SPECIAL EVENT SESSION

Launching presentation and ceremony
of the
Global Initiative for Inclusive ICTs
& International Telecommunication Union
Toolkit

Implementing the Digital Accessibility Agenda of the
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

Abstract

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) has been signed by 137 countries since its opening for signatures on 31 March 2007, one of the fastest rates of adoption among recent international treaties developed in the context of the United Nations. Among the most innovative and far reaching dispositions of the Convention is its definition of Accessibility Rights, which include Information and Communication Technologies and applications, at par with the physical environment and transportation. As a result, all mandates of the Convention regarding accessibility cover ICT applications.
In this special session, G3ict, the Global Initiative for Inclusive ICTs, launched by the United Nations Global Alliance for ICT and Development in December 2006 in support of the Convention, will officially launch three new resources developed by G3ict to monitor and implement the Digital Accessibility Agenda of the Convention:
a) a country self-assessment tool for governments interested in identifying areas of opportunities to implement the Digital Accessibility Agenda of the Convention;
b) a benchmarking tool, the “Digital Accessibility and Inclusion Index for Persons with Disabilities”
c) a live interactive database for policy makers, the “Toolkit on e-Accessibility and Service Needs for People with Disabilities.”

Speakers

• Ambassador Luis Gallegos, Chairman of the Special Committee of the United Nations General Assembly for the preparation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
• Axel Leblois, co-founder and executive director of G3ict.
• Mr. Kevin Carey, Chairman, Royal National Institute for Blind People and member of the board of the World Blind Union.
• Mr. Donal Rice, ICT accessibility Expert of the National Disability Authority of the Republic of Ireland.
• Susan Schorr, International Telecommunication Union, Head a.i., Special Initiatives Division, Developement Sector.
• Mr. James Thurston, Senior Strategist, Microsoft Corporation.
• Mr. Hiroshi Kawamura, President, DAISY Consortium.
• Mr. Richard Scherdtfeger, IBM Accessibility Architecture Review Board.

Panelists

• Dr. Imedidine Chaker, Tunisian Union of the blind and head of the Arab organization of disabled.
• Dr. Lotfi Ben Lellahom, Head of « Institut Supérieur de Promotion des Handicapés.
• Dr. Mohamed Jemni, Head of Laboratory UTIC.
• Mrs Zulaikha Belkahia, Head of Tunisian association to help the Deaf.
• Prof. Farouk Kammoun, University of Manouba, Tunisia .