GovTech launches website to help organisations build more accessible and inclusive digital services
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Muscular Dystrophy Association (Singapore) executive director Judy Wee (left) and association member Jasmin Yau speak at the launch of Inclusive Design Week 2025 and A11y Playground on July 29.
PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO
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SINGAPORE – With a twitch of her eyes, Ms Jasmine Yau, 31, can play computer games and browse the internet thanks to Eyegaze, a device that uses eye movements to control what is on the screen.
But simple tasks such as filling up a form or typing in a one-time password – essential for transactions on many official websites – can be tricky, as she may run out of time before completing them.
The 31-year-old was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy, a genetic disorder that causes progressive muscle wasting, when she was two years old.
Meanwhile, seniors with hand tremors have problems using the facial recognition system of national digital identity platform Singpass and other websites, said retired civil servant Jee Su Giam, 63, a volunteer who helps seniors get connected online.
So, the Government Technology Agency (GovTech) set up A11y (pronounced “ally”) Playground, a new website with a suite of assessment tools, to help organisations build digital services that are more accessible to those with special needs.
One of the tools is a checklist for developers and designers to ensure that their products meet accessibility standards.
For instance, the checklist suggests providing transcripts for audio elements for the hearing impaired, and ensuring that webpages have good contrast between text and background to make them easier to read for those with low vision or colour blindness.
The checklist also explains why such features are important, and how including them can improve accessibility for people with disabilities, for example.
To help organisations experience and better understand the challenges faced by people with disabilities when accessing digital products, the GovTech website also has interactive games and stories about people who rely on digital accessibility.
Minister Josephine Teo (third from left) at the launch of Inclusive Design Week 2025 and A11y Playground on July 29.
PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO
A11y Playground was launched by Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo at an event held at the Enabling Village on July 29.
She said: “With a better understanding of diverse user needs, accessibility can be built into the design process from the very start.”
Other efforts by GovTech include Oobee, a desktop app previously known as Purple A11y.
Government agencies such as the education and manpower ministries, as well as Sport Singapore, have already used the app to improve the accessibility of their websites, said Mrs Teo.
“In the last month alone, Oobee was used by government agencies to scan over 900 websites. On average, it flagged over 500 problematic HTML components, 150 missing alternate texts and 170 colour contrast issues per scan,” she added.
Mrs Teo described Oobee as a “practical tool to help any business owner or development team identify and fix accessibility issues”, noting that it has also been listed on the Digital Public Goods Registry, a platform by the UN-endorsed Digital Public Goods Alliance, which promotes open-source technologies.
The larger goal is to have digital products and services be inclusive by design to allow seniors and those with special needs to enjoy a degree of independence and ease when they go online, said Mrs Teo, who is also Minister-in-charge of Cybersecurity and Smart Nation Group.
“This is a mission GovTech firmly believes in,” she said.
Mrs Teo added that the updated Digital Service Standards – a set of guidelines to help government agencies here develop digital services – will be launched later in 2025 by GovTech, in consultation with industry partners.
This will give clearer guidance on how to make key government services accessible to all users, and ensure that digital content can be accurately identified and read by assistive technologies, she said.
In March, Minister of State for Digital Development and Information Rahayu Mahzam said that the updated standards will suggest to government agencies how they can meet international standards such as the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, a set of recommendations by the Web Accessibility Initiative of the World Wide Web Consortium, the internet’s main international standards organisation.
