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A framework on ICTs and people with disabilities: Policies and strategies for meeting ICT needs of persons with disabil

A framework on ICTs and people with disabilities: Policies and strategies for meeting ICT needs of persons with disabilities. ITU and WHO Regional Conference on "Sharing experience on best practices in ICT services for persons with disabilities". Simão Campos

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A framework on ICTs and people with disabilities: Policies and strategies for meeting ICT needs of persons with disabil

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  1. A framework on ICTs and people with disabilities:Policies and strategies for meeting ICT needs of persons with disabilities • ITU and WHO Regional Conference on "Sharing experience on best practices in ICT services for persons with disabilities" Simão Campos ITU Telecommunications Standardization Bureau Cairo, Egypt, 13-15 November 2007

  2. Contents • Introduction • Three pre-requisites • The eight major issues • Highlight of situation in the regions • Best practice examples • Role of private sector • Conclusion • Based on the background paper: • Cynthia D. Waddell, "Meeting ICT access and service needs for people with disabilities: major issues for development and implementation of successful policies and strategies", Doc.5in ITU BDT Seminar on Sharing Experience on Best Practices and Services for People with Disabilities; Geneva, Switzerland, 17 September 2007

  3. Mandates • World Summit on the Information society (2003, 2005) • ITU World Telecommunication Development Conference 2006.05 • ITU Plenipotentiary Assembly 2006.11 • UN Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities 2006.12

  4. Definitions • Persons with disabilitiesPersons with disabilities include those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments, which, in interaction with various barriers, may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others. • Universal designDesign of products, environments, programmes and services to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design. “Universal design” shall not exclude assistive devices for particular groups of persons with disabilities where this is needed.

  5. Three pre-requisites for accessible ICTs • Accessible design • Accessibility has to be built in into products and services from their inception • Availability • Accessible products and services must be offered to users • Affordability • Price to have access to products and services cannot be prohibitive

  6. Eight major strategic issues • Disability rights • Mainstreaming and stakeholder engagement • Universal service obligations • Accessible ICT technical design standards • Implementation of ICT barrier removal action plans • Accessible ICT public procurement toolkits • Identification of benchmarking and research needs • Outreach, education, and training on accessible ICT

  7. Strategic issue #1 Disability Rights • UN Convention on rights of persons with disabilities • Obligations by States Parties • Remove any discriminatory legislations, policies, practices, etc • Enact new legislations, policies, practices to promote the rights of persons with disabilities • National laws and policies • Few countries have non-discrimination or disability-specific laws • Among those that do, only some have provisions covering accessible design of goods and services • Digital content raises piracy concerns  possible barriers for users

  8. Strategic issue #2 Mainstreaming and stakeholder engagement • Mainstreaming disability issues is an integral part of the framework…a strategy for making disabled people's concerns and experiences an integral dimension of the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and programmes… • Four steps • Integration of disability perspective in all policy areas and at all stages of policy development • Active participation of all commission services • Participation of all relevant actors, including NGOs and end-user organizations • Utilization of methodological tools, suitable coordination, adequate monitoring and impact assessment • Success of mainstreaming depends on stakeholder engagement

  9. Strategic issue #3 Universal service obligations • Universal service: Non-discriminatory availability of essential telecom services to all in a country • Distinct from Universal Access: telecom services on a shared basis • Leverage for providing users with accessible services • Some country examples … (next)

  10. Strategic issue #3 United States (1/2) • Telecom service providers (also VoIP providers) contribute to the Universal Service Fund (managed at state level) • Providers may collect the fees from their customers • “Normal” telephony and VoIP • Inclusion of broadband under public consultation • Mandated offering of relay services (ADA Act, 1996) • Nine types: combination of textphoning / captioning / voice over traditional networks and IP networks • In California, relay calls increased four-fold from 1987 to 1995, and nationally 15% from 2003 to 2004 • Traditional TTY relay calls roughly the same while Internet-based Relay increased 45% and video relay increased 210%

  11. Strategic issue #3 United States (2/2) • Emergency services have TTY support • Technical issues for VoIP-based calls  workaround with “registered locations” • “Generic” programmes that can benefit persons with disabilities • E.g. discount on monthly local call fees and initial telephone installation & fees for low income customers • Specific programmes e.g. TTY provisioning (state level) • All Federal Government electronic and information technology facilities must be accessible

  12. Strategic issue #3 European Union • Defined by EU Universal Service Directive • Features: Fixed telephony access, basic directory service, public payphones, equal availability and affordability • Broadband not included • Difficulties accessing emergency services • Textphones provided in some countries • Lack of common standards among Member States  interoperability barrier • VoIP: not specifically addressed, EC recommended “light regulatory” touch to allow new technologies to flourish

