Accessibility Statement

This accessibility statement describes the state of accessibility for this website, hosted on the domain sovereign.tech. It does not cover embedded third-party services (such as Vimeo video players) or adjacent services like our application platform. Those external services may provide their own accessibility statements.

When designing and implementing new features for our website, we take the following goals into account:

• Fast performance and short loading times, as well as broad browser compatibility
• Respect visitor preferences, e.g. browser settings or user stylesheets, as well as allowing them to customize their experience, by zooming or changing fonts / sizes
• Build upon robust web standards and rely on the browser’s built-in accessibility
• Allow full navigation via keyboard and screen readers, including alternative text for visual and time-based media
• Design with sufficient color contrast, sensible default text sizes, and clear visual hierarchy
• Provide an optimized presentation across a range of browser viewport sizes, display densities, and screen capabilities
• Offer multiple and alternative ways to connect with us, for example, via an RSS feed, social media accounts, or our email newsletter
• Provide information about the Sovereign Tech Agency in simple language
• Respect visitor privacy and collect a minimal amount of data on usage

The design and development studio Village One is consulting on how to implement and improve the accessibility of this website.

We always aim to support the current and last major version of Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and Safari (on desktop and mobile). We don’t support old Internet Explorer versions. This does not necessarily mean that our website is broken in non-supported browsers, but rather that we don’t actively test new features there.

We use a range of assistive tools to verify the level of accessibility of this website. These tools include Apple’s VoiceOver, as well as browser extensions such as axe DevTools, and built-in browser functionality.

We aim to comply with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.2 AA, the BITV 2.0 and the underlying technical standard EN 301 549 v.3.2.1, which are the foundations of the European Accessibility Act and the German Accessibility Improvement Act (Barrierefreiheitsstärkungsgesetz).

We are continuously improving the accessibility of this website. The following areas have room for improvement:

• We occasionally use embedded Vimeo video players which feature live captions within the player itself, but no text equivalent outside the player
• Links that open in a new tab are currently not visually distinguishable from internal links
• Sometimes the headline hierarchy has gaps when coming from the CMS-based rich-text editor
• We use some generic link texts such as “Learn more”
• The social network icons in the footer don’t have visible text labels (but are accessible for visitors with screen readers)
• Some older pages may feature images without alt text
• We don’t currently provide a breadcrumb, which might be beneficial for quicker navigation, as well as understanding the structure of the site
• No HTML-based sitemap / table of contents listing all the available pages
• No dedicated high-contrast mode
• Print presentation is not optimal

Please contact us if you encounter an issue not listed above.

We welcome your feedback on the accessibility of the Sovereign Tech Agency website and our other offerings. Please let us know if you have recommendations for improvements or encounter accessibility barriers: info@sovereign.tech.

This accessibility statement has been compiled in collaboration with Village One, the studio responsible for interaction design and technical implementation on this website.

We aim to answer your inquiries within a reasonable period of time (usually within two weeks). If you do not receive an answer or are dissatisfied with the answer, you can contact the arbitration service for the German Act on Equal Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities (Schlichtungs­stelle zum Bundesgleichstellungs­gesetz). The arbitration service will examine your case and try to find a solution. You can contact the service at this address:

Schlichtungs­stelle zum Behinderten­gleichstellungs­gesetz bei dem Beauftragten der Bundes­regierung für die Belange von Menschen mit Behinderungen

Mauerstraße 53
10117 Berlin

+49 30 18 527-2805
Fax: +49 30 18 527-2901

info@schlichtungsstelle-bgg.de
www.schlichtungsstelle-bgg.de

The application to initiate meditation can be made by filling out an online form, in writing by post, by email, or by recording it at the office of the arbitration service.