The Accessibility Imperative
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"The Accessibility Imperative" is the first attempt made to present in one comprehensive volume the challenges and opportunities of implementing the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in matters of accessibility to Information and Communication Technologies. The Convention at large - and more specifically its Article 9 - creates the first universal framework specifically addressing these issues which affect over 600,000,000 persons living with disabilities worldwide. This book was developed based upon the proceedings of the first Global Forum of the G3ict, the Global Initiative for Inclusive ICTs, held at the United Nations headquarters in New York on March 26, 2007. It presents the perspective of multiple stakeholders from all regions of the world and from a variety of backgrounds: industry, policy makers, international institutions, academia, and non-governmental organizations representing persons living with disabilities. Additional editorial content was contributed to G3ict and included in this first edition from meetings held in Russia, Korea, and the United States during the Spring of 2007. With 129 countries having signed the Convention as of May 2008, the scope of legislative and regulatory work which will take place over the next few years in matters of ICT accessibility is considerable. This first edition will be the first reference made available to policy makers and their many constituents to facilitate the process of identifying the best path towards effective implementation of the Convention.
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The Accessibility Imperative: DAISY Format
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The downloadable file is an audio version of "The Accessible Imperative", which conforms to DAISY/NISO standards (Digital Talking Book). This edition is accessible to visually-impaired or otherwise print-disabled persons.
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EU - Proposal for a Council Directive on Implementing the Principle of Equal Treatment
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The aim of this proposal is to implement the principle of equal treatment between persons
irrespective of religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation outside the labour
market. It sets out a framework for the prohibition of discrimination on these grounds and
establishes a uniform minimum level of protection within the European Union for people who
have suffered such discrimination.
This proposal supplements the existing EC legal framework under which the prohibition of
discrimination on grounds of religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation applies
only to employment, occupation and vocational training.
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EU - Total Conversation and Emergency Call 112
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EU press release and packet regarding the EU announcement of stepped up efforts to use a single emergency phone number to call for assistance – 112 and implementing a pilot service, “Total Conversation”, making the 112 number accessible to all across Europe.
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Technology and Disability Policy Highlights, May 2008
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Published monthly by the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center for Wireless Technologies (Wireless RERC), this May 2008 issue focuses on The House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet hearing discussing the draft legislation "Enhancing Access to Broadband Technology and Services for Persons with Disabilities."
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Technology and Disability Policy Highlights, April 2008
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Published monthly by the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center for Wireless Technologies (Wireless RERC), this April 2008 issue focuses on how reducing wireless accessibility barriers has been a recurring theme in recent legislation in the U.S. Congress.
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Technology and Disability Policy Highlights, March 2008
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Published monthly by the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center for Wireless Technologies (Wireless RERC), this March 2008 issue focuses on regulators at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and how the Commission raised a total of $19.592 billion in its auction of 700MHz airwaves that concluded March 19, 2008.
Read below for more information on RERC Efforts in the AT&T Press Release:
RERC Efforts Acknowledged in AT&T Press Release
03.13.2008 - In an effort to encourage application developers and handset manufacturers to consider the needs of seniors or customers who have disabilities when designing products and services, AT&T Inc. announced through a press release that the company's approach to Universal Design will be made publicly available for the first time. AT&T embraces the concept of Universal Design and has urged its handset and software partners to consider this methodology as they develop wireless products and applications. AT&T's recently launched Mobile Speak and Mobile Magnifier applications are examples of accessible products and services that result from innovative collaboration and design.
In creating its Universal Design methodology, AT&T consulted with many leading experts, such as the Wireless RERC. By making AT&T's Universal Design methodology available on its website, the company is hoping all developers of wireless products and applications will consider how future designs can create accessible products, like Mobile Magnifier and Mobile Speak. "Integration of Universal Design into business practice is fundamental to our mission of equitable access to wireless technologies for people of all ages and abilities," said Jim Mueller, project director, User-Centered Research, Wireless RERC. "We're glad that AT&T shares our commitment and is making its Universal Design methodology publicly available."
