Proposal of the Disability Caucus on Accessibility in para 57
28 September 2005
Submitted by Hiroshi Kawamura,
DAISY Consortium, on behalf of the WSIS Disability Caucus
Accessibility of the Internet is one of the key issues of persons with disabilities in next 10 years. Although there are well recognized guidelines and standards for web accessibility at national as well as international level such as the Web Accessibility Guidelines of W3C, continuous awareness raising and participation of persons with disabilities in the implementation process is the key to successful implementation of guidelines and standards. The WSIS process itself must show the best practice of awareness raising and guarantee full participation of persons with disabilities. Assistive technologies for Internet access has been developed to give alternative access channels for persons with various disabilities so far. However, the availability of those technologies is very limited in terms of its cost, language and geographical region. We find the cost of screen reading tools in some language much higher than computer itself. Voice synthesiser and voice recognition system are key access technologies for persons with various disabilities. But availability of those technologies in local languages are extremely limited. We urge governments, intergovernmental organizations, private sectors and Civil Society, firstly to develop and implement Internet accessibility guidelines and standards, and secondly, to promote universal design concept including development of key access technologies to guarantee digital opportunity without extra cost for individuals with special needs.
Therefore, on behalf of the WSIS Disability Caucus I would like to propose to add the following 2 sub paragraphs to para 57 of "Document WSIS-II/PC-3/DT/10-E".
d) Implementing Internet accessibility guidelines and standards at national as well as international level
e) Promoting universal design concept including development of key access technologies to guarantee digital opportunity without extra cost for individuals with special needs.
--- for your reference "Document WSIS-II/PC-3/DT/10-E" -------------------
4. Measures to promote development
56. We reaffirm our commitment to turning the digital divide into a digital opportunity, and ensuring harmonious, fair and equitable development for all, particularly for those who risk being left behind and being further marginalized.
57. We maintain that the uneven sharing of the burden of costs for international Internet connectivity should be redressed through further dialogue. We call for affordable access to ICTs, including by:
- a) Reducing international Internet costs charged by backbone providers, supporting, inter alia, the creation and development of regional ICT backbones and Internet Exchange Points to reduce interconnection cost and broaden network access;
- b) Encouraging ITU to continue the study of the question of the International Internet Connectivity (IIC) as an urgent matter to develop appropriate Recommendations.
- c) Developing low-cost equipment, such as computers, especially for use in developing countries.
- d) Implementing Internet accessibility guidelines and standards at national as well as international level.
- e) Promoting universal design concept including development of access technologies to guarantee digital opportunity without extra cost for individuals with special needs.