IGF 2019

ICT accessibility in education and employment (DCAD workshop)
Theme: Digital Inclusion
Subtheme(s): Accessibility
Design for Inclusion
Digital Divide

Organizer 1: Gunela Astbrink, Internet Society Accessibility Special Interest Group
Organizer 2: G. Anthony Giannoumis, Oslo Metropolitan University
Organizer 3: Andrea Saks

Speaker 1: Jorge Manhique, Civil Society, African Group
Speaker 2: Patrick Ojok, Academia, African Group
Speaker 3: Peter Crosbie, Civil Society, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)
Speaker 4: Anne Igeltjorn, Technical Community, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)

Key Contributor:
Abdoulaye Dembele, Civil Society, African Group
 
Policy Questions: 
1. What are the societal and cultural factors that become barriers in accessing education and employment for people with disability?
2. How do we ensure that physical accessibility to schools, universities and places of employment is linked with digital accessibility for people with disability?
3. Do user interfaces and websites help or hamper people with disability in improving their productivity in education and employment?
4. How can the global south influence ICT accessibility standards?
5. What is the way forward to remove the barriers in education and employment of people with disability?

Relevance to Theme: Accessibility for people with disability is fundamental to digital inclusion. Improved educational and employment opportunities are needed for equal participation of persons with disability in society. People with disability are, according to WHO, about 1.5 billion or 15% of the world’s population.
With technology being an integral part of education and employment, this roundtable is highly relevant to the theme of digital inclusion.

Relevance to Internet Governance: Education and employment are fundamental rights as outlined in Articles 23 and 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It enhances a human being’s sense of worth and belonging in society and contributes to the individual’s and a community’s social capital.
International instruments such as SDGs and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities (UNCRPD) promote the accessibility of educational and employment opportunities for people with disability. The UNCRPD’s Article 9 on ICT accessibility and W3C's Web Content Accessibility Guidelines are clearly relevant to Internet Governance.

Format: Round Table - U-shape - 60 Min

Description: The roundtable will stimulate a wide-ranging discussion on addressing critical policy questions. The roundtable topic will be introduced and explained to set the scene. Speakers will be introduced and will give short opening statements of around two minutes each. The moderator will then lead the discussion based on the policy questions. The moderator will encourage participants to give case studies and examples to illustrate policy points.
For example, as students, accessibility or rather inaccessibility of online learning platforms is an issue that people with disability have to face. Some workplaces increasingly make use of online forums for performance, communication and collaboration for employees. The inaccessibility of these forums is creating a new set of problems for persons with disability.
When accessibility is considered as part of mainstream design considerations, it benefits many groups in many different situations. This is referred to as universal or inclusive design.
The roundtable will have a strong focus on issues in the global south. The discussion will be framed in terms of how accessibility and universal design of technologies are addressed in policy and legislation in the global south and will also offer practical examples of accessibility issues for staff and students in Ugandan public universities.
Understanding the practicalities of accessibility helps to focus policy debate. Once all the policy questions have been addressed, the moderator will summarise the main discussion points especially in terms of moving forward with key strategies to improve digital accessibility to education and employment for people with disability. The roundtable will conclude with closing remarks.
Agenda
Introduction and scene-setting – 3 minutes
Opening statements by speakers – 15 minutes
Guided discussion and debate based on policy questions - 35 minutes
Summary of discussion – 5 minutes
Closing remarks – 2 minutes

Expected Outcomes: The expected robust discussion in the roundtable should lead to a number of strategies to guide further policy discussions in removing barriers to accessing education and employment for people with disability. This will be documented and further discussed in forthcoming DCAD meetings.

Onsite Moderators:
Gunela Astbrink, Civil Society, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)
Judy Okite, Civil Society, African Group
Online Moderator: Judith Hellerstein, Private Sector, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)
Online Participation:

The workshop will use the ITU Guidelines for supporting remote participation in meetings for all (http://www.itu.int/pub/T-TUT-FSTP-2015-ACC).

SDGs:
GOAL 4: Quality Education
GOAL 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
GOAL 10: Reduced Inequalities
GOAL 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
GOAL 17: Partnerships for the Goals