AT&T's document on Universal Design
[http://developer.att.com/universaldesign].
AT&T's resources for people with disabilities [http://www.wireless.att.com/about/disability-resources/disability-resources.jsp]
[Source: AT&T]
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Assessment of the Status of eAccessibility in Europe
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This Executive Summary of Measuring Progress of eAccessibility in Europe (MeAC) is a report from a study commissioned by the European Commission in 2006 as a follow up to the eAccessibility Communication of 2005. The basic aim was the provide an evidence base to support the future deveopment of EU policy in the eAccessibility field.
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Speech by World Blind Union (WBU) President on the Occassion of the Launching of the "Global Right to Read" Campaign
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Read the speech made by WBU President Dr. William Rowland in Amsterdam on Wednesday 23rd April 2008 on the occasion of WBU’s Press Conference launching the Global Right to Read Campaign.
This document also contains a press release announcing the launch of the Global Right to Read Campaign.
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Joint ANEC-EDF Position on eAccessibility
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This joint ANEC/EDF position paper expresses views on the accessibility of Information Communication Technologies (ICT) products and services by consumers of all ages and abilities.
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Web Accessibility in Context, an Investigation into Standardisation Issues
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This study has set out to investigate the apparent gap between current published guidelines on accessibility and the current practice of web developers, and the tools used by the developers to
create accessible websites.
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Web Accessibility at General Electric
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Preety Kumar, Founder, President, and CEO of Deque Systems, Inc., discusses the significance of web accessibility and how General Electric recognized the necessity of accessible techniques in regards to making Web sites accessible to persons with disabilities.
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Finding the Gaps: A Comparative Analysis of Disability Laws in the United States to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)
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"Finding the Gaps: A Comparative Analysis of Disability Laws in the United States to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities" was written by John Vaughn, the Chairperson of the National Council on Disability. The purpose of this paper is to help the NCD, and others, better understand how the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, if ratified by the United States, might impact U.S. disability laws by examining the degree to which U.S. law is consistent with the CRPD. The paper endeavors to analyze the issue in the way a treaty monitoring body would - to see if any area within federal law contravenes the Convention and/or whether there are gaps where legislation or practice might be introduced or reformed to ensure compliance.
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Summary of the Discussion Draft of the “21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act”
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Summary of the discussion draft of the bill entitled "21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act", which aims to establish new safeguards for disability access to ensure that people with disabilities are not left behind as technology changes and the United States migrates to the next generation of Internet-based and digital communication technologies.
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U.S. 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act Discussion Draft
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The discussion draft of the bill entitled "21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act" aims to establish new safeguards for disability access to ensure that people with disabilities are not left behind as technology changes and the United States migrates to the next generation of Internet-based and digital communication technologies.
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Clas Thoren's Response to Professor Hajime Yamada’s Paper on ICT Accessibility Standardization and Its Use in Policy Measures
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Clas Thoren, Development Strategist at Verva, the Swedish Administrative Development Agency, offers a response to Professor Hajime Yamada's white paper on "ICT Accessibility Standardization and Its Use in Policy Measures".
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European e-Inclusion Initiative: First Contributions to the Campaign (Lisbon, 3 December 2007)
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The European Commission's first publication on its European e-Inclusion Initiative.
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European Commission's First Communication on the European e-Inclusion Initiative
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European Commission's first communication on its European e-Inclusion Initiative.
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ICT Accessibility Standardization and Its Use in Policy Measures
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Professor Hajime Yamada of Toyo University explores the issue of third party versus self-certification of ICT accessibility standards.
Read Clas Thoren's, Development Strategist at Verva, the Swedish Administrative Development Agency, response to Professor Hajime Yamada's white paper on "ICT Accessibility Standardization and Its Use in Policy Measures".
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