One of Sphere’s key beliefs is that inclusion of, and participation by, people affected by crises is fundamental to life with dignity; and that for everyone to have a chance to participate, documents, tools, and services – including those provided by Sphere – must be accessible.

For over 20 years, Sphere has made significant efforts to ensure that our products and services are accessible: that is, to make them freely available, and easy to use and understand by everyone. (Read more here: Sphere takes a bold step forward on accessibility)

Around the world, 15% of the world’s population (approximately 1.3 billion people) live with some form of disability.

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) were created by W3C to allow for greater accessibility and usability of technology, including online content, by individuals with disabilities. Sphere strives for conformance with WCAG 2.1 level AAA, which is the highest level.

Sphere worked closely with BarrierBreak (www.barrierbreak.com), a third-party accessibility auditor, during 2022 when designing and building the Humanitarian Standards Partnership (HSP) website. While Sphere cannot guarantee that the site is accessible to individuals with all types, degrees, or combinations of disability, we were able to address almost all the issues raised during the pre-release audit, and we are committed to maintaining a high standard of accessibility as the website is updated and developed in the future.

The HSP website includes many links to HSP partner websites. Sphere cannot guarantee the accessibility of these partner sites, but our disability inclusion journey is ongoing, and part of this journey is to assist our partners, including those within the HSP, to provide accessible platforms and content.

If this site, or any content within it, is not sufficiently accessible for you, please let us know at accessibility@spherestandards.org.

Last updated: October 2022