  13. Strategic issue #3 Australia • Provisions in the Telecoms Act (1999) and Disability Discrimination Act (1992) • Standard telephone services must be reasonably accessible to all people in Australia on an equitable basis • Telstra Action Plan - Package of products and services to customers with low income and disabilities • Meeting a provision in he DDA

  14. Strategic issue #3 Sri Lanka • Telephone bills available in Braille • Proposed definition of an international access sign for accessible public payphones • Pilot projects • Provision of special directories • Voice assistance systems • eNABLE Project to provide education including ICTs to children with various forms of disabilities

  15. Strategic issue #3 Colombia* • Clear inclusion policy based on constitutional right to non-discriminatory access to information • Provision of accessibility devices for blind persons in libraries, telecenters, banking centers, and schools • Funded by public-private partnerships • National systems for relay services connecting users with textphones, internet chat and telephony • 100 access points in 66 towns across Colombia • Funded by the National Fund for Development Projects (FONADE), operated by Colombia Telecomunicaciones • Certification programmes for relay operators • Defined a set of indicators for the quality of the relay service * Source: Colombia: communications for inclusion of persons with disabilities; Doc.11in ITU BDT Seminar on Sharing Experience on Best Practices and Services for People with Disabilities; Geneva, Switzerland, 17 September 2007

  16. Strategic issue #4 Accessible ICT technical design standards • Newer technologies allow new possibilities but also can create new barriers • Technical design standards can help remove barriers • Survey of technical standards for accessibility done by ISO/IEC JTC1 SWA • Accessibility support in the infrastructure and products – ITU Total Conversation Service definition • Technical standards for accessibility: refer to system details, best addressed in the competent standards development organization • E.g. ITU-T, ISO/IEC, IETF, ETSI, 3GPP, TIA, 3GPP2, W3C • Accessibility design guidelines for technical standards • Can be used in support of the implementation of regulatory and legislative actions

  17. Strategic issue #5 Action plans for ICT barrier removal • Basic principle: equality, non-discrimination • Requirement of the UN Convention on rights of persons with disabilities • Many initiatives already established and under way • Highlights • EU, Australia, USA

  18. Strategic issue #5 ICT barrier removal in the EU • eAccessibility part of eInclusion • Need for European-wide harmonized solutions • Strategies: • Use public procurement and certification schemes • Better use of existing legislation for promoting eAccessibility and assess needs for new or revised laws & regulations • Increase broadband availability • Accessibility of websites • Education efforts for digital literacy & skills • Identify technical accessibility standards for use in public procurement • Promote use of “Universal Design” methods and of new assistive technologies • Identification of ICT policies as best practices examples, benchmarking, indicators and cooperation

  19. Strategic issue #5 ICT barrier removal in Australia • Discrimination is illegal as per the Disability Discrimination Act • Organizations develop action plans and file with the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission • Available on their website • Plans are voluntary but their preparation may provide protection against complaints • Resources for developing effective plans

  20. Strategic issue #5 ICT barrier removal in the USA • All Federal Government electronic and information technology facilities must be accessible • Periodic surveys of the effectiveness • Rehabilitation Act Section 508 (Standards) define accessibility design requirements • Standards currently under revision • Ripple effect into businesses that work with the Federal Government • Universal service obligations e.g. relay services & other programmes

  21. Strategic issue #6 Public procurement toolkits for Accessible ICTs • Strategy for a systemic impact on procurement of accessible ICTs • Four examples, all web-based

  22. Strategic issue #7 Identification of benchmarking and research needs • UN Convention Article 31: framework for States Parties in monitoring the implementation of the Convention and of the removal of barriers via statistics collection and reporting • Currently: lack of appropriate accessibility indicators for monitoring • Fundamental to identify successful approaches • Indicators are needed for consistent and comparable data at international level • UN Report with Core ICT indicators: • ICT infrastructure and access • Domestic and commercial ICT access and use • ICT Sector and trade in ICT goods • EU: projects on web accessibility benchmarking • Needed for compliance assessment by Members States with binding web accessibility laws • ITU BDT will include accessibility aspects in the version of its annual Questionnaire to the ITU members • Contribute to the definition of “Accessible ICT” indicators

  23. Strategic issue #8 Outreach, education, and training on accessible ICTs • They are fundamental to provide long-lasting and systemic effect on the availability of assistive technologies • Incorporate Universal Design concepts and principles into academic curricula and industry training • Absent in engineering, design, public administration, business administration and marketing programs • Add Universal Design training requirements to professional accreditation • Not only post-secondary education • E.g. support of professional in-service training by business and professional associations

