Declaration of Accessibility

The Goethe-Institut e.V. endeavours to make its websites accessible in accordance with the Barrier-Free Information Technology Ordinance – BITV 2.0. According to §3 Paragraph 2 BITV 2.0, accessibility can be presumed if the conformity of the website to harmonized accessibility guidelines is established.

This declaration of accessibility applies to the Goethe-Institut website at www.goethe.de/deutschfuerdich (as of February 14, 2022).

State of compatibility with requirements

The requirements are specified in §3 BITV 2.0. In particular, the criteria in Chapter 9 of EN 301 549 v2.1.2 (corresponds to the success criteria of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines/WCAG 2.1 at conformity level AA) must be met.

The websites on www.goethe.de are only partly compatible with the BITV 2.0 owing to the following incompatibilities.

Non-accessible content

The websites are not barrier-free for the following reasons: incompatibility with §3 Paragraph 2 BITV 2.0. In detail, this restriction concerns the following success criteria of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1, which are not met:

  • ​​​​​​​Order of headings h2 to h6
  • Reading order not always chronological
  • Contrasts on buttons and links that are light blue, light green, light gray
  • There are no subtitles in the videos of the following exercise series:
    • Ecology and sustainability in Germany: beekeeping
    • German very easily
    • Rethink
    • Germany laboratory
    • Michaela in Germany
    • My sport
    • Study in Germany
    • Ticket to Berlin
    • Video message from Germany: Novaria
    • In German: youth portrait - Stephanie
  • The following exercises cannot be solved with the keyboard:
    • Highlight text
    • Text-text pairs
    • Multiple choice
    • Arrangement
  • Order of keyboard usability within the categories
  • Form fields do not have visible labels in the exercises and in the comment field

Preparation of this declaration on accessibility

This declaration was prepared on 16 July 2021.

It is based on an actual evaluation of a selection of pages on the websites on www.goethe.de (conformity test according to WCAG 2.1) by Hellbusch Accessibility Consulting.

The declaration was last checked on 16 July 2021.

Reason

The Deutsch für dich team is constantly working on improving its website and due to the abundance of material and the complexity of the site, it has not yet been able to make all content and services digitally barrier-free.

We will have this website tested by an independent BITV test testing association. As soon as we have the test results, we will publish them here.

Contact

You can inform us of any shortcomings with regard to compliance with the accessibility requirements at info.dfd@goethe.de. You can also obtain information about content excluded from the application of the guidelines at info.dfd@goethe.de.

Responsible for the barrier-free accessibility and the processing of the messages received within the framework of the feedback mechanism is:

Goethe Institute
Oskar von Miller ring 18
80333 Munich

Arbitration

The Federal Government Commissioner for Matters relating to Persons with Disabilities has an arbitration board in accordance with Section 16 BGG. The arbitration board has the task of resolving conflicts between people with disabilities and public authorities of the federal government.

You can engage the arbitration board if you are not satisfied with the answers from the previously mentioned contact options. This is not about finding winners or losers. The aim is rather to find a solution to a problem jointly and out of court with the help of the arbitration board.

The arbitration procedure is free of charge. You also don’t need legal assistance.

You can find all information about the arbitration procedure on website of the arbitration board. There you can read how an arbitration procedure works and how you submit the application for arbitration. You can also submit the application in German Plain Language or in German Sign Language.

You can reach the arbitration board at the following address:

Schlichtungsstelle nach dem Behindertengleichstellungsgesetz
bei dem Beauftragten der Bundesregierung für die Belange von Menschen mit Behinderungen [i.e. Arbitration board according to the Disability Equality Act at the Federal Government Commissioner for the Matters relating to Persons with Disabilities]
Mauerstrasse 53
10117 Berlin

Telephone: +49 30 18527-2805
Fax: +49 30 18527-2901
E-mail: info@schlichtungsstelle-bgg.de
Internet: www.schlichtungsstelle-bgg.de

Have you encountered any challenges in accessing the content on www.goethe.de? Do you have inquiries regarding the website's accessibility? We invite you to reach out to us with your feedback or questions, as your input is important to us. Please feel free to contact us at  barrierefreiheit@goethe.de.

Please note: In case you need information on German courses, please contact your local Goethe-Institut directly.

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