Open Document Format v1.1 Accessibility Guidelines Version 1.0

Members of the OASIS Open Document Format for Office Applications
(OpenDocument) TC have approved a Committee Draft version of the
"Accessibility Guidelines" for public review. "Open Document Format
v1.1 Accessibility Guidelines Version 1.0" is a guide for Office
Applications that support version 1.1 of the OpenDocument format, to
promote and preserve accessible ODF documents. The public review
period ends 21-December-2007. From the Overview: "The Open Document
Format v1.1 (ODF) is capable of encoding and storing a lot of
structural and semantic information. This information is needed by
people with disabilities and the tools they use (assistive technologies),
to gain access to computers and information. This document provides
guidelines for ODF 1.1 implementation. A successful ODF 1.1
implementation will enable users with disabilities to read, create,
and edit documents -- with full access to all of the meaning and
intent -- just like a person without any disability. Accessibility
is about enabling people with disabilities to participate in substantial
life activities that include work and the use of services, products,
and information. In the context of ODF documents, this means that
people with disabilities should be able to participate fully in the
creation, review, and editing process of the documents. A blind person,
for example, should be able to work with a document someone else created
(by getting a text description of the images used). A person should be
able to fill out a form without using hands. A person with poor vision
should be able to read through presentation materials easily." More Information