Accessibility statement

Our commitment

Public Value Hub gGmbH is committed to making the European Impact Map usable for the widest possible audience, including people with disabilities. We work to meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 at level AA (opens in a new tab) and to improve continuously based on user feedback.

Conformance status

The European Impact Map is partially conformant with WCAG 2.1 level AA. "Partially conformant" means that some parts of the content do not yet fully conform to the accessibility standard.

Measures we take

• A token-based design system with documented colour contrast ratios that meet AA on both light and dark surfaces.
• Semantic HTML for landmarks, headings, lists, and forms so that assistive technologies can navigate the site reliably.
• Full keyboard navigation, including a visible skip-to-content link and focus-visible outlines on every interactive control.
• ARIA labels on icon-only buttons, current-page indication on navigation links, and live announcements for status updates.
• Descriptive alternative text on informative images and alt="" on purely decorative graphics.
• Responsive layouts that work down to 320 px viewports and respect user preferences for reduced motion.

Known limitations

Despite our best efforts, the following areas may not yet be fully accessible:

• The interactive map uses a third-party library (Leaflet) whose zoom and pan controls are reachable by keyboard but not yet fully optimised for screen reader announcements.
• Some user-submitted listings may contain images without alternative text or content that has not yet been reviewed against AA criteria.
• CSV and PDF exports are not generated as accessible documents.

We are actively working to resolve these issues.

Feedback

If you encounter an accessibility barrier or have suggestions for improvement, please contact us. We aim to respond within five working days.

Assessment approach

This statement is based on an internal self-evaluation against WCAG 2.1 AA success criteria, combining manual review with automated checks (Lighthouse, axe-core) across our public routes.