Workshop: Workshop 1

The workshop focused on policy measures addressing the theme of eAccessibility, which concerns issues of access for people with disabilities to ICTs and to the wider services of the Information Society. ICT has the potential of improving the life quality, the participation and effective freedom of people with disabilities. This potential tends, however, not to be fully realised in practice, even in affluent and highly developed societies.

The workshop made a significant contribution to improved understanding of what combination of policy measures is most suitable to achieve an information society for all. Eminent international experts in law and social sciences explained to the participants international developments in social regulation and redistribution policy to promote eAccessibility for people with disabilities.

The workshop was organized as a series of paper presentations and discussions. A number of national experts presented their findings from social science and legal studies of policy measures to promote eAccessibility in North America, Israel and Europe.

Objectives:

The following questions were discussed:

• What systems of legal regulation, financial support schemes, persuasion, information and awareness rising campaigns, and negotiations have been adopted?
• What experiences have been made with these in relation to the objectives of promoting universal design, product development and inventions in ICT that are useful for people with disabilities?
• Is it possible to identify legal strategies that are more efficient than others?
• Under which conditions do international conventions and super-national legislation (EU, UN) contribute to the strengthening of the rights of people with impairments with regard to universal design?
• Which factors promote or hamper innovative ideas within ICT from being given practical development and put in production?
• Which procedures exist to identify new and unmet needs in this area, and which appear to be most suitable?
• Which experiences do people with disabilities make with ICT in working life, education and everyday life?
• What are the monetary cost and benefit of introducing statutory accessibility requirements to ICT for public and private enterprises?
• Do statutory accessibility requirements hamper market competition and development for ICT manufacturers and providers of ICT-based goods and services?

Structure

The workshop was organised as a series of paper presentations and discussions. A number of national experts presented their findings from social science and legal studies of policy measures to promote eAccessibility in the USA, Canada, Israel and Europe.

Participants

The workshop was open to all.

Organizers

The international project Digital freedom for people with disabilities in the 21st century, funded by the Research Council of Norway, The Welfare Research Programme, and administrated by NTNU Social Research. Professors Peter Blanck and Gerard Quinn co-direct the legal part of the project. More information about the project is available at www.electronicfreedomproject.org

Schedule

Monday 14:45 – 16:15

14:45-14:50 Rune Halvorsen, NTNU Social Research, Norway: Introduction: The Digital Freedom Project

14:50 – 15:30 Ann Lawson, Leeds University Law School. UK: The Digital Freedom of Disabled People in the UK: Progress and Problems

15:30 – 16.15 Patricia Bregman, barrister and solicitor in disability law, Canada: True Citizenship - open government for all - the Canadian experience

Monday 16:30 – 18:00

16:30 - 17:15 Steven Sintini. Web & ICT Accesssibility Specialist, Italy: Legislation on eAccessibility: the Italian approach

17:15 - 17:45 Erkki Kemppainen. STAKES, Finland: How Policy and Legislative Measures promote eInclusion in Contemporary Finland

17:45 - 18:00 Hans von Axelson, Swedish Agency for Disability Policy Coordination, Handisam & Lars Lindberg, Ministry of Social Affairs, Sweden. Accessibility and ICT-the Swedish experience

Tuesday 13:00 – 15:00

13:00 - 13:30 Rónán Kennedy, National University of Ireland, Law faculty, Galway: Digital Freedom for Persons with Disabilities in Ireland

13:30 – 14:00 Mark Magennis, Centre for Inclusive Technology, National Council for the Blind of Ireland: The Purpose and Design of an Irish Accessibility ICT Procurement Toolkit.

14:00 – 14:30 Rudolph Brynn, National Centre for Documentation of Disability, Norway: The Principle of Design for all – interpretations and policy implications

14:30 – 15:00 Concluding discussion: Invited comments by Peter Blanck (Syracus University) and Arie Rimmerman (Haifa University).

Contact Rune Halvorsen at runeh (at) svt.ntnu.no for further information.