[ALAC] Fwd: ALAC and accessibility for people with disability

Salanieta T. Tamanikaiwaimaro salanieta.tamanikaiwaimaro at gmail.com
Thu Oct 18 23:03:16 UTC 2012


+1

On Fri, Oct 19, 2012 at 9:53 AM, Gunela Astbrink <g.astbrink at gsa.com.au>wrote:

> Yes, I understand that. And I hope that many other countries support
> Hungary's proposal.
>
> Resolution 70 is useful background information on the activities of the
> ITU-T in terms of accessibility.
>
>
> On 19/10/12 8:50 AM, Salanieta T. Tamanikaiwaimaro wrote:
>
>>
>> Thanks Gunela, the Hungary proposal that I had mentioned was their
>> proposal in terms of the review of the ITRs in WCIT 12.
>>
>> Best Regards,
>>
>>
>> On Fri, Oct 19, 2012 at 9:44 AM, Gunela Astbrink <g.astbrink at gsa.com.au
>> <mailto:g.astbrink at gsa.com.au>**> wrote:
>>
>>     Useful update from Sala.
>>
>>     The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has
>>     been signed by 154 countries with 125 ratifications and as you say,
>>     Sala, the US has not ratified yet.
>>
>>     With regard to WCIT, you might be interested in the ITU-T Resolution
>>     70 on telecommunications/ICT accessibility for people with
>> disabilities
>>     http://www.itu.int/pub/T-RES-_**_T.70-2008<http://www.itu.int/pub/T-RES-__T.70-2008>
>>
>>     <http://www.itu.int/pub/T-RES-**T.70-2008<http://www.itu.int/pub/T-RES-T.70-2008>
>> >
>>
>>     This states that consideration of accessibility should be taken in
>>     standards development. I'd like to see this integrated approach in
>>     ICANN processes too. It's more than web accessibility.
>>
>>     Gunela
>>
>>
>>     On 19/10/12 4:48 AM, Salanieta T. Tamanikaiwaimaro wrote:
>>
>>         Streaming into the Caribbean WCIT Consultations and learning alot:
>>
>>         Also interesting to note the following:
>>
>>            * There is a United Nations Convention on Rights of Persons
>> with
>>
>>              Disabilities on this area, see:
>>         http://www.un.org/__**disabilities/default.asp?id=__**150<http://www.un.org/__disabilities/default.asp?id=__150>
>>
>>         <http://www.un.org/**disabilities/default.asp?id=**150<http://www.un.org/disabilities/default.asp?id=150>>
>> (Whilst the US
>>              signed, it did not ratify the same. Although other
>>         countries have)
>>            * There is a submission by Hungary in the review of the ITRs
>>         to add a
>>
>>              component to enable access for disabled persons and they are
>>              proposing 8(b) which countries should get behind as it is
>>         central to
>>              the issue of Access;
>>            * Whilst there have been other resolutions from the
>>         plenipotentiaries,
>>
>>              where it was resolved that a Fund be created, only Cyprus
>>         has been
>>              giving money into the that Fund
>>
>>
>>         Much awareness still has to be done apparently for access.
>>
>>         On Thu, Oct 18, 2012 at 3:34 PM, Gunela Astbrink
>>         <g.astbrink at gsa.com.au <mailto:g.astbrink at gsa.com.au>
>>         <mailto:g.astbrink at gsa.com.au <mailto:g.astbrink at gsa.com.au>**
>> >__>
>>
>>         wrote:
>>
>>              Hi Sala,
>>
>>              Thank you so much for your kind words. It's good to hear
>>         that the
>>              session I organised at PacINET on accessibility made an
>> impact.
>>
>>              Faaolo Utumapu from Samoa demonstrated how her screen reading
>>              software with speech synthesis works and how she can navigate
>>              through accessible websites. She also demonstrated how
>>         barriers are
>>              placed in front of her when websites are not accessible. For
>>              example, if she were to use the myICANN website, she would
>>         not be
>>              able to know to follow certain image links if they do not
>>         have an
>>              alt tag with a description. Nor would she be able to read
>>         the large
>>              image map about Internet governance as it is a jpg with no
>>              descriptive text.
>>
>>              Sandra, these are two examples of accessibility errors on the
>>              myICANN website. The website in itself is user-friendly and
>>         I hope
>>              that there are only a few accessibility issues to fix.
>>
>>              The W3C WCAG 2.0 guidelines may have been overlooked by the
>> web
>>              developers but I hope that this is now being dealt with,
>>         Carlton.
>>
>>              It would be great to get feedback from staff about this
>> issue.
>>
>>              As both Olivier and Sala have intimated, accessibility for
