1. 3rd Annual International Conference on ICT4PWDs: Inclusion, Empowerment and Participation 13 April 2014, Cairo, Egypt ITU ICT Accessibility for ALL
Malcolm Johnson, Director 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

3. ITU’s Global Presence

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
The General Secretariat provides intersectoral coordination
for the whole organization

6. ITU-R: Radiocommunication Sector
Manages the radio-frequency spectrum and satellite orbits

7. ITU-D: Development Sector
Assists the development of ICTs in the developing world

8. ITU-T: Standardization Sector
Produces international standards covering all fields of telecommunications. Defines tariff and accounting principles for international telecommunication services

9. Accessibility – some facts
More than 1 billion people with disabilities in the world (Source: UN)
80% of persons with disabilities live in low income countries (Source: UNDP)
Low income countries, 90% of children with disabilities do not have access to school (Source: UNESCO)
Among people living below the poverty level, 1 out of 5 is a person with disability (Source: World Bank)
ICTs are a powerful equalizer of abilities, empowering persons with disabilities to fulfill their potential, dreams and ambitions.
UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities obliges signatories to provide public information in formats appropriate to different kinds of disabilities.

10. ITU and Accessibility
Champions principles of Universal Design enshrined in the UN Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Includes accessibility features in all standards
Strong advocacy focus
Regular workshops 10

11. ITU-D’s Activities in Promoting Accessible ICTs
ITU-G3ict e-accessibility tool-kit
Making Mobile Phones and Services Accessible Report
Making TV Accessible Report
Model ICT Accessibility Policy Report – under development

12. Model ICT Accessibility Policy Report
Provides policy guidelines and legal and regulatory framework
Will help policy makers and regulators develop policies and regulations
Modular design includes stand-alone sections on policies for:
Public access accessibility
Mobile accessibility
TV accessibility
Web accessibility
Public procurement
Identifies and explains changes needed for existing legislation
Reviewed by ICT accessibility experts and stakeholders
Planned for publication in 2014

13. TV Accessibility ITU-T work focuses on how to ensure AVM accessibility
ITU-D work focuses on creating an enabling environment to ensure stakeholders act to ensure TV accessibility
Big role for Government, parliamentarians, broadcast policy makers and regulators in developing national policies, laws and regulations
Facilitated by migration to digital broadcasting

14. Why is standardization important?
International Standards essential in a complex world
Standards make things easier
Essential for international communications … and global trade
Drive competitiveness
… efficiency, responsiveness and innovation
Standards provide interoperability and economies of scale
Lower prices and increase availability by reducing technical barriers and promoting compatibility between systems and networks
Manufacturers, network operators and consumers benefit

15. Why standardization and accessibility
Information handling capability varies for all ICT users
Everyone can benefit from accessibility standards
ITU-T’s accessibility work ensures that all newly developed standards contain the necessary elements to make services and features usable for people with as broad range of capabilities as possible
Standards should also describe suitable methods of media delivery for people with disabilities, and are therefore essential for the provision of services accessible for all

16. WTSA Resolution on Accessibility
Resolution 70 encourages more work in the field of ICT accessibility for persons with disabilities
invites the Director of the Telecommunication Standardization Bureau
To identify and document examples of best practice for accessibility
To review the accessibility of ITU-T services and facilities
To work collaboratively on accessibility-related activities… that enable developing countries to introduce services that allow persons with disabilities to utilize telecommunication services effectively
To work collaboratively and cooperatively with other standardization organizations and disability organizations

17. ITU Accessibility landmarks
First international standards body to address accessibility issues - in 1991
1994 the international text telephone standard, Recommendation ITU-T V.18, was published
A major landmark tying together text telephone protocols allowing different - previously incompatible - textphones in different countries to communicate
Since then, ITU-T’s accessibility experts have helped to incorporate accessibility needs into standards for:
Multimedia
Network interoperability
Multimedia service descriptions
Multimedia conferencing
Next generation networks (NGN)

18. 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”

19. Total Conversation Recommendation ITU-T F.703
An audiovisual conversation service providing bidirectional symmetric real-time transfer of motion video, text and voice

20. 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 audio visual content

21. ITU recognizes dedication to accessibility cause
2008 World Telecommunication & Information Society Day
Connecting Persons with Disabilities: ICT Opportunities for All
Helped raise awareness of the role of ICTs
Laureat: Andrea Saks, key person in ITU work
Andrea Saks

22. FOR A DISABILITY- INCLUSIVE DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK
THE ICT OPPORTUNITY
FOR A DISABILITY- INCLUSIVE DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK

23. High Level Meeting on Disability and Development (HLMDD) 23 September 2013
This action-oriented document includes strong a strong provision on ICTs, urging states to. . .
(e) Ensure accessibility, following the universal design approach, by removing barriers to the physical environment, … services, information and assistive devices, such as ICTs, … to achieve the fullest potential throughout the whole life cycle of persons with disabilities;
A meeting of UN Member States, observers and representatives of entities of the United Nations system, as well as representatives of civil society, organizations of persons with disabilities and the private sector.
Resulting in an action-oriented Outcome Document in support of development goals for persons with disabilities, agreed upon by the global community and outlining actions to be taken.
(o) Encourage the mobilization of public and private resources on a sustainable basis to mainstream disability in development at all levels, … including by facilitating access to and sharing accessible and assistive technologies…;

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

25. Accessibility Apps Showcase

26. Work with us in ITU to make ICTs accessible to all and help us to truly connect the world Malcolm Johnson Thank you

27. ITU-T work on accessibility
Joint coordination activity on accessibility and human factors (JCA-AHF)
Intersector Rapporteur Group on Audiovisual Media Accessibility (IRG-AVA) (launched 25 February 2014) NEW!
Dynamic Coalition on Accessibility and Disabilities, under the Internet Governance Forum
Study Group 16 - Multimedia - lead ITU study group on telecommunication/ICT accessibility for persons with disabilities
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
ITU-T Focus Group on Audiovisual Media Accessibility (FG AVA) (concluded Oct. 2013)