pacinet2008 accessibility to the internet for people with disabilities by gunela astbrink
DESCRIPTION
Accessibility to the Internet for People with Disabilities Presentation by Gunela Astbrink at PacINET2008 at the National Auditorium in Rarotonga, Cook Islands. September 2008.TRANSCRIPT
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Accessibility to the Internet for people with disabilities
PacINET 2008Cook Islands
Gunela AstbrinkInternet Society of Australia
Overview
l Needs of people with disabilities
l Opportunities for government
l Types of accessibility in ICT
l Examples of developments in the Pacific region
l Potential for partnerships
l Ways forward
Statistics
l 650 million people globally have a disability
l Estimates of 10 – 20% of a country's population with a disability
l In Australia, 20% of population based on Australian Bureau of Statistics 2003
l Many older people have an increase in functional limitations eg. low vision, hearing impairment, reduced mobility
Needs of people with disabilities
l A variety of ways to communicate and to receive information
l Deaf people
− Sign language users use video calling and SMS
l People with hearing impairments
− Volume control in telephones and ICT devices− Real-time text conversation
l Blind people
− Accessible websites
Needs of people with disabilities
l People with mobility impairments
− Large keys on phones
l Everyone wants easy to understand menu systems and navigation
l Information based on survey of people with disabilities by TEDICORE (Telecommunications and Disability Consumer Representation), Australia
TEDICORE
l Represents people with disabilities to achieve better access to ICT
l Actively participates in policy development on accessibility with government and industry
l Auspiced by the Australian Federation of Disability Organisations
l Supported by Commonwealth Government
l http://www.tedicore.org.au
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Why think about accessibility?
l People with disabilities use ICT for recreation, information and employment
l Important for employment opportunities
l Social responsibility
l Legislation ie anti-discrimination
− Americans with Disabilities Act− Disability Discrimination Act (Australia)?
l UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities – includes access to ICT
Opportunities
l e-Government initiatives reach more people in the community if ICT is accessible
− Information
− Health − Education
Types of accessibility in ICT
l Accessible websites
− Two examples:− blind people use screen-reading software
l use ALT tags for images (excellent for anyone with slow Internet connection!)?
l documents in html or Word – not only PDF
− people with physical disabilities may use single switches or assistive aids to navigate a pagel size of linking buttons
− W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines are internationally recognised: http://w3c.org/WAI
Types of accessibility in ICT
l Real-time text conversation
l Different from Instant Messaging as both parties see message being typed in real-time just like a spoken conversation
l Uses Text over IP as specified by IETF RFC
l Will take over from analogue text telephones or TTYs
l User-friendly client software to be developed
l Real-time Text Taskforce supported by ISOC
l More info at: http://www.realtimetext.org
Examples of developments in the Pacific region
l Pacific Sub-regional Training Workshop on ICT for Disabled Persons Organisations in June 2006
l Participants were from seven countries of the Pacific region
l Supported by UNESCO and Pacific organisatons
Examples of developments in the Pacific region
l Biwako Millennium Framework for Action
− Framework for action providing policy recommendations for action by governments and other stakeholders in the region
− The Framework identifies seven areas of priority action for an inclusive barrier-free and rights-based society
− Priority six is access to ICT
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Examples of developments in the Pacific region
l Key drivers for change:
l Pacific Disability Forum
l Secretariat of the Pacific Community
l Fiji Disabled Persons Association
− national cross-disability self-help organisation
l and many others.....
Barriers to overcome
l Affordability of computers and Internet connection
l Education levels
l Limited public places for Internet access
− Are they accessible?
An example in the Cook Islands
l Creative Centre project (PRIDE)?
l Train the Trainers for staff and volunteers
l Computers and specialised software used by members with disabilities for
− art and craft work
− editing photographs
− internet searching and emailing
l Further development of skills for education and employment opportunities
Potential for partnerships
l Pacific Island disability organisations continuing to work closely together for improved access to ICT
l Funding applications to regional and international bodies
l One key area is awareness-raising workshops for government and businesses on accessibility of websites and other ICT products
Ways forward
l Ensuring that the Internet is indeed for the whole community as stated in the ISOC motto: “The Internet is for everyone”
l The Internet will reach its full potential when the whole community can use it effectively
l Let's work together to make that happen!
Thank you!
Gunela AstbrinkNational Coordinator, TEDICORE
and Board member of ISOC-AUEmail: [email protected]