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Towards Accessible ICT :
Promoting Accessible ICT :
Expert Group Meeting on Information and Communications Technologies (ICT)
for Persons with Disabilities
Beirut, 25-26 May 2004
Promoting Accessible Information and Communications Technologies with
Reasonable Adaptation:
learning from the Manila "Declaration" and "Design
Recommendations" on Accessible ICT
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Contents, 1,
2, 3,
4, 5,
6, 7
I. INTRODUCTION
This paper reviews international policies, structures and technologies
related to accessible information and communications technologies (ICT), with
special emphasis on Internet accessibility.
It is concerned with a single issue: ICT accessibility with reasonable
adaptation and its role in furthering full participation and equality of persons
with disabilities in social life and development.
Information and communications technologies are recognized components of the
"new" economics of development; their social and economic implications are
subjects of studies and papers. The rapid expansion of information goods
and services provides countries with catalysts for change and for
re-engineering. Less well-documented, however, is the question of accessibility
in information and communications goods and services and its implications for
inclusive and participatory development for all.
Information and communications technologies have been discussed in many
intergovernmental meetings. The "Ministerial Declaration" adopted by the
High-level segment of the substantive session of the 2000 Economic and Social
Council identified ICT as essential in the "development of the global
knowledge-based economy".[1]
The "Declaration of Principles" adopted at the First phase of the World Summit
of the Information Society (WSIS) (Geneva, 10-12 December 2003) noted the
"potential of information and communication technology to promote the
development goals of the Millennium Declaration".[2]
Both documents consider the issue of access to ICT and the development of
countries, but neither addresses the question of ICT accessibility.
ICT accessibility refers to way in which ICT respond to the needs,
preferences and abilities of users. ICT designs and provisions as well as
social, economic and institutional conditions can present barriers to
participation by the many in the potential of ICT to inform, empower and engage
in social life and development.
Accessible information goods and services have been considered in
deliberations of the Ad Hoc Committee of the United Nations General Assembly
that is considering a comprehensive and integral convention on protection and
promotion of on the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities.[3]
The premise of the paper is accessible ICT is part of the broad human rights
framework and development and precondition for furthering a "society for all".[4]
The paper takes as its point of departure the "Manila Declaration on
Accessible ICT" and the companion "Manila Accessible ICT Design Recommendations"
produced by the United Nations Interregional Seminar and Regional Demonstration
Workshop on Accessible ICT, which was hosted by the Government of the Republic
of the Philippines, represented by its Department of Social Welfare and
Development and the National Council on the Welfare of Persons with Disabilities
at Manila from 3 to7 March 2003.[5] The
Manila Declaration and Design Recommendations are products of technical
exchanges among policy makers, academics and ICT professionals from many
countries. The documents provide guidance on promoting and achieving ICT
accessibility for all. They build upon the normative guidance provided in
Rule 5 "Accessibility" of the United Nations Standard Rules on Equalization of
Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities:
"States should recognize the overall importance of accessibility in the process
of the equalization of opportunities in all spheres of society. For persons with disabilities of any
kind, States should (a) introduce programmes of action to make the physical
environment accessible; and (b) undertake measures to provide access to
information and communication."
[6]
Participants in the Manila seminar and workshop noted that while
accessibility is increasingly recognized as an essential component of rights
based approaches to development, the topic required further strengthening and
policy development, particularly in connection with the process of elaborating a
new international convention to promote and protect the rights and dignity of
persons with disabilities. They further noted that progress in
implementing the Manila "Declaration" and "Design Recommendations" will require
action both to create awareness that accessible ICT benefits all -- particularly
as this relates to development of the knowledge-based global economy of the
twenty-first century - and to strengthen national capacities for design,
development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of accessible information
and communications technologies, goods and services. Capacity building was
identified as the urgent task if the many were to realize the benefits of
information and communications technologies in the New Millennium.
From the macro policy perspective, ICT access and accessibility with
reasonable adaptation is best examined in the context of comprehensive
development agenda, which include decisions on investments in people, in terms
of health, education and social services, in infrastructure related to the
productive sectors, and in the development of institutions of society that are
open, representative and participatory. While macro development policy is
beyond the scope of this paper, they represent essential components in the
evaluation of strategies, policies and programmes aimed at realizing the
development goals of the Millennium Declaration and which, to date, have not
addressed the role of accessibility in furthering those eight global development
goals.[7]
The focus of the paper is on accessibility with reasonable adaptation,
which is in contrast to the term "reasonable accommodation" used in General
Assembly resolution 57/229 on further work on elaboration of an international
convention to promote and protect the rights and dignity of persons with
disabilities. The term "reasonable adaptation" reinforces the view that
accessibility benefits all and is not the concern mainly of persons with special
abilities -- or older persons. Experience suggests that accessibility with
reasonable accommodation can often result in the development of separate but
unequal information and communications goods and services. For instance
use of "Text only" pages on Internet sites to accommodate users of assistive
devices rarely provide the same Internet-enabled information experience as do
resources with graphical content; nor are "text only" resources updated as
frequently as are those with graphical content. Reasonable adaptation aims
to introduce accessibility considerations at the outset of the design and
development of Internet-enabled resources, for instance the "Low graphics
version" news site of the British Broadcasting Corporation <http://news.bbc.co.uk/text_only.stm>
provides the same content and updates as its "Graphics version".
The paper is in two parts. The first section reviews briefly
accessibility polices and issues; the second outlines a strategic framework to
build national capacities for accessibility with reasonable adaptation.
The paper includes as annexes the Manila "Declaration" and "Design
Recommendations", selected resources on accessible ICT, and a review of pilot
action to promote accessible Internet-enabled resources at the United Nations.
Notes
[1] "Development and international
cooperation in the twenty-first century the role of information technology in
the context of a knowledge-based global economy (E/2000/L.9)" <http://www.un.org/documents/ecosoc/docs/2000/e2000-l9.pdf>
[2] "Declaration of Principles;
Building the Information Society: a global challenge in the new Millennium
(WSIS-03/GENEVA/DOC/4-E)" <http://www.itu.int/wsis/documents/doc_multi.asp?lang=en&id=1161|1160>.
[3] Elaboration of the new
international convention is mandated by General Assembly resolution 56/168 of 19
December 2001 <http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/enable/disA56168e1.htm>;
General Assembly resolution 58/246 of 23 December 2003, addresses accessibility
in operative paragraph. 9 <http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/enable/rights/ares58_246e.htm>.
[4] General Assembly resolution
46/96 of 16 December 1991, operative paragraph 1 <http://www.un.org/documents/ga/res/46/a46r096.htm>.
[5] <
http://www.worldenable.net/manila2003/Default.htm>.
[6] General Assembly resolution
48/96 of 20 December 1993, annex <
http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/enable/dissre00.htm >.
[7] "Review and appraisal of the
World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Person ; report of the
Secretary-General" (A/58/61), paragraph 9: "A major issue in the elaboration of
the convention on the rights of persons with disabilities would be to identify
options to bring the disability perspective into international development
instruments, such as the Millennium development goals, that do not address
specifically the situation of persons with disabilities, and to provide thereby
a normative basis for the advancement of current and future generations of
persons with disabilities in the context of development. " <http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/enable/disa5861e.htm
>.
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