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PROGRAMME DESIGN
Organization of work
- Seminar and demonstration workshop proceeding will be in English
- The duration is five working days:
First Day
The first day of the seminar and workshop will focus on bringing participants up to a
common level of understanding of ICT, access and accessibility, and development, the
global Internet, the concept of reasonable levels of accommodation and implications for
implementing the Millennium Development Goals in the context of rights-based approaches to
development:
- Introduction to the seminar and workshop: the Internet, development and accessible ICT;
- Exchange of country experiences concerning ICT, the Internet and national development;
- Overview of policies, structures and technologies related to ICT access and
accessibility; implications for national economies, policies, society and development;
- Internet "governance": the role of open standards, technical and professional
bodies; role of international norms and standards related to access and to accessibility
and development based approaches to advancement of persons with disabilities;
- Issues and trends in planning and development of Internet-enabled goods and services:
communications and messaging, privacy and security in online exchanges (public and
private), options for ICT and development, in particular delivery of expanded bandwidth to
support new and expanded IP-based voice, text and video data services, online data
management and storage;
- Introduction and practical application of distance collaboration technologies in the
context of education and training to promote accessible digital connections.
As a result of this segment seminar and workshop participants will have obtained a
brief introduction to ICT, the global Internet, access and accessibility, and implications
for development and will be better able to review, discuss and develop options on current
and future uses of ICT accessibility to further implement the Millennium Development Goals
in the context of rights-based approaches to development and advancement of persons with
disabilities.
Second and Third Days
The second and third days will involve joint lecture-conferences on norms and standards
related access, accessibility and reasonable levels of accommodation, and selected issues
in information technologies - including assistive technologies - and structures in the
context of development; participants will review and discuss selected examples of best
practice on the role of the global Internet in advocacy campaigns, knowledge management
and development and will formulate a "vision" on accessible ICT, development and
persons with disabilities; group work will include opportunities to examine selected
technologies and discuss decision criteria on selection in accordance with reasonable
accommodation considerations; group work will also involve analysis and determination of
information needs, options for content development and management, and planning and
developing accessible Internet-enabled resources:
- Review and discussion of international norms and standards related to disability and
Internet accessibility, including the United Nations "Standard Rules on the
Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities" (http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/dissre00.htm);
- Issues and trends in information technologies and structures and implications for
promoting accessible information and telecommunication services with special reference to
the situation of least developed countries, low income countries and countries with
economies in transition;
- Review and discussion of approaches to analysis, planning, development and evaluation of
cost-effective and sustainable accessible Internet-enabled goods and services;
- Overview of internationally recognized standards and practical tools to plan and develop
accessible Internet-enabled goods and services: accessible and usable Web-site designs.
The segment will include, subject to appropriate connectivity and bandwidth, practical
applications of distance collaboration tools and techniques to consider issues, trends and
options to promote awareness and support for development of accessible ICT.
As a result of this segment seminar and workshop participants will have obtained a
managerial appreciation of issues and concepts of ICT access, accessibility, accessible
Internet-enabled goods and services in particular, and will be in a better position to
refine the discussion on Internet accessibility in their countries and identify options to
further accessible ICT in terms of policy options, strategies to develop national
capacities, technical exchanges and pilot action.
Fourth Day
The fourth day will include further joint lecture conferences on accessibility planning
and evaluation and group work on strategic framework issues as well as opportunities for
teamwork on Internet accessibility concepts, methods and applications in practice:
- Introduction to concepts, methods and techniques of analysis, planning and evaluation of
accessible Internet-enabled goods and services with reference to information technologies
and structures;
- Continued discussion and practical application of concepts, methods and techniques of
analysis, planning and evaluation of accessible Web sites on the Internet in country
projects, in terms of rapid assessment of communications needs, strategic options for
identifying and engaging site sponsors (public and/or private), promoting alliance
partners for content development and maintenance, for site maintenance and development and
for user relationship management; strategies to enhance user experiences and to delivery
efficient, accessible and usable Internet-enabled resources for all;
- Review and analysis of key issues related to promotion and development of accessible ICT
and identification of priorities for action.
The strategic planning framework document would present a
shared vision of accessible ICT since this would promote awareness and build support for
accessible ICT, Internet accessibility in particular, as both policy priority and
technical standard in support of implementation of the Millennium Development Goals in the
context of development based approaches to advancement of persons with disabilities.
The strategic framework would:
- Present a strategic vision on accessible ICT and reasonable accommodation for all
- Summarise basic principles in the design of accessible ICT policies and structures and
provide normative guidance on suggested changes envisaged for that process in countries to
further development based approaches to persons with disabilities, and equality;
- Identify suggested scope and priorities related to promotion and development of
accessible ICT, which would provide a basis for formulating policy objectives in terms of
reasonable levels of accommodation in ICT resources and structures;
- Outline feasibility criteria for elaborating components needed to implement the
strategic framework, including selection, testing and application of best available
accessibility concepts and techniques;
- Present in the form of an analytical framework of an accessible ICT implementation plan
in support of efforts to promote accessible digital connections to further implement the
Millennium Development Goals; special attention would be directed to quality assurance
issues and feedback mechanisms to facilitate full, effective and democratic participation
by all interested parties.
Fifth Day
The morning of the fifth day will be devoted to presentations of group work and
exchanges of views on group findings and recommendations. The seminar and workshop will
consider in plenary a "strategic planning framework" in support of efforts to
promote accessible digital connections to further implement the Millennium Development
Goals in the context of rights-based approaches to development as recognized in General
Assembly resolution 56/168.
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