Submitted Proposals


Organization: ITU
Title :
9. Including Accessibility and Human Factors in the Universalization of the Internet - How to reach persons with disabilities, the 10% of the next billion
Provide a concise formulation for the proposed workshop theme including its importance and relevance to the IGF.

The workshop will highlight the necessity to make the Internet accessible to all, regardless of individual capabilities of different users. This impacts not only the need to eliminate information deprivation but also to eliminate social economic discrimination.

Access to the Internet is important for all people of all nations so that they can benefit from e-commerce, e-health, e-education and in general e-communications. Including the needs of persons with disabilities in the planning of the Universalization of the Internet will facilitate reaching the next billion and will increase the participation in the Global Internet Society.
Provide the names and affiliations of the panellists you are planning to invite. Describe the main actors in the field and whether you have you approached them about their willingness to participate in proposed workshop.


Moderator:
“Opening address” Andrea Saks (ITU)

Keynote:
"Accessibility a priority for ITU" Malcolm Johnson, Director, ITU Telecommunication Standardization Bureau

Speakers:
1. “The UN Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD): How does it Impact the Internet?” Cynthia Waddell (ICDRI)
2. “International standards for Web accessibility” Shadi Abou-Zahra (W3C Web Accessibility Initiative)
3. “Achieving Web accessibility laws in developing countries” Jorge Plano (ISOC-AR)
4. “Low and No-Cost Assistive Technologies: Making Large Scale Deployments Feasible” Fernando Botelho (Mais Diferenças)
5. “Real-time Text: An Essential Accessibility Feature” Arnoud van Wijk (ISOC)
6. “Space Network Systems Online and Accessibility” Peter Major (ITU-R)
7. “Information accessibility for disaster preparedness” Dipendra Manocha (Daisy Consortium)

For all presentations, bios, photos and abstrascts, please see the official event web-page at: http://www.itu.int/ITU-T/worksem/accessibility/200812/index.html
Provide the name of the organizer(s) of the workshop and their affiliation to various stakeholder groups. Describe how you will take steps to adhere to the multi-stakeholder principle, including geographical diversity.

Background
The ITU is one of the funder Members of the IGF Dynamic Coalition on Accessibility and Disability (DCAD). The aim of the DCAD is to facilitate interaction between relevant bodies, and ensure that ICT accessibility is included in the key debates around Internet Governance in order to build a future where all sectors of the global community have equal access to the Information Society. We are convinced that the entire community can benefit from an “accessible ICT world”, as people can be permanently or temporarily disabled due to personal, environmental (e.g. a phone call in a noisy environment) or cultural (e.g. spoken language diversity) conditions. Moreover, we will all grow old and lose abilities that we take for granted now, thus enlarging the part of the population that would benefit from accessible communication. We cannot allow isolation of a part of the population due to lack of appropriate functionality that prevents the use of ICT resources by everybody to the fullest possible degree. The ITU in collaboration with a Steering Committee formed by various stakeholders that are also partners of the DCAD have organized this workshop.


Workshop Steering Committee
Andrea Saks (ITU)
Stefano Polidori (ITU-T/TSB)
Asenath Mpatwa (ITU-D/BDT)
Alessandra Pileri (ITU-D/BDT)
Marco obiso (ITU-D/BDT)
Peter Major (ITU-R/BR)
Bill Jolley (ACMA)
Angela Garabagiu (Council of Europe)
Hiroshi Kawamura (DAISY Consortium)
Axel Leblois (G3ict)
Cynthia Waddell (ICDRI)
Jorge Plano (ISOC-AR)
Misako Ito (UNESCO)
Shadi Abou-Zahra (W3C – WAI Initiative)
Clara Luz Alvarez (Rapporteur Q20, ITU-D-SG1)
Fernando Botelho (Literacy Bridge)
Arnoud van Wijk (ISOC)

The live-captioning at this event is kindly supported by ISOC

Does the proposed workshop provide different perspectives on the issues under discussion?

Yes, Accessibility and Human Factors in the Internet need to be properly addressed and included in the IGF agenda.
Please explain how the workshop will address issues relating to Internet governance and describe how the workshop conforms with the Tunis Agenda in terms of substance and the mandate of the IGF.
The workshop will responds to the requirements expressed in line with the WSIS Tunis Agenda related to reducing illiteracy and providing access and accessible content for marginalized and vulnerable groups of society, including older persons and persons with disabilities.
List similar events you and/or any other IGF workshops you have organized in the past.
The workshop will build on the success of the workshop  “Making Accessibility a Reality in Emerging Technologies and the Web” organized by ITU at the 2nd IGF meeting in Rio, Brazil, which led to the formation of the Dynamic Coalition on Accessibility and Disability,
Were you part of organizing a workshop last year? Which one? Did you submit a workshop report?

The Dynamic Coalition on Accessibility and Disability (www.itu.int/accessibility/dc) was established as follow-up of the ITU workshop “Making Accessibility a Reality in Emerging Technologies and the Web” organized by ITU at the 2nd IGF meeting in Rio, Brazil. ITU submitted the Report as requested. ITU is a founder member of the Dynamic Coalition.