*Please note: This article only pertains to schools and municipalities using Showbie in Norway.
Thanks for your interest in Showbie's accessibility compliance in Norway concerning UU-tilsynet's recent review of Showbie at Bodø municipality.
We have been in close dialogue with UU-tilsynet and Bodø municipality on this matter for some time. Despite recent reports, we are happy to inform you that you may continue using Showbie without issue. No other Norway municipalities are under review regarding Showbie, and other municipalities do not need to end their use of Showbie.
Here are the most up-to-date facts as of Wednesday, October 18, 2023:
Showbie has undergone several accessibility compliance tests by UU-tilsynet specific to the use at Bodø municipality.
The tests in no way affect any other municipalities in Norway.
Showbie has worked as hard as possible on upgrades now available to all Showbie users in our latest app versions, based on the direct feedback from UU-tilsynet during the process.
Showbie also hired an external accessibility firm to help us support the improvements and continues our mission to make Showbie as accessible as possible to everyone.
UU-tilsynet has let Showbie know they commend us for the effort and work put into this process.
Despite the significant improvements, several outstanding issues were reported when a test was performed on Friday, October 13, 2023. It should be noted that Showbie and the opinion of our expert accessibility advisement firm differ from the conclusions UU-tilsynet reached on the test outcome. We believe that a lack of context around using Showbie in specific situations provides a false negative review of particular aspects of Showbie–which are open to broad interpretation regarding compliance.
Nevertheless, with the potential for fines related to continued use of what was deemed a non-compliance ICT solution, Bodø municipality temporarily discontinued its use of Showbie over the weekend on October 14 and 15, 2023.
UU-tilsynet has deemed their inspection completed and did not assess any fines to Bodø municipality.
UU-tilsynet has advised as the inspection has now ended, Bodø municipality itself must assess whether it wishes to continue using Showbie.
Showbie is no longer under supervision or inspection by UU-tilsynet at Bodø municipality.
UU-tilsynet has informed Bodø municipality and Showbie that no other Norway municipalities are under supervision regarding Showbie and that other municipalities do not need to end their use of Showbie.
We want to reassure our Norway municipalities that we continue the vital accessibility work and have significantly benefited from the accessibility review process with UU-tilsynet at Bodø municipality. Showbie has made significant progress in prioritizing improvements, and are glad for the proactive approach. However, creating accessible content is a joint effort that relies on the cooperation of our users in order to fully realize a platform that is inclusive and usable for everyone. We encourage our users to participate in the accessibility journey with us by educating themselves on accessibility guidelines and actively applying them when using Showbie.
Showbie is a committed supplier to schools in Norway and worldwide and will continue to strive for the best and most accessible experience for all learners, teachers, and those supporting the education process.