Blind participants of the "Drivers of Digital Inclusion" project from 21 regions of the Russian Federation began training as website testers in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast.

      The “Drivers of Digital Inclusion” project has launched in the Nizhny Novgorod Region. At Lobachevsky University, blind website accessibility testers will be trained for all of Russia. Training has begun for 33 participants from 21 regions of the country.

      “We are counting on the maximum effectiveness of the training, the result of which should be websites convenient for any person, regardless of the peculiarities of their perception. Achieving this effectiveness is possible only through joint efforts with blind people themselves and other people whose health capabilities are limited,” emphasized Deputy Governor of the Nizhny Novgorod Region Egor Polyakov.

      Over 72 hours of training participants will receive all the necessary knowledge in HTML. This is the standard markup language for creating web pages. Future testers will be trained in the technical standard for enabling full use of the Internet by people with physical impairments. In addition, they will learn how to use developer tools, how to identify accessibility problems, find optimal solutions for adapting interfaces, and interact with clients and developers at all stages: from the technical specification to acceptance.

      “We need testers from among those people who can, based on their own experience, not only assess the level of inclusive preparation of state internet resources, but also help improve them,” noted the Minister of Digital Development and Communications of the Nizhny Novgorod Region Alexander Sinelobov.

      A total of 184 applications were submitted for the “Drivers of Digital Inclusion” course from 55 regions.

      “This program is a breakthrough in improving the level of digital life. Today I find it hard to imagine a day without interacting with a computer or smartphone. Thanks to assistive technologies, all this becomes accessible to people with visual impairments as well. I am an employee of the Department of Information and Methodological Resources of the Novosibirsk Regional Special Library for the Blind and Visually Impaired. We often perform accessibility testing of various organizations’ websites. The course will help me gain new skills and consolidate existing knowledge,” said course participant Igor Melnikov from the Novosibirsk Region.

      The project provides paid internships for testers on government websites of the project’s partner regions with the possibility of further employment.

      “A month before the training, our young colleagues came together as a team, immersed themselves in the problems of digital accessibility in Russia, and tried their hand at communicating with government bodies. Let the future certified specialists in non-visual accessibility be part of a community and the broadest possible context, and not just learn to analyze markup and write a report,” said Ilya Lebedev, head of the Laboratory of Inclusive Technologies of the Nizhny Novgorod Region.

      Graduates of the program will be able to help regional authorities bring web resources into compliance with the accessibility requirements of the Ministry of Digital Development of the Russian Federation for visually impaired and blind users. Contractors are obliged to ensure equal access to the main site interfaces for people with low vision and even complete blindness.

      The “Drivers of Digital Inclusion” project is implemented by the Nizhny Novgorod Regional Center for the Rehabilitation of People with Visual Impairments “Camerata” in partnership with N. I. Lobachevsky State University of Nizhny Novgorod, with the support of the Presidential Grants Fund, the team of the Government of the Nizhny Novgorod Region and the “Digital Russia” project.

      “Lobachevsky University and the Camerata Center have been conducting active work for many years to introduce accessible digital technologies. We have experience in training blind users of computers and smartphones, as well as training teachers for such education. Now we are taking the next important step on this path — we are beginning to train blind specialists in testing non-visual accessibility of websites,” said Marina Roshchina, head of the typhloinformation center at N. I. Lobachevsky State University, deputy director of the Camerata Center.

      Mentors are web accessibility experts from the Laboratory of Inclusive Technologies under the Government of the Nizhny Novgorod Region and the company VK.

      Recall that ensuring the accessibility of government websites to a wide range of users meets the objectives of the national project “Data Economy and Digital Transformation of the State,” which is being implemented in Russia from 2025 by order of President Vladimir Putin.

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      Blind participants of the “Drivers of Digital Inclusion” project from 21 regions of the Russian Federation began training to become website testers in the Nizhny Novgorod Region

      The “Drivers of Digital Inclusion” project has launched in the Nizhny Novgorod Region. At Lobachevsky University, blind website accessibility testers will be trained for all of Russia. 17:17 02.10.2025 Gorod Kulebaki - Kulebaki

      Blind participants of the “Drivers of Digital Inclusion” project from 21 regions of the Russian Federation began training to become website testers in the Nizhny Novgorod Region

      The “Drivers of Digital Inclusion” project has launched in the Nizhny Novgorod Region. At Lobachevsky University, blind website accessibility testers will be trained for all of Russia. 17:06 02.10.2025 Vadsky Municipal District - Vad

      Blind participants of the project began training in the Nizhny Novgorod Region

      Training within the framework of the “Drivers of Digital Inclusion” project has started in the Nizhny Novgorod Region. 16:57 02.10.2025 NTA-Privolzhye - Nizhny Novgorod

      Blind participants of the “Drivers of Digital Inclusion” project from 21 regions of the Russian Federation began training to become website testers in the Nizhny Novgorod Region

      The “Drivers of Digital Inclusion” project has launched in the Nizhny Novgorod Region. At Lobachevsky University, blind website accessibility testers will be trained for all of Russia. 16:05 02.10.2025 Government of the Nizhny Novgorod Region - Nizhny Novgorod