A symbol library for everyone (DEMASK)
- Department DART
- Fields involved Digital Inclusion
- Industries involved Health, Community
At present, Norway lacks a free-to-use, inclusive, and universally designed symbol library for alternative and augmentative communication (AAC). This gap creates barriers for children and adults with communication difficulties, and makes it challenging for schools, nurseries and public services to provide an accessible language environment for everyone.
The DEMASK project investigates why access to graphic symbols is so limited, and how we can lay the groundwork for an open and diverse solution adapted to Norwegian needs.
Many people need AAC
People with communication difficulties may need AAC.
This can include children in nurseries and schools, older adults, people in crisis, individuals with disabilities, and those who have Norwegian as a second language.
The most common form of AAC is graphic symbols.
To learn more about this project, please contact:
Project: Demokratisk tilgang til grafiske symboler i Norge (DemASK)
Partners: The Norwegian Institute for Children’s Books, University of South-Eastern Norway (USN)
Funding: Foundation Dam
Period: 2025
Norway lacks a national and inclusive symbol library
At present, Norway does not have a free, national symbol library for AAC.
When individuals need access to graphic symbols, they must submit a personal application to the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration (NAV) in order to be granted communication aids.
This process is often experienced as cumbersome, slow, costly, and not particularly inclusive. If a nursery, school, or public library wants to create a diverse and accessible language environment, there is no support for this through NAV-funded schemes.
In practice, there is no official AAC standard in Norway either. Instead, individuals and organisations are expected to purchase licences for foreign symbol libraries, which are often expensive and poorly adapted to Norwegian language and culture. Those seeking a solution designed for Norwegian users must typically develop their own set of symbols—often in collaboration with a designer.
Both of these options have clear limitations. Available symbols often lack breadth and fail to reflect Norwegian contexts and references.
Mapping access to graphic symbols and AAC in Norway
DEMASK aims to identify the barriers that limit access to graphic symbols in Norway. We are also examining existing international solutions—such as ARASAAC in Spain and DART in Sweden—to assess whether they could be adapted to a Norwegian context.
Our goal is to lay the foundation for a symbol library that is:
- Free and open to all
For use in nurseries, schools, libraries, healthcare services, literature, apps, systems, and digital learning tools. - Universally designed
With features such as colour options for the visually impaired, sign language interpretation, and audio versions in multiple languages. - Diverse
With symbols that reflect a range of skin tones, cultural backgrounds, family structures, and variations in ability. - Culturally adapted to Norway
With symbols that represent Norwegian nature, cuisine, place names, and holidays. - Usable across sectors
In education, literature, NAV guidance, and healthcare services. - Designed for digital reuse
So that developers can easily integrate the symbols into apps, systems, and websites.
The project aims to build a knowledge base for a more equitable and accessible solution for graphic symbols in Norway, and to contribute to greater inclusion in society.