The National Federation of the Blind (NFB), the nation’s
leading advocate for Internet access by blind Americans, has awarded the
Gold Level NFB-NVA Certification to GE. The NFB applauds GE’s
commitment to ensuring equal access to their Web site to blind consumers
and commends GE’s leadership in Web
accessibility.
Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind,
said: “The Internet has become integrated into
every aspect of daily living, from working to shopping to entertainment.
The blind population, which stands at 1.3 million and is growing as
Americans age, must have access to Web sites and new Web applications if
we are to participate fully in modern society and the information
economy. We commend GE for making their Web site fully accessible and
therefore giving the blind independent access to GE’s
valuable information and services.”
The NFB Nonvisual Accessibility Web Certification Program, in
collaboration with Deque Systems, Inc., connects Web site and
application developers with leading experts on blindness and
accessibility to ensure that their Internet sites or applications are
fully accessible to and usable by blind people employing screen access
software. Applicants go through a rigorous evaluation and testing
procedure and work with a web accessibility consultant (WAC) to address
any accessibility issues discovered during the evaluation. Once the site
or application has addressed all accessibility issues, it is granted the
right to display an NFB-NVA seal of approval on its site. Sites are
continuously monitored to ensure that they remain compliant with
certification criteria. If a site remains accessible, its certification
is renewed on an annual basis. If accessibility issues arise, the
National Federation of the Blind and the WAC will work with the site
developers to remedy them.
“We are honored to be recognized by the
National Federation of the Blind for our work on accessibility,”
said Jen Walsh, GE’s digital media director. “When
we redesigned GE.com, we wanted to make sure that the site really
embodied ‘imagination at work,’
in terms of message and technology. So, we took on the added challenge
of ensuring that GE.com was accessible to people with disabilities. Web
site accessibility is an important and ongoing commitment that our team
is making.”
For more information on the NFB-NVA Certification, please visit http://www.nfb.org/nfb/certification_intro.asp.
To learn more about the National Federation of the Blind, please visit www.nfb.org.
About the National Federation of the Blind
With more than fifty thousand members, the National Federation of the
Blind is the largest and most influential membership organization of
blind people in the United States. The NFB improves blind people’s
lives through advocacy, education, research, technology, and programs
encouraging independence and self-confidence. It is the leading force in
the blindness field today and the voice of the nation's blind. In
January 2004 the NFB opened the National Federation of the Blind
Jernigan Institute, the first research and training center in the United
States for the blind led by the blind.
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