Statement on web accessibility

Status of Accessibility

The basis for accessibility is the internationally recognized Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.1), Conformance Level AA, and the European Standard EN 301 549, version 3.2.1. For PDF documents, the international standard PDF/UA-1 is also observed.
The website www.belongings-irtg.com is only partially accessible in accordance with the above guidelines.

Non-accessible Content

Operation of Main Navigation
The main menu entries are not accessible via keyboard. For screen reader users (English version), it is possible to reach the menu entries through linear reading (arrow keys) and open the associated submenu with the spacebar. With keyboard-only navigation (Tab key), the main navigation cannot be used at all. This applies to both the desktop and mobile view.

Operation of Accessibility Menu
The accessibility menu is not positioned in the tab and reading order directly after the triggering button, which makes it harder to reach via keyboard and screen reader.
 The expanded/collapsed state of the menu is not announced to screen reader users. Additionally, the accessibility functions themselves (text enlargement) are only partially usable with a screen reader.

Moving Images
On the homepage and subpages images are displayed in sliders/carousels that automatically and continuously change without pause and cannot be stopped. This reduces readability and can be distracting. The image contents are not accessible via a screen reader.

Skip Links
Sections of the site that appear multiple times, such as navigation areas, lack unique labels, making skip link navigation with a screen reader more difficult.

Semantics
While most headings are correctly marked up, the heading levels do not reflect the hierarchical structure of the page content. This impairs both the understanding of the content structure and heading navigation with a screen reader.
German, Hebrew, and English texts are not marked as such, which can affect correct screen reader output.

Scalability
Website text cannot be enlarged without loss of content. Using the enlargement function in the accessibility menu does not enlarge certain texts. On some pages, enlarged text overlaps with other content.

Mobile View
In mobile view, some content and functions are lost. The accessibility menu for adjusting contrast and text size is not available. In addition, some texts are cut off or overlap, impairing readability.

Customizable Display
When text spacing (line height, paragraph spacing, letter spacing, word spacing) is individually adjusted, overlapping text occurs on some pages, significantly impairing readability.

Contrast
Some website texts do not have sufficient contrast against the background. This affects both the default view.
 Some graphical controls and images also lack sufficient contrast, making them hard to recognize.

Focus Indicators
With keyboard navigation, the current keyboard focus position is sometimes not visible because the browser’s default focus outline is suppressed or the focused element is hidden or overlapped by other content.

Search and Form Fields
The visible labels for search input fields are insufficient, as they are only implemented as placeholders that disappear when text is entered. This affects the global search, as well as searches for people, publications, events, and courses. In forms requesting user-specific data, the purpose of input fields is not programmatically defined, making automatic detection and completion difficult.

Lack of Accessibility Due to Disproportionate Burden
The above-mentioned content is not accessible for the following reasons:
• If the effort required is too great, corresponding considerations must be made (see Article 5 “Disproportionate burden” of Directive (EU) 2016/2102).
We strive for the highest possible level of accessibility and are gradually working to improve it within our technical, financial, and organizational capabilities. We aim to remove some of these barriers by 2025.
Non-accessible Content Outside Legal Requirements
The following content is currently not accessible but is exempt from the obligation under § 1(2) sentence 1 BfWebG in conjunction with Article 1(4) of EU Directive 2016/2102:
• Third-party content with dynamically added elements, e.g., blog posts, advertisements, news items from other sources. This third-party content is outside our control, not funded or developed by us.

Creation of This Statement
This statement was created on August 13, 2025. We will continuously assess the accessibility status through our own testing.

Feedback and Contact Information
If you notice accessibility issues on our website or require information on non-accessible content, please contact:
Dr. Oliver Krause
Email: oliver-krause@uni-leipzig.de
Phone: +49 341 97 37580

International Research Training Group “Belongings: Jewish Material Culture in 20th-Century Europe and Beyond”
Leipzig University
IPF 131117
04081 Leipzig

We will attempt to resolve reported accessibility issues or provide the requested information in an accessible format.
Enforcement Procedure
If you have submitted an accessibility request via the above contact and have not received a satisfactory solution within four weeks, you can contact the Enforcement Office of the State Commissioner for Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities at the Saxon State Chancellery. The Enforcement Office supports out-of-court dispute resolution when conflicts arise between public bodies in Saxony and users of their websites or mobile applications. This conciliation procedure is free of charge. You do not need legal representation.

Contact:
Enforcement Office
Office of the State Commissioner for Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities
Saxon State Chancellery
Postal Address:
 Archivstraße 1
01097 Dresden
, Germany
Email: durchsetzungsstelle@sk.sachsen.de
Website: www.durchsetzungsstelle.sachsen.de