Virtually all aspects of society are affected by the use of information and communication technologies (ICT), including mobile communications, television and computers all over the world.
Digital accessibility is part of a larger effort to build an information society based on ensuring people’s right to communicate, share information, use knowledge for their own ends and overcome barriers in the use of ICTs.
The Global Initiative for Inclusive ICTs (G3ict), in cooperation with Disabled People’s International (DPI) has developed a resource for advocates and policy makers to benchmark progress in making ICTs accessible.
This third edition of the ICT Accessibility Progress Report includes the latest data monitoring the degree to which 72 United Nations States Parties are implementing the accessibility provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).
While noting some progress in implementing core dispositions of the CRPD, the report documents significant deficits in promoting policies and programmes to make essential services accessible to people with disabilities around the world.
The full report, with detailed data and analysis, will be available as a free download on the G3ict and DPI websites.
The Agency currently has two projects investigating the use and accessibility of ICTs for learning that will both also inform the implementation of the CRPD.
Implementing ICT accessibility policies and programmes requires the active engagement of a variety of stakeholders. The ICT for Inclusion Agency project’s three main target groups are policy makers, ICT support professionals working in the field of ICT for inclusion and school leaders.
The focus of the project is upon the exploring five key propositions identified within the CRPD in relation to the use of ICTs in education:
- ICT should be considered as a key tool for promoting equity in educational opportunities;
- Access to appropriate ICTs should be considered an entitlement;
- Training of educational staff in the use of general and specialist ICT must be considered a priority area;
- The promotion of ICT research and development requires a multi-stakeholder approach;
- Data collection and monitoring in the use of ICT in inclusion should be considered an area requiring attention at all levels of educational provision.
Read about the ICT for Inclusion project activities on the project web area.
The ICT for Information Accessibility in Learning (ICT4IAL) project is a multi-disciplinary network of European and international partners that represent both learning and ICT communities. The Agency ICT4IAL project partners are European Schoolnet, the International Association of Universities, UNESCO, the DAISY Consortium and the Global Initiative of Inclusive ICTs.
The project’s aims are to raise awareness and increase the visibility of the issue of accessible information provision and its relevance for equitable lifelong learning opportunities, as well as to support accessible information provision within organisations through the development, trialling and evaluation of a set of practical guidelines.
Read more about developing guidelines for ICT for Information Accessibility in Learning in a previous news item.