1. Global Trends in Accessibility Public Policy James Thurston Vice President for Global Strategy & Development G3ict – the Global Initiative for Inclusive ICTs @jamesthu@g3ict

2. G3ict’s Global Purpose History: Formed in December 2006 at time of adoption of the CRPD by the United Nations General Assembly Mission: To promote the accessibility of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) as per CRPD requirements Approach: Partner with UN agencies, Disabled Persons Organizations (DPOs), National Governments, Industry, and Standards Development Organizations. Leverage global experts.

3. Global Impact by Supporting Advocates & Policy Makers (1) Model policies for States Parties with UNESCO and ITU – Inclusive ICTs for Education (With UNESCO)- March 2014 – Legal framework, TV, Mobile, Web, Public Procurement, Public Access Points (With ITU) – November 2014 Direct Advising to & Partnering with Governments – E.g. Mexico, Turkey, United States, Australia, European Union, South Africa, Qatar, Russia, Egypt, Colombia, etc. Benchmarking – 76 countries participating in G3ict CRPD ICT Accessibility Progress Report representing more than 80% of the population of ratifying countries Technical reports & good practices – E.g.TV, Mobile, USF, IoT, AT&T accessibility, political participation

4. Global Impact by Supporting Advocates & Policy Makers (2) New Accessibility Worldview global policy tracking service Promoting innovation: M-Enabling Summit – 500 participants in 2015 in the U.S. + global sessions (Sydney, Milan, Moscow) Awareness Raising and on-line resources – Contributions to more than 125 international events – 60,000 annual unique visitors to G3ict web site – 23,000 downloads & 12,000 annual unique visitors to the G3ict-ITU Policy Toolkit Capacity building programs – Seminars for Disabled Persons Organizations leaders – Deliver UNPRPD funded programs with UNICEF and UNESCO

5. Policy Matters: Driving Global Digital Inclusion & Human Rights

6. UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CPRD) Opened for signature on March 30, 2007 Entered into force on May 3, 2008 As of October 15, 2015 – CRPD Treaty 160 Signatories 159 Ratifications – Optional Protocol 92 Signatories 88 Ratifications

7. CRPD & ICT Accessibility Preamble – defines accessibility as an enabler for exercising rights Article 3 (f) – identifies accessibility as one of its 8 general principles – E.g. non-discrimination, equal opportunity, full participation in society, etc. Article 9 - includes ICT in its definition of Accessibility & elevates ICT Accessibility obligations on par with those for the built environment and transportation Access/Accessible/Accessibility – 17 uses throughout the CRPD CRPD Requires States Parties to: – Adopt accessibility standards – Ensure that public and private sector entities implement ICT accessibility for services to the public – Promote the usage of new technologies and the Internet by Persons with Disabilities Other CRPD articles reinforce the obligation of ICT accessibility for freedom of expression, work, education, assistive technologies, and reasonable accommodation

8. Accessibility Requirements Throughout the CRPD Application AreasCRPD Article Accessibility Dispositions with Implications for ICTs Reasonable Accommodation Promoting Assistive Technologies Non- discrimination5 Y E-Government9.2.aY Media and Internet9.1, 9,2.gY Television30.1.bY Private Sector Services 9.2.bY Liberty and Security14 Y Living Independently19 Y Education24YYY Employment27YY Political Rights21, 29Y Y Emergency Services9.1.b, 11Y Culture and Leisure30.5.cY Personal Mobility20 Y Rehabilitation2 Y

9. Global Policy Insights & Trends via G3ict CRPD Progress Report Survey Accessibility Worldview Service Global Network of >1100 Experts Global Development Survey In Country Experience

10. G3ict’s CRPD Progress Report Systematic review of global progress on CRPD implementation – ICT components 2013 Survey: 76 countries – 74 CRPD ratifying countries in-country advocates (+ US and Cook Islands) – Covers 72% of world population; 81% of population of ratifying countries Two questionnaires per country – Legal experts – Accessibility experts – Complemented by local peer reviews 57 data points across 3 “Legs” – Country commitments: Country legal, regulatory and programmatic implementations (35) – Country capacity to implement (12) – Country actual results for PWDs (10)

11. G3ict’s CRPD Progress Report: Across All Regions

12. G3ict’s CRPD Progress Report: Across All Levels of Development

13. CRPD Alignment, Compliance, and Capacity to Implement Adopting CRPD Policies? Future Progress? Avg degree of ACC across ICT products and services

