1. ASEAN-ITU Seminar on ICT Accessibility and Assistive Technologies for Equity in Society August 2014, Bangkok, Thailand ITU-T work on Accessibility to ICTs
Xiaoya Yang
Head of WTSA Programmes Division Telecommunication Standardization Bureau, ITU

2. About ITU
The United Nations Specialized Agency for Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs)
Founded in Paris in 1865 as the International Telegraph Union
2015 will mark 150 years of experience and innovation
ITU was founded in Paris in 1865 as the International Telegraph Union.
It took its present name in 1932, and in 1947 became a specialized agency of the United Nations.
Although its first area of expertise was the telegraph, the work of ITU now covers the whole ICT sector, from digital broadcasting to the Internet, and from mobile technologies to 3D TV

3. ITU’s Global Presence
Headquarters in Geneva with Liaison Office in New York
Regional offices in Addis Ababa, Bangkok, Brasilia, Cairo
Area offices in Bridgetown, Dakar, Harare, Jakarta, Moscow, Santiago, Tegucigalpa, Yaoundé
As a UN specialized Agency, ITU works in 6 languages Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, Spanish
ITU has 747  Staff from 106 Countries ! (numbers from HR on 23/10/2013)

4. Leading Private Sector Members

5. ITU’s Structure Radiocommunication ITU-R
Coordinates global wireless communication
Standardization
ITU-T
Produces interoperable technical ICT standards
Development
ITU-D
Provides assistance to the un-connected
ITU-T: production of standards covering all fields of telecommunications on a worldwide basis, as well as defining tariff and accounting principles for international telecommunication services
ITU-R: management of the radio-frequency spectrum and satellite orbits
ITU-D: improve telecommunication infrastructure in the developing world, Mobilizing resources and partners for project implementation, capacity building
The General Secretariat provides intersectoral coordination for the whole organization
The General Secretariat provides intersectoral coordination
for the whole organization

6. ITU-R: Radiocommunication Sector
Manages the radio-frequency spectrum and satellite orbits
ITU-R
- Develop global regulations for spectrum and satellite orbit resources
- Establish harmonized, global standards for wireless systems
- Assist membership develop advanced radio-com systems
ITU-R Study Groups deal with themes such as: spectrum management, radiowave propagation, satellite services, terrestial services, broadcasting, science services (systems for space operation, space research, Earth exploration and meteorology).

7. ITU-D: Development Sector
ITU-D: assists the development of ICTs
- Neutral broker for multi-stakeholder partnerships, resource mobilization
- Executing agency for project implementation
Building capacity among members: technical assistance, advice on policy-regulatory frameworks for investment
Statistics and policy/regulatory trends
Membership Benefits:
- Support your CSR agenda. Build profile and relationships in new markets.
ITU-D Study groups looking at issues such as policy and regulatory reforms needed to stimulate ICT investment. Public-private partnership models for infrastructure roll-out, such as infrastructure sharing. Tax incentives. Licensing. How to expand rural connectivity.
ITU-D publishes its very much acclaimed annual report “Measuring the Information Society”. The report, which has been published annually since 2009, features two benchmarking tools to measure the information society: the ICT Development Index (IDI) and the ICT Price Basket (IPB). The 2012 IDI captures the level of ICT developments in 157 economies worldwide and compares progress made during the last year. The 2012 IPB combines the consumer prices for (fixed and mobile) telephone and Internet broadband services for 161 economies into one measure and compares these across countries, and over time. The 5th edition of the ITU Measuring the Information Society (MIS) report was launched on 7 October 2013, at ITU headquarters, Geneva, Switzerland

8. ITU-T: Standardization Sector
Produces international standards covering all fields of telecommunications. Defines tariff and accounting principles for international telecommunication services
ITU-T
- Develop interoperable, international standards (ITU-T Recommendations)
- Bridge standardization gap
- Cooperation among standardization bodies
ITU-T study groups look at issues such as: multimedia, security, environment and climate change, network and transport, broadband access, quality of service and experience, next generation networks, cloud compuring, intelligent transport systems, numbering and addressing, tarrif, security.
Some examples:
Internet Access through ITU standards
95% of all international traffic runs over fibre = ITU standards
Access:
ADSL: ITU-T G.992
Powerline Transmission:
ITU-T G.9960 (G.hn)
FTTX (Fibre to the <x>):
GPON (Gigabit Passive Optical Networks) ITU-T G.984
Bendable fibers: ITU-T G.657
Multimedia
Advanced video coding: ITU-T H.264
Used to compress billions of clips on YouTube, high-definition content on Blu-ray Discs
New work H.265:
Joint Collaborative Team (ITU-T, ISO/IEC) to reduce data rate by 50%

9. Importance of standardization

10. Why is standardization important?
Technical compatibility (Interoperability)
Standards promote innovation, competition and international trade
Allows end users to enjoy wider choice range of services and products, richer functionality and lower costs with mainstreamed accessibility features
Facilitates transfer of technology between developed to developing countries and reduces digital divide

11. Open standards promote a “network externality effect”

12. Accessibility Standardization in ITU

13. ITU-T groups promoting Accessible ICT’s
Expert Groups
Study Group 16 - Multimedia - lead ITU study group on telecommunication/ICT accessibility for persons with disabilities - Question 26/16 and work items
Study Group 2 on Operational Aspects - Question 4/2 focused on human factors and related work items
Study Group 9 on Broadband Cable and TV

14. Study Group 16 Multimedia coding, systems and applications
The lead study group on telecommunication/ICT accessibility for persons with disabilities.

