Refugee-led Observatory for Digital Information Access

A refugee-led observatory advises humanitarian actors on improving digital accessibility for refugees with disabilities, particularly those with visual impairments.

Author

Takuya Kitazawa
June 09, 2025

💖 This week's byte: A refugee-led observatory advises humanitarian actors on improving online community engagement for refugees with disabilities, particularly those with visual impairments. The firsthand insights have improved the accessibility of informational websites.

📊 Did You Know?

According to Accessibility Checker, a leading provider of accessibility scanning software, 88% of the 63,000+ websites analyzed in their study were not compliant with the latest web accessibility standards.

📖 The Story

Refugees with disabilities advancing inclusion and self-reliance

In Yemen and Poland, UNHCR is working with communities to break down barriers to digital information access and mental health support.

medium.com/unhcr-innovation-service/refugees-with-disabilities-advancing-inclusion-and-self-reliance-be9349c04b48

Who, When, and Where — Context

In 2024, two refugee-led organizations in Poland jointly started tackling digital accessibility challenges.

Why — Challenge

Digital information accessibility is critical for refugees, who rely on online sources to make informed decisions, seek social and protection services, and plan their futures. Especially for those with disabilities, there are so many barriers to accessing online information, such as small font sizes and pop-up advertisements, making key website features inaccessible.

What and How — Tech Solution

Organizations in Poland implemented the Observatory, a feedback mechanism led by refugees with disabilities, to advise humanitarians on how to optimize the accessibility of their online channels. Through focus group discussions and surveys, numerous firsthand insights have been generated and transformed into actionable recommendations, including the availability of alternative image descriptions, on-screen readability of buttons, and the simplicity of language use. Several informational websites have employed the practices and shown positive reactions.

💡 Key Insights

  • 🚰 Information becomes a critical lifeline for refugees. It allows them to efficiently and effectively resettle in a new environment.

  • 🙅 Digital resources to date are not well-designed for socio-economically vulnerable populations like refugees with disabilities.

  • 💌 Firsthand insights are essential to make a meaningful change. Working directly with impacted people and collecting their ‘raw voices’ enables changemakers to crystallize an understanding and approach to complex problems.

✅ Try This

Visit UA in Krakow, an information portal reworked through the Observatory initiative. What kind of design considerations do you notice? Are there any areas of improvement?

💭 Share your thoughts: How can ordinary web developers minimize the risk of introducing barriers to information accessibility? Should they always anticipate all kinds of vulnerable audiences and interview them before designing a website?

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