At the kind invitation of the administration of Mali ITU will organize a two and
a half day workshop on Accessibility in Bamako, Mali, from 13 to 15 October 2009.
The event will promote awareness of the needs of persons with disabilities in terms
of access to ICTs.
Objectives:
The workshop will discuss current trends and the future for accessibility to ICTs in ITU, with a focus on ITU-T’s standardization work in the field. It will act as an excellent networking platform for experts and other interested parties, and aims to help build national capacities for accessible ICTs in African countries. A key aim will be to identify the problems associated with the application of ICTs to peoples with disabilities.
The need to identify requirements for future accessibility standards will be addressed. Participants will be asked to share experiences and best practices for ICT policies, strategies and services, to meet the needs of persons with disabilities.
Open to all, the event is expected to attract technical organizations, governments, service providers, and industry leaders but also representatives of the civil society and NGOs. Participation by persons with disabilities is strongly encouraged in order that their needs can be properly understood.
Member States and regulators will be asked to take into account accessibility standards while the private sector will be encouraged to incorporate accessibility and Universal Design principles from the very beginning of standardization studies.
An excellent opportunity for the African countries to continue to share their experiences in the field of Accessibility and ICTs, as was done in Lusaka in July 2008, and
A good occasion to review the achievements of the ITU-T work following the approval at WTSA-08 of the Resolution 70 (“Telecommunication/information and communication technology accessibility for persons with disabilities”).
