BFSG and museums: opportunities for accessibility

In an increasingly inclusive society, accessibility plays a central role. With the entry into force of the Accessibility Reinforcement Act (BFSG), museums are facing the challenge of making their offerings accessible to all people. But why is there an opportunity?

In this article, we look at the impact of the BFSG on museums and show how modern technologies can help to break down barriers and make cultural experiences accessible to all. And how can we support visitors with different needs through audio guides and offer them an enriching museum experience?

The Accessibility Improvement Act (BFSG) is an important step towards an inclusive society. It aims to remove barriers for people with disabilities and make it easier for them to access digital services and information. The law stipulates that public and private institutions must make their physical and digital offerings accessible. This applies in particular to places such as museums, which play an important role in cultural life. The Accessibility Reinforcement Act comes into force on 28.06.2025.

Museums are cultural institutions that are obliged by the BFSG to make their digital offerings accessible. This applies in particular to websites, mobile applications and digital information systems within the museum. For museums, this means that they must adapt their digital exhibitions and services to accommodate people with different needs. This could mean that additional resources and budgets need to be allocated to make the necessary adjustments.

The BFSG focuses primarily on digital accessibility, particularly in relation to products and services in the digital sector. Design websites and digital offerings in accordance with the WCAG guidelines. This includes clear navigation, alternative text descriptions for images and subtitles for videos.

Clearnavigation: Ensure that your website and mobile app offer clear and simple navigation. Avoid complex menus and use understandable labels.

‍Alternative textdescriptions: Add alternative text descriptions (alt texts) for all images, graphics and interactive elements so that screen readers can read this content aloud.

‍Contrastand readability: Use high contrasts between text and background to improve readability. Also pay attention to customizable font sizes, sufficient contrast and clear, understandable language.

‍Subtitlesand transcripts: Provide subtitles for videos and transcripts for audio content. This not only helps people with hearing impairments, but also those who are in a noisy environment or do not have headphones.

Audio guides can add an extra dimension. With Wonnder (formerly Audio-Cult), for example, content can be experienced not only as text but also in video and audio formats (optimized for screen readers). AI technology offers an exciting opportunity here: with the help of artificial intelligence, text can be simplified, and audio and video content can be generated with subtitles and in multiple languages. As a result, it is now very easy to create professional and accessible audio guides that are inclusive, diverse, and easy to use.

These can be tailored to the individual needs of visitors and provide valuable support for people with visual or hearing impairments. Artificial intelligence can help develop audio guides that are automatically translated into different languages, offer different speaking speeds, and provide additional descriptions for people with visual impairments.

Chat GPT is on everyone’s lips and offers fascinating possibilities: It’s always worth having content you didn’t create yourself professionally reviewed. In addition to the well-known tools from OpenAI and others, there are now a variety of tools and service providers that can be helpful. Not sure where to start?

Here are 3 specific examples:
Elevenlabs enables text-to-speech with professional voices.
SummAIallows complex texts to be translated into simple language.
Agencies such as Erdmännchen und Bär provide support in implementing digital solutions .

While the BFSG may present museums with new challenges in the short term, it offers numerous opportunities in the long term to improve accessibility and reach a broader audience. By utilizing technologies such as artificial intelligence, museums can become more inclusive and accessible, ultimately benefiting all visitors.

The requirements for an inclusive user experience are increasing massively with the Accessibility Improvement Act. The BFSG may present museums with new challenges in the short term, but in the long term it offers numerous opportunities to improve accessibility and reach a wider audience. By using technologies such as artificial intelligence, museums can become more inclusive and accessible, which ultimately benefits all visitors.