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Accessibility
Pursuant to section 11 (1) of the HmbGGbM

Low-barrier Internet

The goal of Studierendenwerk Hamburg AöR: a comprehensively barrier-free website. Low-barrier and barrier-free websites enable people with a wide range of impairments to actively participate in life. In addition to important tools for better content acquisition, the pages primarily offer a clear structure, user-friendly navigation and short loading times. Likewise, all content should be made accessible regardless of the output device. For this reason, Studierendenwerk Hamburg has deliberately designed this website to be barrier-free.

We consider the adaptation of our website to the standards for barrier-free websites as a long-term process, which we continuously adjust. In this process, it is always necessary to review the current requirements and quickly implement improvements. We are working on the requirements for contrasts and easy language, for their content/function the exception is currently claimed due to disproportionate burden. 

If you encounter barriers on our website or have suggestions for changes, please feel free to contact our Internal Monitoring Center for Low and No Barriers (presse@studierendenwerk-hamburg.de) or the Senate Office of Ombudsman via email (ombudsstelle.barrierefreie-it@sk.hamburg.de). We will try to respond to your comments as best as possible and provide you with support. We offer additional telephone assistance for people with disabilities and assistance for users of assistive technologies under Tel. +49 / 40 / 419 02 - 155 at the Advisory Center Social Affairs & International Affairs - BeSI.

Our basis: The Hamburg Act on Equal Opportunities for People with Disabilities (HmbGGbM)

Accessible websites are characterized by the fact that there are no problem points that prevent or impede access to the content. The importance of this topic is shown by corresponding EU directives as well as state-wide laws implementing the resolutions of the European Parliament. For us, the HmbGGbM forms the basis for striving for an Internet presence that is as barrier-free as possible. It stipulates that new websites must be structured according to the following four principles:

Perceptibility: Information and components of the user interface must be presented to users in such a way that they can perceive them.
Usability: User interface components and navigation must be operable.
Comprehensibility: Information and operation of the user interface must be comprehensible.
Robustness: Content must be robust enough to be reliably interpreted by a wide range of user agents, including assistive technologies.


Our implementation: All regulations and guidelines in view

How the four principles can be implemented in concrete terms is described in the Ordinance on the Creation of Barrier-Free Information Technology in Accordance with the Act on Equal Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities (BITV 2.0) and the Guidelines for Barrier-Free Web Content (WCAG 2.0). When creating our website, we made sure to comply with the requirements and guidelines as far as possible.

For example, we do without:

  • flickering and flashing elements
  • time-controlled media
  • as far as possible commented illustrations and links 
     

We also use:

  • elements that can be operated via the keyboard
  • changeable text sizes
  • tables only for the presentation of tabular information
  • The presentation of the website has been adapted for mobile devices, such as tablets and smartphones.
  • All contents of the desktop version can also be accessed on these devices without any restrictions.


Your contact: The ombudsman's office (ombudsstelle.barrierefreie-it@sk.hamburg.de) for comments and change requests. An ombudsman's office has been set up for your comments on the topic of low barriers and freedom from barriers. Here, your concerns will be addressed and we will work to implement improvements to our website as quickly as possible.

In addition, an internal monitoring unit has been set up for barrier-free design. This regularly reviews new guidelines and requirements and examines the website for potential improvements. In this way, we ensure that the website is further optimized in the future.

This statement was created on 7/27/2020.
(And last reviewed 8/14/2020).