Photo of Ben Poynton by Veronica Zaretski
Published: November 16, 2017
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Ben Poynton, U of T’s Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) officer, was drawn to his work by an interest in human rights philosophy, and how it improves people’s situations. The AODA is a piece of legislation in Ontario aimed at making the places we work, live and learn as accessible as possible. “This includes ensuring our public websites comply with its accessibility standards,” says Poynton.
He began working on the AODA by developing an educators accessibility resource kit for the Council of Ontario Universities. “The work met with my interest in policy and human rights,” says Poynton, who who graduated with a master’s in international development law and human rights from the University of Warwick.
What keeps him busy outside of work? “I tend to my vegetable patch. It’s great for salsa recipes,” he says.
Poynton shares a few quick tips to help you comply with the web accessibility standards of AODA:
- Familiarize yourself with the . Make a !
- Use , either for a website or document
- Avoid ‘read more’: should make sense out of context
- Provide
- Make sure foreground and background properly
- Remember: incorporate accessibility at the beginning of any project. Retrofitting takes more time and resources.
Poynton also points to as a resource for information on all other areas of the AODA.