>>         people
>>              with disability will help to make ICANN truly inclusive. It
>>         actually
>>              goes beyond web accessibility of ICANN sites and should be
>>              incorporated into wider policy and processes even relating
>>         to new gTLDs.
>>
>>              Regards,
>>              Gunela
>>
>>
>>              On 17/10/12 8:27 PM, Salanieta T. Tamanikaiwaimaro wrote:
>>
>>                  Dear Olivier,
>>
>>                  Gunela is an extraordinary advocate and has
>>         consistently raised W3C
>>                  issues in various foras both nationally, regionally and
>>                  globally. I will
>>                  never forget when at a PACINET Annual Conference which
>>         is an annual
>>                  meeting organised by the ALS that I subscribe to in
>>         American
>>                  Samoa last
>>                  year when I saw this blind Samoan girl conduct a demo
>>         with her
>>                  machine
>>                  and articulate confidently and articulately her desire
>> for
>>                  accessibility. Our ALS have a number of advocates who
>>         despite the
>>                  numerous physical challenges continue to make an impact
>> in
>>                  discussions
>>                  and in running initiatives in their countries in Tonga,
>>         Samoa
>>                  and Fiji.
>>
>>                  For the ordinary end user there are elements of
>>         accessibility
>>                  that the
>>                  global community should consider. I would also like to
>>         take this
>>                  time to
>>                  thank Gunela for reminding us of this important cause.
>>
>>                  Warm Regards,
>>                  Sala
>>
>>                  On Wed, Oct 17, 2012 at 2:43 PM, Carlton Samuels
>>                  <carlton.samuels at gmail.com
>>         <mailto:carlton.samuels at gmail.**com <carlton.samuels at gmail.com>>
>>         <mailto:carlton.samuels at gmail.**__com
>>         <mailto:carlton.samuels at gmail.**com <carlton.samuels at gmail.com>>>
>>                  <mailto:carlton.samuels at gmail.
>>         <mailto:carlton.samuels at gmail.**>____com
>>
>>
>>                  <mailto:carlton.samuels at gmail.**__com
>>         <mailto:carlton.samuels at gmail.**com <carlton.samuels at gmail.com>>>>>
>> wrote:
>>
>>                       The simple response is to ask staff to verify if
>>         the W3C web
>>                       accessibility
>>                       guidelines were adopted for the website.  And if
>>         not, why not?
>>
>>                       Failing, I would ask if any assistive technologies
>>         were
>>                  contemplated at
>>                       all? And if not, what are the plans for remediation.
>>
>>                       - Carlton
>>
>>                       ==============================
>>                       Carlton A Samuels
>>                       Mobile: 876-818-1799
>>                       *Strategy, Planning, Governance, Assessment &
>>         Turnaround*
>>                       =============================
>>
>>
>>                       On Tue, Oct 16, 2012 at 6:12 PM, Olivier MJ
>>         Crepin-Leblond
>>                       <ocl at gih.com <mailto:ocl at gih.com>
>>         <mailto:ocl at gih.com <mailto:ocl at gih.com>> <mailto:ocl at gih.com
>>         <mailto:ocl at gih.com>
>>
>>                  <mailto:ocl at gih.com <mailto:ocl at gih.com>>>>wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>>                        >
>>                        > For your information, please be so kind to find
>>         an email
>>                  sent by
>>                       one of
>>                        > our members in Australia regarding
>>         accessibility, including
>>                        > accessibility of the new myICANN.org Web site.
>>                        > I believe there is a deeper implication to make
>>         ICANN as
>>                  well as its
>>                        > bottom-up policy processes and its communication
>>                  strategy more
>>                        > accessible to everyone. Comments welcome!
>>                        > Kind regards,
>>                        >
>>                        > Olivier
>>                        >
>>                        > -------- Original Message --------
>>                        > Subject:        ALAC and accessibility for
>>         people with
>>                  disability
>>                        > Date:   Tue, 16 Oct 2012 12:12:59 +1100