14. CRPD Alignment, Compliance, & Capacity to Implement: By Region

15. CRPD Alignment: Avg Level of Existing Accessibility

16. CRPD Alignment: How Accessible is the World Today? Does Your Country Have…Yes Closed Captioning or Sign Language Interpretation for Broadcast TV71% Sign Language for News, Emergency Comms, Important Announcements62% Libraries for the Blind or Public Libraries Providing e-Book Services59% AT Available to Students with Disabilities at Major Universities52% Government Websites that are Accessible45% Wireless Telephone Handsets with Accessibility Features Available45% Accessible Public Electronic Kiosks or ATMs Deployed in Country39% Programs to Promote Use of Telephony by Persons with Disabilities26% Closed Captioning or Sign Language Interpretation for Pre-recorded TV24% Closed Captioning or Sign Language Interpretation for Live TV Programs20% Accessible Web Among Top 10 Commercial and Media Web Sites19% Video or Audio Description by Broadcast TV17%

17. Avg Degree of CRPD Compliance in Laws, Regulations, and Policies

18. CRPD Compliance: Degrees of Accessibility Policy Implementation Policies Covering Specific ICT Products & Services No Policy Minimum Partial Substantial Full Copyrights Exceptions84%7%6%3%0% ATM or Kiosks68%19%10%0%3% Fixed line Telephony62%14%15%7%1% Wireless Telephony61%18%13%4% Web Sites51%30%12%7%0% Television28%50%16%6%0%

19. CRPD Compliance: Degrees of Reasonable Accommodation Policy AT & Reasonable Accommodation Policies in Specific Application Areas No Policy Minimum Partial Substantial Full Teleworking76%8%10%4%1% Emergency Response Services60%16%11%10%3% Voting Systems59%12%19%8%1% Primary & Secondary Education41%23%25%11%0% Higher Education49%22% 7%0% Workplace44%26%19%11%0%

20. ICT Public Procurement Policies Key to Promoting Digital Inclusion Only 33% of countries explicitly focus on accessible ICTs in their public procurement policies and processes. Much of the current & expected future policy activity related to public procurement G3ict Model Public Procurement Policy with ITU New G3ict Initiative to Promote Public procurement policies – Public Procurement Polices work – We have the opportunity to enact effective policies beyond the US & EU – The tools necessary exist today - except for an int’l ICT accessibility standard – Industry, government, and civil society can drive the expeditious creation of an int’l standard by leveraging existing standards – EN 301 549 – Civil society has a key role in pushing for inclusive ICT procurement policies Need a roadmap for government, civil society, and industry collaboration to drive global public procurement policies

21. AVG Degree of Capacity to Support CRPD Implementation

22. CRPD Capacity: Policies & Programs to Support Implementation Does Your Country Have…Yes A Government Body Dedicated to Persons with Disabilities79% Any Government Fund Allocated for Digital Accessibility33% A Systematic Review of Existing Accessibility Legislation & Policy20% Data Available to Public about Digital Access by Persons with Disabilities9% Financial Support for DPOs and NGOS working on Digital Accessibility34% Forum for Cooperation between NGOs working on Digital Accessibility24% Mechanism to Involve DPOs in the Full Legislative & Policy Process13% Awards & Recognition for Persons with Disabilities for Accessibility Work12% Participation in Accessibility Work at International Standards Bodies42% Civil Society Accessibility Conferences in the Past Two Years37% Any Technical Assistance Centers28% Mandatory Accessibility Training Programs in Higher Education11%

23. What Factors Drive CRPD Success?* A government body specifically dedicated to Persons with Disabilities A systematic mechanism to involve the DPOs (persons with disabilities) to the drafting, designing, implementation and evaluation of laws and policies Financial support for DPOs and NGOs A forum for active cooperation between DPOs & NGOs Awareness raising and training programs about the CRPD Country participation in international standards development work related to Digital Accessibility * Factors identified through regression analysis for significance (2012)

24. Accessibility Worldview: Tracking Global Policy Hot Spots Curated & Prioritized Summary of Active & Impending Global Accessibility Policy Activity Active in Every Global Region Global Network of More than 1000 Experts More than 1 Million Daily News Items Continuous Policy Sweeps leading to validated and prioritized bi-weekly reports of global ICT accessibility policy and standards activities. Customizable reports to align policy intelligence with business priorities. Multiple key technology areas (e.g. web, cloud, mobile, etc.) application domains (e.g. Education, financial services, procurement, etc.), and top global markets that matter most to business. Annual Global Trends Report summarizing proprietary G3ict survey findings on ICT accessibility status in 87 countries. Up to 12 hours of analyst assistance.

