Transcript IGF09 Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt 15th - 18th November, 2009 The Economic Imperative of Social Inclusion Presented by Mr.

IGF09
Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt
15th - 18th November, 2009
The Economic Imperative of Social Inclusion
Presented by
Mr. Gerard Ellis
On Behalf of
The Dynamic Coalition on Accessibility and Disability
Introduction
• What is Universal Design and who gains
from it?
• Investigation from the point of view of
disabled users of Internet technologies
• Inclusion is good for all of society
Legislative Background
Beyond Legislation
• need to go beyond legislation is Recognised by policy makers
throughout the world
• i2010 - a European information society for growth and employment
(COM(2005)229)
• Riga Ministerial Declaration on e-Inclusion
• outcomes from the First World Summit on the Information Society
• The Barcelona Declaration.
Guidelines and Standards
Internet
• Web Access Initiative (WAI) of the Worldwide Web
Consortium (W3C)
• WCAG Version 2.0
• Authoring Tools and User Agent Guidelines
• DAISY Standards
• CEN Workshop Agreement on a Curriculum for training
ICT Professionals in Universal Design
Guidelines and Standards
Universal Design
• design of mainstream products, services and systems to be
accessible by as broad a range of potential users as possible
• first Guideline of Universal Design "Provide the same means of use
for all users: identical whenever possible; equivalent when not
• Partnership with users with disabilities
• Consult with people with disabilities at design stage
• Far cheaper than to retrofit
Access to Information
Digital Rights and Document Formats
• Becoming more and not less difficult to gain access to digitised
information
• Developing standards on access to documents in PDF format
• World Blind Union proposal on Copyright in WIPO
• Other information exchange methods such as Information Kiosks,
Digital TV, electronic voting devices, electronic books, e-education,
etc
• Standards required
Benefits of Accessibility
Benefits to People with Disabilities
•Gain disproportionately
•Some cannot use old fashioned paper-based services
•Some cannot use inaccessible public transport
•Many buildings physically inaccessible
•Can use mainstream or assistive technologies that they
know best
•Employment and Promotion Opportunities
•Employment leads to better social integration
Benefits of Accessibility
Benefits to Older People
• The world's population is greying
• Overlap of Issues between disability and ageing
• Older people acquire disabilities
• people with disabilities grow old
• Many did not grow up with technology
• Need easy-to-learn and easy-to-use systems
Benefits of Accessibility
Benefits to Managers
• Notoriously difficult because of the inherent pace of change
• Reduction of Development and Management Costs
• Increase audience reach and customer satisfaction, leading to
greater take-up
• Make training and staff assessment easier
• Demonstrate Social Responsibility
• Reduce chances of legal challenges
Benefits of Accessibility
Benefits to Public Bodies
• Public bodies cannot choose their customers
• If not accessible, old manual system must be continued
• Staff can be transferred to more efficient duties
• Must include internal systems to support staff with disabilities
• Retain staff who acquire disabilities during working lives
• Manual intermediaries will always be required, but their number can
be reduced
Benefits of Accessibility
Benefits to Public Servants
• Avoid tedious duties such as information desks
• personally more rewarding jobs
• better opportunities for promotions
• Can continue employment if acquire disability
Benefits of Accessibility
Benefits to Society
• Products and services which are accessible to people with
disabilities are typically easier to use for everyone
• Improve access for users with lower literacy and/or language skills
• Improve access for users using mobile devices, digital TV and other
emerging technologies
• Improve access for users using low bandwidth connections and
those using older hardware and/or software
Benefits of Accessibility
Benefits to Society (Cont'd)
• Improve access for users with low technology skills
• Higher take-up amongst public leads to critical mass of
use, promoting further developments
• Higher employment amongst people with disabilities
improves society's overall economic performance
• Facilitates Technology Convergence
Benefits of Accessibility
Who Loses?
• Apply Cost/Benefit across entire value chain
• everyone gains
• Nobody loses
• Change of mindset towards Universal Design
• Training for designers, Developers, Testers, middle and senior
Management
• Inclusion of people with disabilities throughout the design and
development cycle
Conclusion
• People with disabilities and older people gain
disproportionately if included
• Stand to lose disproportionately if excluded
• Universal Design
• Partnership with potential users
• Everyone gains
• Nobody loses