>>                        > From:   Gunela Astbrink <g.astbrink@*.au>
>>                        > To: ocl at gih.com <mailto:ocl at gih.com>
>>         <mailto:ocl at gih.com <mailto:ocl at gih.com>> <mailto:ocl at gih.com
>>         <mailto:ocl at gih.com>
>>                  <mailto:ocl at gih.com <mailto:ocl at gih.com>>>
>>                        > CC:     Cheryl Langdon-Orr <langdonorr@*.com>,
>>         Save Vocea
>>                       <save.vocea@
>>                        > *.org>
>>                        >
>>                        >
>>                        >
>>                        > Dear Olivier,
>>                        >
>>                        > Unfortunately, I won't be at the Toronto ICANN
>>         meeting.
>>                        >
>>                        > I remember we have had discussions about
>>         accessibility
>>                  for people
>>                       with
>>                        > disability in the past.
>>                        >
>>                        > The new myICANN website has prompted me to
>>         contact you.
>>                        >
>>                        > The ICANN websites have accessibility errors
>>         including
>>                  the brand new
>>                        > myICANN. That looks like a great site and is
>>         intended
>>                  for the general
>>                        > public. Thus, people with disability who
>>         comprise one
>>                  billion
>>                       people in
>>                        > the world should have adequate access.
>>                        >
>>                        > I was invited to participate in the
>>         consultation for a
>>                  new At-Large
>>                        > website and hope that it will incorporate
>>         accessibility
>>                  based on
>>                       the Web
>>                        > Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.0
>>         (WCAG 2.0)
>>                  right
>>                       from the
>>                        > start. http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/__**
>> __wcag.php <http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/____wcag.php>
>>         <http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/_**_wcag.php<http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/__wcag.php>
>> >
>>
>>
>>                  <http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/_**_wcag.php<http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/__wcag.php>
>>         <http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/**wcag.php<http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/wcag.php>
>> >>
>>                        >
>>                        > I am very concerned that accessibility should be
>>                  considered in new
>>                        > policy or process.
>>                        >
>>                        > ISOC are about to launch a policy paper on
>> Internet
>>                  accessibility for
>>                        > people with disability (drafted by me).
>>                        >
>>                        > I'd like to see ICANN also taking this issue on
>>         in a
>>                  systematic
>>                       way. For
>>                        > example, mechanisms could be considered on how to
>>                  encourage new
>>                       gTLDs to
>>                        > consider accessibility.
>>                        >
>>                        > Happy to discuss further.
>>                        >
>>                        > Regards,
>>                        > Gunela
>>                        >
>>                        > --
>>                        > Gunela Astbrink
>>                        > GSA Information Consultants
>>                        > PO Box 600
>>                        > Ballina NSW 2478
>>                        > Australia
>>                        > Mobile: +61 417 715738
>>         <tel:%2B61%20417%20715738> <tel:%2B61%20417%20715738>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Salanieta Tamanikaiwaimaro aka Sala
>> P.O. Box 17862
>> Suva
>> Fiji
>>
>> Twitter: @SalanietaT
>> Skype:Salanieta.**Tamanikaiwaimaro
>> Fiji Cell: +679 998 2851
>>
>>
>>
>>
> --
> Gunela Astbrink
> GSA Information Consultants
> PO Box 600
> Ballina NSW 2478
> Australia
> Mobile: +61 417 715738
> Email: g.astbrink at gsa.com.au
>



-- 
Salanieta Tamanikaiwaimaro aka Sala
P.O. Box 17862
Suva
Fiji

Twitter: @SalanietaT
Skype:Salanieta.Tamanikaiwaimaro
Fiji Cell: +679 998 2851



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