Accessibility

Last reviewed · 2 May 2026 · Next review November 2026

1. Our commitment

The Pacific is a region with diverse needs — from screen-reader users in metropolitan members to delegates connecting from remote outer islands on slow satellite links. We design for both ends. Accessibility is part of the brief from the start, not a final add-on.

2. Standard we follow

We aim for WCAG 2.1 Level AA conformance across all public pages, with selected AAA targets where reasonable (high contrast, no time-limited content). The site is also designed to:

Work without JavaScript on every public page (JS only enhances — never blocks content).
Render legibly down to 320px width.
Stay under 200 KB of HTML/CSS per page (load on a 3G island connection in under 5s).
Support keyboard-only navigation throughout.

3. Accessibility features

Skip-to-main-content link as the first focusable element on every page.
Semantic HTML5 landmarks (header / nav / main / footer / aside) with descriptive ARIA labels.
Visible focus outlines on all interactive elements (2px solid outline + 3px offset).
Colour contrast ratios of at least 4.5:1 for body text, 3:1 for large text. Tested against the SPREP Pacific palette.
All images have meaningful alt text or are explicitly marked decorative (aria-hidden="true" or alt="").
Forms have associated labels, helpful inline errors, and explicit required-field markers.
Animations respect prefers-reduced-motion — disabled when the user opts out.
Bilingual (EN / FR) language switcher with proper lang attributes.

4. Known limitations

We are honest about gaps. The following are known and being worked on:

Some legacy PDF guiding documents pre-date our current accessibility standard. We are re-issuing the most-used documents (Framework, Vemööre, Annual Reports) as accessibility-tagged PDFs by Q3 2026.
Embedded conference videos do not yet have French captions for older sessions; current and 2026 sessions will be fully captioned in EN and FR.
Interactive maps (e.g. on the Venue page) currently provide a text alternative for screen-reader users; an audio description for the Tjibaou Cultural Centre tour will be added before the conference opens.

5. Feedback & reporting barriers

If you encounter an accessibility barrier on the site, please tell us. We will acknowledge within 2 working days and aim to fix critical issues within 30 days.

Email: accessibility@sprep.org
Form: Contact page — choose subject "Accessibility"

6. Conference accessibility

For the 11th Pacific Conference, the venue (Tjibaou Cultural Centre) is wheelchair-accessible across the public spaces and main rooms. The registration form asks about specific accessibility needs — dietary, mobility, sensory, communication — so the host team can pre-arrange. Live captioning (EN + FR) is provided for plenary sessions; sign-language interpretation can be arranged on request — please indicate at least 60 days before the conference.

7. Testing & review

The site is tested with a combination of automated tools (axe DevTools, WAVE, Lighthouse) and manual checks (keyboard-only navigation, NVDA + VoiceOver). The next external accessibility review is scheduled for November 2026, after the 11th Conference.

Report an accessibility issue →