfita or contact Stanley M. Debono or Michael Micallef on 2599-2343/2659 or send an email to [email protected] or [email protected].