The side event 'Digital inclusion for persons with disabilities' will be held on the 6 April from 08:30 to 09:45 CET virtually, within the framework of the 2022 UN Regional Forum for Sustainable Development (RFSD) for the UNECE region.
The side event is organized by the ITU Regional Ofice for CIS and supported by UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education. The session will benefit from Russian-English interpretation.
The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the shortcomings and inequalities in the education, and persons with disabilities (PWD) appeared in the most vulnerable situation. The information society provides PWD with significant opportunities for lifelong learning and also, through obtaining relevant digital skills (SDG4, target 4.4), for employment. In this context, ICT-accessibility plays a critical role. Strengthening digital skills and practical means to achieve real digital inclusion is set as a priority topic for the CIS countries at the forthcoming ITU World Telecommunication Development Conference (June 2022).
In 2021, ITU Regional Office for CIS conducted a holistic overview of the ICT accessibility policy and regulatory frameworks in European and Central Asian countries of the region, which serves to provide advice to policy-makers and stakeholders throughout the region in the form of good practices and recommendations to identify and eliminate obstacles and barriers to accessibility, notably to information, communications and other services, including electronic services and emergency services.
The latest UNESCO IITE policy brief on impact of the pandemic on PWD in education places special emphasis on the feasible approaches, means and solutions to maintain continuity of and achieve authentic inclusion in the education of persons with disabilities through alternative delivery modalities, most notably via open and distance learning.
As digital means are not only a solution to an emergency, but a long-term investment towards inclusion, sustainability and resilience, this event provides a platform for Member States and other stakeholders to discuss challenges, opportunities, and necessary policy actions, as well as practical issues of digital inclusion and educating PWD in digital skills.