  24. Situation in the regions (1) • Overall: • Lack of precise indicators for accessible ICT • Wide disparity amongst the regions: infrastructure, legal & regulatory frameworks, etc • Africa (62% of world’s LDCs): • Lack of affordable access • Lacking infrastructure • Lack of statistics  no further analysis possible • Asia-Pacific • Tsunami preparedness: awareness, best practices • Limited emergency communication capability for persons with disabilities • Support provided by volunteer organizations and not included in national disaster / emergency plans • General low priority for disability issues during emergencies • Limited subtitling and signing in broadcasts • Issues with ICT services, infrastructure, affordability & education • 12 countries collect statistics on ICT usage for persons with disabilities, 6 have regional groups for accessible ICT standards

  25. Situation in the regions (2) • Americas: • Overall, poor accessibility support • Unavailability of legal texts in multiple formats • Few large enterprises have non-discrimination policies • Exceptions mentioned: USA, Canada, Colombia • Europe: • Universal service obligations, ICT barrier removal initiatives • EC: Ongoing work to develop standards for public procurement of ICTs • Arab countries:* • 12 States signed the Convention, they will soon be addressing accessible ICTs, if not already • Efforts underway to address access to the built environment, but training for accessible ICT is needed • No specific information on country initiatives * Information not available in the background paper

  26. Best practice examples (1/2) • Promotion of Universal Design • Total conversation (based on ITU-T Rec. F.703) • ITU guidelines & checklist for development of technical standards for accessible or accessibility-friendly ICTs • DAISY Consortium (Digital accessible information system): digital talking books • US Section 508 Accessible ICTs Procurement Approach

  27. Best practice examples (2/2) • EC Communications Committee Inclusive Communications (INCOM) subgroup report • Impose special tariffs to ensure affordability for persons with disabilities • Provide text-telephones and relay services to deaf and hearing-impaired users • Provide a special telephone number for deaf users to access emergency services • Define obligations for terminals so that persons with hearing impairments can access publicly available telephone services • Provide free access to information services for persons with visual disabilities • Require service providers to provide copies of contracts and bills in an accessible format for persons with visual disabilities

  28. Private Sector Role • Main players in incorporating accessibility features in products and services • Private sector & government collaboration initiatives • UN GAID G3ict: identify & promote best practices, core inclusive ICT; standardization and harmonization of ICTs; definition of “Digital Inclusion Index” (with ITU) • EU ICT Policy Support Programme 2007: • To stimulate innovation and competitiveness through a better use of ICT in the products, services and processes

  29. Possible next steps (1/2) • Four-phase approach • Phase I: Global symposium • Address interoperability & standards, regulatory and policy frameworks; economic and social issues • Phase II: Regional symposia • Convention obligations using best practices, tools, resources, partnerships for accessibility, availability and affordability • Training the participants to facilitate workshops in their own countries, identifying priorities and concrete action plans for implementation of accessible ICTs

  30. Possible next steps (2/2) • Phase III: Involving stakeholders • Engage local stakeholders (consumer, legal, business, government communities) for effective facilitation training, issue prioritization, plan implementation • Phase IV: International meeting • Report on the effort and to share best practices for barrier removal as a basis for a report to the next ITU World Telecommunication Development Conference

  31. Conclusion • Still a long way to go to make accessibility a reality • ICT availability and affordability remain a major obstacle • Teaching about Universal Design needs to be part of formal curricula and accreditation programmes • Fast evolution of technology brings many possibilities: enablers or barriers • Need to act fast for mainstreaming accessibility in ICTs • Proposed four-phase framework

  32. Web resources • ITU-T accessibility page www.itu.int/ITU-T/studygroups/com16/accessibility • Telecommunication Accessibility Checklist www.itu.int/pub/T-TUT-FSTP-2006-TACL/en • ITU-T Accessibility to Multimedia Systems and Services (SG 16) www.itu.int/ITU-T/studygroups/com16/sg16-q26.html • Seminar on the "Sharing experience on best practices and services for people with disabilities" http://itu.int/ITU-D/study_groups/SGP_2006-2010/events/2007/Workshops/disabled-genevaSep07.html • ITU-D SG 1 Question 20/1 (Access to telecom services) www.itu.int/ITU-D/study_groups/SGP_2006-2010/SG1/SG1-index.html • G3ict - the Global Initiative for Inclusive ICTs www.g3ict.com • UN Convention – UN Enable initiative www.un.org/esa/socdev/enable/ • Testing the accessibility of a web page www.cynthiasays.com/ • ITU-T homepage ITU-D homepage  www.itu.int/ITU-T/  www.itu.int/ITU-D/ • ITU-T Recommendations www.itu.int/ITU-T/publications/recs.htmlNew! Free online!

  33. Thank you Simão Campos Telecommunication Standardization Bureau International Telecommunication Union simao.campos@itu.int

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