25. Accessibility Worldview Top 20 Markets & Beyond Australia Brazil Canada China European Union France Germany India Italy Japan Mexico Poland Republic of Korea Russia South Africa Spain Sweden The Netherlands Turkey United Kingdom United States Argentina Azerbaijan Bangladesh Belarus Cambodia Cameroon Chile Croatia Denmark Ghana India Indonesia Iran Kenya Kyrgyzstan Lebanon Malaysia Malta Namibia Nepal New Zealand Nigeria Oman Pakistan Panama Philippines Poland Portugal Singapore Solomon Islands Sri Lanka Thailand United Arab Emirates And more…

26. Accessibility Worldview Global Policy Hot Spots European Union Multilateral April-Sept, 2015

27. Accessibility Worldview Finding & Forecasting Policy Making Priority One: Active Policy Making Priority Two: Expected Policy Making April to September, 2015

28. Accessibility Worldview: Priority One Examples - Active Brazil (09/15): Human Rights Commission acting on 9 legislative items: e.g. ATMs, public internet portals, Financial Services, audio manuals for ICT products. France (09/15): “Digital Republic” online consultation includes a section on digital inclusion and proposal for digital agency with accessibility obligations. French Telecom Federation opposes parts. Scotland (09/15): New consultation (until 4 January 2016) to deliver on CRPD commitments, e.g. inclusive communication, employment, and education. Parallel consultation by local governments. South Africa (09/15): Department of Trade and Industry consultation on the Copyright Amendment Bill, includes focus on increasing accessibility of education and learning materials. India (08/15): Accessible India national campaign includes making 3,000 public sector websites accessible by the end of 2016. Latin America (08/15): 18 countries approve “Digital Agenda for Latin America”, including focus on inclusion of vulnerable groups.

29. Accessibility Worldview: Priority Two Examples - Expected Canada (09/15): Canada's largest DPOs call for a Canadians with Disabilities Act. EU (09/15): Recent CRPD review expresses concerns over lack of a cross-cutting, comprehensive disability approach. Australia (09/15): Youth Commissioner in state of Tasmania calls for improvements to and better funding for inclusive education. Canada (09/15): DPOs recognize elections accessibility improvements since push began 1.5y ago. Germany (09/15): New Bertelsmann Foundation study shows education for children and young people with disabilities is not consistently improving. India (09/15): Nearly 100 cities competing for “Smart Cities” funds. Program calls for policy changes to promote the use of smart/sustainable technologies.

30. Accessibility Worldview: Mexico April to September 2015 October Priority 1 G3ict has learned directly from government contacts that there will be a new web accessibility requirement August Priority 1 IFT Consultation on new telcom accessibility requirements. G3ict met with them and asked to submit comments Priority 2 DPO calls for policies to support access to info Priority 2 Increasing distance education provides opportunity for accessibility July Priority 1 ratify Marrakech treaty June Priority 1 Senate proposal for reforms to make written materials more accessible Priority 3 UAM prototypes accessible gov’t web portal May Priority 1 Calls for more accessibility in EDU ministry tablet procurement program Priority 1 NEI taking steps to improve voting accessibility

31. Accessibility Worldview: Priority One - Active Policy Making Application Area 14% e.g. youth, financial services, EMS, political processes, etc.

32. Accessibility Worldview: Priority Two - Expected Policy Making

33. Accessibility Worldview: Trends in the Global Activity DPOs are increasingly engaged in policy making – In 9% of our Accessibility Worldview global policy items More policy making at the subnational level (e.g. States, cities, etc.) – 6% of our Accessibility Worldview global policy items Shift from regulating devices & technologies to promoting accessible technology use in key application areas and sectors – Procurement is key in those areas Policy activity is no longer just US and EU – LATAM surging & Africa poised to grow

34. Moving Forward: Promoting Accessibility Policies Update legal framework to include ICTs in legal definition of accessibility – 50% of countries define accessibility in law to include ICT & electronic media Promote disability-inclusive policies and programs identified as priority areas by key stakeholders – Top areas of greatest policy impact are web, mobile, & TV – G3ict-ITU Model policies for each area Move beyond technology and product specific policies to initiatives that expand deployment & use of accessible technology Address gaps in capacity through multi-stakeholder programs Leverage public sector purchasing power to drive accessibility innovation & competition – international standards are key –

35. Moving Forward: 4 Big Accessibility Policy Challenges 1.Disability Data Divide – Personal tech generating more data – Data informing policy – But not everyone using tech or creating data 2.Global Development Agenda – 80% of 1 Billion in Global South – MDGs silent & SDGs marginally better 3.Role of DPOs – CRPD core principle – Proven success criterion 4.Business Case for Accessibility

36. Thank You! James Thurston www.g3ict.org jthurston@g3ict.org @jamesthu