At the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure, we are committed to ensuring digital accessibility for all individuals, regardless of their abilities or disabilities. We strive to provide an inclusive and user-friendly digital experience for all our visitors and users.
Objectives of the Digital Accessibility Statement:
The statement aims to ensure equal access to digital services while empowering people of determination and senior citizens. Key objectives include:
- Strengthening national efforts to build an inclusive, barrier-free society.
- Complying with national laws and policies regarding digital accessibility.
- Ensuring access to digital services for people of determination and senior citizens.
- Supporting the ministry's digital transformation toward an advanced government.
- Enhancing use of modern digital technologies like AI and digital transactions.
- Creating a paperless environment to boost efficiency and user experience.
- Providing inclusive services tailored to varying user needs and conditions.
The Digital Accessibility Statement covers the following areas:
- Digital services on the website.
- Electronic systems related to ministry services.
Measures Taken to Ensure Digital Accessibility:
We strive to ensure digital accessibility for all our users by taking the following measures:
- Commitment to digital accessibility for people of determination and senior citizens.
- Compliance with global accessibility standards: following the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1.
- Compliance with the UAE design system: applying accessibility standards at the AA level.
- Inclusive design: designing our digital products and services with the needs of all users in mind.
- Continuous improvement: reviewing and enhancing the accessibility of our digital platforms to keep up with the latest standards and technologies.
- Feedback mechanism: providing an easy way for users to give feedback on accessibility issues they may face.
- Ongoing training: providing training for our staff on best practices in digital accessibility.
- Regular testing: conducting regular tests to ensure our platforms meet accessibility standards.
- Providing alternatives: offering text alternatives for non-text content, video translations, and audio descriptions for important images.
- Inclusive design: adopting inclusive design principles at all stages of developing our digital products and services.
- Periodic review: conducting regular reviews of our digital accessibility policy to ensure it stays aligned with the latest requirements and technologies.
Features and Technologies of Digital Accessibility:
- Page Reader: Reads aloud the text content of the page in a clear voice, assisting people of determination, especially those who are blind or visually impaired, to understand the page content without relying on visual reading.
- Sign Language: Provides real-time translation of written content into sign language, supporting the deaf and hard-of-hearing community and enabling them to access digital information and services easily.
- Cursor: Enlarges or changes the color of the cursor to make it more visible on screen, helping users with visual impairments or concentration difficulties to easily track the pointer while browsing.
- Page Contrast: Increases the contrast between text and background, making reading easier for people who have difficulty distinguishing colors or suffer from low vision.
- Saturation Control: Allows users to adjust the color saturation level, offering a visually comfortable experience for individuals sensitive to strong colors or those with color vision deficiencies.
- Simple Font: Displays text using easy-to-read, clutter-free fonts, making content more accessible to all readers, particularly those with dyslexia.
- Line Spacing: Increases the space between lines in paragraphs to reduce eye strain and make text easier to follow without overlapping.
- Letter Spacing: Expands the spacing between letters within words, enhancing text clarity and reducing visual stress, especially for users with learning difficulties or dyslexia.
- Visual Impairment: Provides tailored settings such as content magnification, color enhancement, and improved text clarity to help users with low vision interact easily with the website.
- Dyslexia: Offers tools that facilitate easier reading, such as changing to dyslexia-friendly fonts, improving contrast, and adjusting letter spacing to increase text clarity and reduce eye strain.
- ADHD: Reduces distracting elements on the page, such as animations and moving objects, and presents content in an organized way to help maintain focus and minimize distractions.
- Seizure and Epilepsy: Disables motion effects and flashing elements that could trigger seizures or cause visual discomfort, ensuring a safer browsing experience for users with these conditions.
- Color Blindness: Adjusts the color schemes to accommodate various types of color blindness, whether red-green or blue-yellow, ensuring that content remains clear and distinguishable for everyone.
- Cognitive Disabilities: Provides a simplified design with clear icons and visual cues to support users with cognitive disabilities in navigating and understanding information easily.
Technical Requirements for Digital Accessibility:
Supported Browsers:
- Google Chrome: Version 90 and above
- Mozilla Firefox: Version 88 and above
- Apple Safari: Version 14 and above
- Microsoft Edge: Version 90 and above
Operating Systems:
- Windows: 10 and above
- macOS: 10.15 (Catalina) and above
- iOS: 14 and above
- Android: 10 and above
Supported Assistive Technologies:
- Screen Readers: NVDA, JAWS, Voiceover
- Screen Magnifiers: ZoomText, OS built-in tools
Recommended Browser Settings:
- Enable JavaScript
- Accept Cookies
- Enable CSS
Feedback and Support:
We welcome your feedback regarding the accessibility of our digital platforms. We are continuously working to improve the compatibility of our website and services with various devices and software. If you experience any difficulties in accessing content or using our services, please contact the technical support team via email: archive.section@moei.gov.ae
We rely on your input to improve continuously.
We value your feedback and rely on it to enhance our ongoing improvement efforts.
Note: We regularly test our content and services across a variety of devices and software to ensure optimal performance. However, the experience may vary depending on individual settings and software versions.
Commitment to Continuous Improvement:
We are committed to continuous improvement in digital accessibility. We regularly review this policy and make necessary updates to ensure the best experience for all our users.
Known Limitations and Challenges:
At the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure, we are dedicated to providing the best level of digital accessibility for all our users. However, we would like to be transparent about some known limitations and challenges currently on our website and digital services:
- Video Content: Some older video clips may lack subtitles or audio descriptions.
- Old Documents: Some older PDF files may not be fully compatible with screen readers.
We are continuously working to address these challenges and improve the user experience for all visitors. We also commit to regularly updating this list whenever these issues are resolved or new challenges arise.
To view the National Digital Accessibility Policy, please visit the following link: National Digital Accessibility Policy
Guideline for Accessibility Features:
- Font Enlargement: The "Triple A" feature allows visitors to change the font size used on the site without needing to go into browser settings. This is especially useful when reading content in Arabic, as Arabic text becomes clearer when enlarged.
- Text to Speech: The text-to-speech feature is particularly useful for blind users, enabling them to listen to the content of all website pages.
- Navigation: All pages include a link to the homepage, and the menu system is consistent throughout the site. A detailed navigation system has been designed, with quick links selected to enhance awareness of the page location and improve access to all available information. Every page on the website has a search box, and advanced search options are available on the advanced search page.
- Links: Many links have titles that describe their contents in greater detail. The links are written to provide an out-of-context description.
- Images: All images used on the website have alternative descriptions. Purely decorative graphics do not have alternative descriptions.
- Visual Design: This website uses cascading style sheets (CSS) for visual design.
- Browser Compatibility: Compatible with IE 7.0+, Firefox 3.0+, Chrome, and Safari 4.0+. If your browser or viewing device does not support style sheets at all, the content on each page is still readable.