UN wants to expand digital accessibility for people with disabilities

 

Brazilian Law of Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities demands that governments and companies accelerate inclusion

 
The speed of the digital transformation process has demanded policies and initiatives that promote accessibility for people with disabilities, in order to expand the integration of this significant portion of the population in the digital age, estimated at 15% of the global population, and allow the use of new technologies day to day.
 
This challenging scenario was the central theme of the meeting held on March 10 at the ABES headquarters in São Paulo, which was attended by James Thurston, Vice President of Strategy and Development at G3ict – Global Initiative for Inclusive ICTs, arm of the UN - United Nations Organization for the implementation of the Digital Accessibility Agenda of the International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (http://g3ict.org); Cid Torquato, deputy secretary of the State Secretariat for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities of São Paulo; the executive president of ABES, Jorge Sukarie; and representatives of member companies.
 
Created 10 years ago, the G3ict – Global Initiative for Inclusive ICTs aims to help civil society, government and industry to design and implement good policies and practices that promote digital accessibility.
 
“There are two forces that drive advances in this area: public policies and the market. In recent years, we have seen individual sectors and industries implement excellent projects and begin to lead the changes. Banks, for example, made electronic terminals more accessible. But there is a lot to go forward,” explained Thurston. The International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has about 160 signatory countries, including Brazil.
 
digital accessibility
 
To monitor the evolution of digital inclusion, G3ict carried out a detailed survey of the main advances in assistive technology in the world, which involves the availability of software and hardware. The inclusion of closed captioning or sign language by TV broadcasters is one of the points that has progressed the most.

“It is worth noting that these technologies also benefit older people and the life perspective of the population on the planet has been expanded. People with disabilities and the elderly represent an excellent opportunity for innovation by the industry, as they are consumer audiences. In addition, national governments are major buyers of these innovations,” said Thurston. Microsoft, AT&T, Lloyds Bank, IBM and Barclays Bank are companies that have established themselves as references in digital accessibility best practices.
 
In addition to being a signatory of the convention, Brazil has, since July 2015, the Brazilian Law for the Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities (Statute of Persons with Disabilities), which entered into force on January 2, 2016. “We want to promote debate of digital accessibility in the country, to increase knowledge of legal aspects and adequacy needs, even of the websites of organizations and governments that need to be accessible. The Public Ministry has already started to receive demands and there are punishments foreseen in the statute. The work we try to do at the secretary is to guide, promote the digital inclusion of people with disabilities and discuss the gaps that exist”, explained Cid Torquato, assistant secretary of the State Secretariat for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities of São Paulo.
 
The president of ABES, Jorge Sukarie, thanked James Thurston and Cid Torquato for their presence at the meeting and highlighted that ABES is available to contribute and encourage the engagement of software and service companies in the digital accessibility process, through the dissemination of projects and the statute, promotion of new meetings and identification of partnerships, among other activities.