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Knowbility posted this to the web site home page as 2008 turned in 2009.  We archive it here:

There were major setbacks in the struggle to ensure equitable access for all and there were some great triumphs. This is our list of ten influential events and we would love to hear your perspective.

  1. The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.0) passed through Candidate recommendation and ended the year as an official W3C Recommendation.
  2. Our community lost Dr. John Slatin, a brilliant practitioner and inspirational and tireless champion of accessibility.
  3. The University of Texas abdicated its leadership role in accessibility when it shut down the Accessibility Institute, founded by John Slatin.
  4. The Target vs National Federation of the Blind (NFB) lawsuit over the accessibility of Target.com was settled in favor of the NFB.
  5. The California State University System took great strides forward with its Accessible Technology Initiative, providing training and support for accessibility to all 23 campuses.
  6. The European Union continues to dedicate resources and make significant progress for its e-Inclusion initiative, part of the i2010 general technology strategy. The initiative considers the effects of aging as well as disability and is providing models for others to follow.
  7. Accessibility emerged from the shadows and became a major topic of great interest at technology conferences including SXSW Interactive, Web Directions North, Webstock, the International World Wide Web Conference, UPA's annual usability conference, Refresh Groups, BarCamps and other places where technologists gather to share experiences and skills.
  8. Several Universities, including CSU Northridge and the University of Monterrey Mexico, hosted international forums focused solely on accessibility.
  9. Four Accessibility Internet Rallies (AIR) were held in 2008, resulting in training of more than 200 web developers and the creation of dozens of accessible web sites for nonprofit arts, human services, and environmental organizations.
  10. Finally, in the advocacy work to be done category - barakobama.com and change.gov fail to meet minimum accessibility standards set by the federal government.

So to all of you who understand the urgency of the accessibility work that we do together and who work so hard to evangelize and implement accessibility, pat yourselves on the back and let's make the world of the Web even more accessible in 2009!

Your year end gift to Knowbility is tax deductible and supports this effort. Thanks for all you do!