Equal opportunities in the classroom and at city hall
Accessible education is about equal opportunities to learn and grow. Whether you need extra support, have difficulty reading, or thrive in a digital learning environment, everyone should be able to participate.
The same applies to government services. Residents must have access to information and services anytime, anywhere—regardless of their background, disability, or digital skills. Applying for a passport or reporting a change of address should not be a problem.
Accessibility Week 2025
Accessibility Week 2025 is all about accessible education. This is a good moment to draw a parallel: what can the government learn from how education approaches accessibility?
What governments can learn from education
In education, teachers know that accessible teaching is more than just a book written in simple language or a digital tool. It is also about culture, attitude, and didactic choices: constantly taking differences in the classroom into account.
The same applies to municipalities. A website or digital form is only truly accessible if, in addition to complying with WCAG 2.1 AA, it is also usable and understandable for residents in practice
Accessibility only becomes visible when it is implemented in everyday practice. Municipalities have countless opportunities to make an immediate difference in this regard.
Accessibility is not just about policy or guidelines, but above all about the way you approach residents every day.
From policy to daily practice
A few examples of how municipalities can immediately improve accessibility:
- Language that everyone understands
- Rewrite an invitation to the elections at B1 level and have it proofread by residents who have difficulty reading.
- Rewrite tax letters with a clear step-by-step structure, supplemented with infographics that visually support the explanation.
- Applying multilingual communication to topics such as waste separation or debt assistance.
- Behavior and attitude
- Train front office staff to recognize signs of low literacy or limited digital skills.
- Make residents' evenings more accessible by using other formats in addition to standard PowerPoint presentations, such as videos or interactive demonstrations.
- Organize counter processes in such a way that residents who have difficulty filling out forms receive immediate assistance. For example, by filling out the form together.
- Technology that supports
- Online appointment modules that also work well with keyboards and screen readers.
- A clear "help me" button in the digital service desk, linked to chat or a helpline.
- Automatic subtitling for council meetings or webinars (where automatic subtitling is used and checked or supplemented to ensure correct rendering).
- Options for larger fonts and better color contrast on the municipal website.
These examples demonstrate that accessibility is not only about policy or guidelines, but above all about how you approach residents on a daily basis.
Working together to create an accessible government
At Shift2, we believe that accessibility is not just a box to tick, but a foundation for inclusive service provision. Just like in education, learning never stops: schools constantly evaluate and adapt. The same applies to municipalities: accessibility is not a one-off project, but an ongoing process.
Curious to find out how your municipality can make the transition from 'technically compliant' to truly inclusive? Contact us and we will be happy to help you.
