My Department complies with the European Union (Accessibility of Websites and Mobile Applications of Public Sector Bodies) Regulations 2020 and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1. The Department endeavours to ensure that its video content is accessible to as many people as possible, and we are committed to providing Departmental videos with closed captioning and/or subtitling where practical. The percentage of videos that adhered to the requirement for CC/subtitling on the Department of Foreign Affairs social media channels can be found in the table below:
|
Platform
|
%
|
|
Twitter
|
88.5%
|
|
Facebook
|
92.2%
|
|
LinkedIn
|
92.6%
|
My Department is committed to providing services in both official languages, including communications campaigns promoting the Irish language at home and overseas. This includes adhering to the latest requirements under the Official Languages (Amendment) Bill 2019 regarding advertising in Irish and our obligations under the Official Languages Act 2003. Given however that the Department’s social media outreach is primarily targeted at foreign audiences, there is a limited scope for social media videos exclusively in Irish. Instead, videos are primarily in the English language to ensure that the context and meaning of posts is understood abroad. Every effort however is made in these videos to incorporate some Irish language when possible.
The Department’s official social media accounts also provide content in multiple foreign languages in. Most foreign language social media posts are undertaken directly by Ireland’s missions and Embassies abroad and fall outside the remit of this response. Along with running our communications campaigns around St Patrick’s Day, St Brigid’s Day, Bloomsday, Hallowe’en and other significant events in multiple languages, we also participate in initiatives such as World Portuguese Language Day and International Francophonie Day, among others. The Department’s official accounts often ensure that foreign language posts and videos include some English language to ensure accessibility to as wide an audience as possible.
The percentage of videos that feature Irish or another language can be found in the table below:
|
Platform
|
%
|
|
Twitter
|
13.8%
|
|
Facebook
|
15.7%
|
|
LinkedIn
|
11.1%
|
