E-Access Bulletin Live

A coalition of Canadian disability organisations is set to hear if it has been successful in obtaining funding to create one of the world’s leading bodies promoting access to broadcasting services.

The Access 2020 Coalition ( www.mediac.ca/proj-Access2020.asp ), led by the non-profit body Media Access Canada, has asked the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to support the proposal as part of the conditions the commission is set to attach to its approval of a TV network takeover.
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Two per cent of US adults – six million people – have a disability that makes it difficult or impossible for them to use the internet, according to new research on the technology habits and abilities of disabled US citizens.

The survey by the Pew Research Center ( bit.ly/i0hWaq ), a non-partisan body conducting social science research, also found that Americans with a disability are less likely than other adults to use the internet, with just 54% of US adults with a disability (around 45 million people) reporting themselves as going online, compared with 81% of non-disabled adults.

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By Tristan Parker

The spectre of public spending cuts hovered darkly over last month’s Vision for Equality Conference in London, organised by the charity Guide Dogs ( www.guidedogs.org.uk ).

With much discussion on access to transport, delegates heard that many positive changes have already taken place, such as personal assistants being made available for visually impaired people on London Underground Tube trains.
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The Canadian Federal Government is appealing against the recent court ruling which branded its websites not fully accessible to disabled citizens and ordered it to remedy the problem.

As previously reported in E-Access Bulletin ( see issue 132: www.headstar.com/eablive/?p=511 ), Donna Jodhan, a blind accessibility consultant, successfully sued the government over the inaccessibility of its websites after she was unable to apply for a government job online or access certain other information.
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The installation of digital ‘wayfinding’ technologies to help blind people find their way around railways stations and other public spaces might not be cost-effective for five years or more, a leading expert has told E-Access Bulletin.

Dr John Gill, a consultant and former RNIB chief scientist, was speaking following the publication of a report on the operation and management of wayfinding systems by the Rail Safety and Standards Board, a non-profit rail industry body ( bit.ly/fQIyeW ).
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A proposal for a ‘European Accessibility Act’, which will include accessibility measures on ICT and websites, will be put forward during 2012, European Commission Vice-President Viviane Reding has confirmed.

The act, part of actions following on from a wider European Disability Strategy ( bit.ly/fDCRlP ) unveiled last year, will be based on an upcoming commission study of accessibility barriers for disabled citizens across Europe. The study will cover access to public services, public buildings and transport, as well as other areas.
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By Donna Jodhan

As I sit here in my favourite chair listening to the cold Canadian winter wind beat softly against my windows, I am aware that snowflakes are falling gently outside, and I can hear the crunch of boots against firmly-packed snow on the ground. It’s time for me to start imagining and dreaming; maybe it’s the time of year that does this to me, but boy, is it fun to do.

This evening, I am going to use the flickering lights of my Christmas tree to help put me in the mood and I would like to dream a bit about what it could be like for blind people if access technology were able to communicate more effectively with mainstream technology, as well as with websites.

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By Dan Jellinek.

This has been a busy year for Diane Mulligan.

At the start of 2010 Mulligan was awarded an OBE for services to disabled people and equal opportunities. Last week, she was back at Buckingham Palace for a reception held by the Queen for the Diplomatic Corps. In-between, she has been spearheading a campaign to improve the rights of disabled people in developing countries, in her role as Global Disability Advisor for international charity Sightsavers.
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The latest version of an open source audio recording tool designed to allow anyone to produce DAISY format electronic books has been released by the global DAISY Consortium of blindness organisations, publishers, technology companies and others.

DAISY (digital accessible information system) books created with the Obi 1.2 software ( bit.ly/fqzspr ) can contain chapters, sub-sections and pages, allowing users with print disabilities to easily navigate through the content. The Obi tool is also fully accessible to screen-readers.
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Digitisation of government services must not take place at the expense of increased exclusion of people with disabilities, a leading national policy adviser has told E-Access Bulletin.

Felicity Shaw is senior policy advisor for Race Online 2012, a campaign headed by the UK’s Digital Champion Martha Lane Fox to bring online the nine million people in the country who have never used the internet ( raceonline2012.org ).
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