15. Question 26/16
Q26/16 is the group specifically designated to deal with Accessibility to Multimedia Systems and Services for persons with disabilities.
Q26/16 is responsible for developing (or assisting in the development of) multimedia technical standards addressing accessibility needs of persons with disabilities
It also reviews accessibility features included in telecom standards developed in other Study Groups

16. Examples of active work items
Terminology of accessibility to audiovisual media
Relay services: Architecture, user requirements and functionality
Technical Paper: Telecommunication relay service's user requirements for persons with disabilities
Accessibility Features for mobile media devices
Technical Paper on methods for improving the intelligibility of audio (or speech)
Guidelines for provision of captioning and of sign language in A/V content

17. ITU-T Study Group 2
SG2 organizes its accessibility work under Question 4/2 “Human Factors related issues for the improvement of the quality of life through international telecommunications”.  

18. Question 4/2
Question 4/2 covers more than just the needs of persons with disabilities
usability for all covers the needs of children and persons who may or may not have disability.

19. Study Group 9 Broadband Cable and TV
Requirements, methods, and interfaces of the advanced service platforms to enhance the delivery of sound, television, and other multimedia interactive services over cable television network

20. ITU’s most famous accessibility standard
ITU-T E.161 (2001): “Bump” on key “5”
“To assist blind and visually impaired people… and others to facilitate dialing under low light conditions”

21. Other Experts Groups
Intersector Rapporteur Group on Audiovisual Media Accessibility (IRG-AVA) (launched 25 February 2014)NEW!
Joint Coordination Activity on Accessibility and Human Factors (JCA-AHF)
ITU-T Focus Group on Audiovisual Media Accessibility (FG AVA) (concluded Oct. 2013)
Dynamic Coalition on Accessibility and Disability (DCAD) on Internet Governance

22. FG AVA - Focus Group on Audiovisual Media Accessibility
Focus Group on Audiovisual Media Accessibility (FG AVA), open to all, including non members
May 2011 created and ended October 2013
Mandate was to stimulate the development of studies and deliverables that
would improve the awareness for standard writers of possible accessibility features  for persons with disabilities to include in future standards of audiovisual (AV) media
Results: delivery of specific studies and deliverables applicable to giving better access for Persons with Disabilities for further study
to SG16, the parent study group of FG AVA
and to IRG-AVA

23. FG AVA deliverables
Focus Groups are open to non members, therefore cannot write standards
they can give the benefit of specialist knowledge from worldwide experts
Examples of some of the deliverables from the FG AVA:
Final Report of Activities: Working Group A “Captioning"    
Draft recommended production guidelines for sign language service
Draft recommended characteristics for audio descriptions and/or spoken subtitles
Vocabulary for ITU-T Focus Group on Audiovisual Media Accessibility
Methods for improving the intelligibility of audio (clean audio)    
Requirements and good practice for supporting remote participation in meetings for all    

24. Overview of Inter Sector Rapporteur Group on Audiovisual Media Accessibility (IRG-AVA)
Coordination of the work of audiovisual media accessibility
ITU-R and ITU-T working together on making audiovisual media accessible
ITU-R Study Groups 6 (Broadcasting Service) working to make better video and sound and better ways to include sign language, captioning audio description
ITU-R Study Group 5 (Terrestrial Service) Working Party 5A studying how digital hearing aids could work globally
ITU-T SG16, SG2 and SG9

25. HOW TO CONTRIBUTE
Work progresses on the basis of contributions received
Provide experts to attend meetings and to submit contributions
Members submit written technical proposals to create recommendations and standards
No contributions, no international standards, no proposals = no progress
Participate in the JCA-AHF, the group responsible for coordinating the accessibility work throughout ITU as it is open to all

26. Sharing knowledge at ITU workshops
Workshops review existing and next-generation accessibility technology, services and assistive technologies (AT) for persons with disabilities
Workshops provide open forums to discuss business case uses for accessibility implementation in all areas of communication
Workshops explore the benefits of Universal Design to prevent expensive refits later in the deployment of accessibility features in standards by designing from the beginning for the inclusion of persons with disabilities
Workshops provide experts to share knowledge and good practices to further work on including persons with disabilities into the standardization of multimedia, as mandated by the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (article 9 of the UNCRPD)
Workshops provide a showcase for accessibility services and devices currently on the market and under development by the private sector and research institutes
ITU Workshop on Making Media Accessible to all: the options and the economics (October 2013)

27. HOW TO CONTRIBUTE
Propose topics and provide panelists for workshops and related events to further assist in educating the public on the need for Universal Design and the mainstreaming of accessibility into standardization

28. … and some demos on audiovisual work 1/3

29. … and some demos on audiovisual work 2/3

30. … and some demos on audiovisual work 3/3

31. By working with us on making technology accessible to all and including persons with disabilities, we are connecting the world. Help us in this valuable work by joining us at the ITU. Thank you