Content is perhaps the most important part of universal design. For what is the point of having access to lots of information and services if you do not understand what it is about?
Therefore, clear language and requirements for illustrations, images and films should be part of the demands made on digital interfaces. The Norwegian legislation is, unfortunately, just as weak as the EU legistlation when it comes to protecting the rights of persons with reading and writing difficulties.
With a special focus on getting children to read, the Summer-Read project “Sommerles”, which the county libraries organise every summer, aims to get as many children as possible to read as much as possible during the summer holidays. By using elements from games, Sommerles has proven to be a popular activity for children. The campaign starts on June 1 each year and ends on August 31.
In 2018, more than 370 municipalities and 106.266 reading children participated, which is a new record for the project. Sommerles collaborates with Norwegian Sound and Braille Library to create the best possible reading experience for as many children as possible. This is why Funka has been hired to audit the project website from a universal design point of view. The current stories can be experienced both in the two official Norwegian languages as well as minority languages such as Sami and as a sound file.
Background
Sommerles.no is made, developed and owned by Vestfold County Library, the Vestfold Libraries and Snuti AS. Snuti AS designs, operates and develops the technical solutions, and gives supprt. Vestfold county library is managing the project. In 2017-2018, the project group has worked on lifting Sommerles to a national level as well as increasing the level of gamification through an integrated read-based game for sommerles.no.
