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Working together for digital accessibility: adesso and Kreisjugendring Neumarkt promote inclusion and democracy

Starting June 2025, the German Accessibility Improvement Act (Barrierefreiheitsstärkungsgesetz, BFSG) will oblige providers of digital services to implement binding accessibility requirements. Public institutions, companies, and their IT partners are therefore under pressure to review new and existing websites for digital accessibility and adapt them accordingly. A joint project between adesso and the district youth council Kreisjugendring (KJR) Neumarkt shows how this demand can be achieved in practice: an accessible website, developed with and for young people, that makes democratic education accessible – digitally, inclusively, and in a methodologically sound way.

Youth education meets IT practice

The project combined technical development with a recognised youth education activity. For two weeks, trainees, an intern, and a working student worked together with experienced adesso software engineers on a static website that makes the promotion of local democracy visible. They received practical training in agile software development and accessible web design, with direct feedback through practical tests with visually impaired people at the Nuremberg Training Centre for the Blind and Visually Impaired, who tested the website early on in the project. Feedback was channelled directly into further development.

The project was completed iteratively in line with agile principles. This revealed exciting parallels between agile software development and value-orientated youth work as understood by the KJR: transparency, a constructive error culture, and respectful cooperation. Progress and challenges were reflected on in joint retrospective sessions – a form of learning that was effective both professionally and personally.

Cloud, AI, and critical awareness

Technologically, the project was implemented in a modern way that also reflected media education. The tools used included Jira Cloud and Confluence Cloud for requirements management, GitHub Cloud with GitHub Actions for source code management, and CI/CD and Xray for Jira for test management. JEST (unit tests), Cypress Cloud (E2E), and the accessibility module cypress axe were used for automated tests. The use of AI, for example via GitHub Co-Pilot in VSCode, was also taught, but always accompanied by critical discussions on data protection and technology dependency.

The joint team is delighted with the successful completion of the project, from left to right: Christoph Weyrauch (Competence Center Lead, adesso), Elias Hegelheimer (Chairman of the Kreisjugendring Neumarkt), Hanna Ebert (Deputy Project Manager, adesso), Tobias Kirsch (Project Manager, adesso), Nicoll Gajowska (Developer, adesso) and Nico Schumm (Developer, adesso). (Source: private / Photographer: Julia Knaupp)

The joint team is delighted with the successful completion of the project, from left to right: Christoph Weyrauch (Competence Center Lead, adesso), Elias Hegelheimer (Chairman of the Kreisjugendring Neumarkt), Hanna Ebert (Deputy Project Manager, adesso), Tobias Kirsch (Project Manager, adesso), Nicoll Gajowska (Developer, adesso) and Nico Schumm (Developer, adesso). (Source: private / Photographer: Julia Knaupp)

Practical trial

A review of the project took place at BayernLab Neumarkt on 25 February 2025. BayernLab, an innovation centre of the IT Service Centre of the Free State of Bavaria (LDBV), provided the perfect setting for exchange and reflection with its special exhibition on artificial intelligence at the University of Nuremberg. Visitors were particularly impressed by the way the project communicated the topic across generations.

“Accessibility is not just a nice-to-have, but rather a basic digital requirement – especially in the public sector. With our involvement in Neumarkt, we were able to show that technological excellence and social responsibility go hand in hand,” explains Tobias Kirsch, Project Manager and Senior Software Engineer in the business line Public at adesso SE. “The project is a powerful example of how inclusion, education, and digitalisation can be brought together in a practical and forward-looking way in line with the Accessibility Improvement Act.”

Tobias Kirsch is project manager and senior software engineer in the business line Public of adesso SE. (Source: private / photographer: Sandra Pohl)

Tobias Kirsch is project manager and senior software engineer in the business line Public of adesso SE. (Source: private / photographer: Sandra Pohl)

Markus Ott, Managing Director of Kreisjugendring Neumarkt, adds: “Young people in particular are willing to take on responsibility if we give them the right tools. In adesso, we had a partner who was not only impressive from a technical perspective, but who also understood the added social value. The project triggered something in all those involved and showed what modern youth work and digital participation can look like in practice. For us, this is not a one-off. It is a blueprint for future projects.”

Markus Ott is managing director of Kreisjugendring Neumarkt. (Source: private / photographer: Birgit Hofbeck)

Markus Ott is managing director of Kreisjugendring Neumarkt. (Source: private / photographer: Birgit Hofbeck)

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