Title: Accessibility Policy making - An international perspective
1- Accessibility Policy making - An international
perspective - Nirmita Narasimhan
- Centre for Internet and Society, India
2Agenda
- The Information Age
- Barriers
- UNCRPD
- Accessibility policies around the world
- Considerations for a Good policy
3The Information Age
- Unprecedented opportunities for persons with
disabilities to participate in society - Access to knowledge, information and services
- Possibility of ensuring equal opportunities for
all - Inclusion and participation in society
- Involvement in social, cultural, business and
administrative processes
4Barriers
- Inaccessible and unaffordable technologies
- Inaccessible web sites
- Unsupportive laws
- Lack of awareness
- Lack of accountability on the internet
5UNCRPD
- Recognises that accessibility to information and
services is vital for persons with disabilities
to enjoy a complete inclusive and participatory
life in society - Recognises accessibility on the internet as a
fundamental element for persons with disabilities
to exercise their rights - Art 9 requires all information technologies to be
accessible to persons with disabilities - Various countries have recognised the need for
accessibility, even before the coming into force
of the UNCRPD and formulated laws and policies to
give effect to this.
6Accessibility Policy Study
- Key step in policy making
- Researching available options in neighbouring
countries - Learning from past mistakes and best practices
- Cut your cloth to suit your needs
7Accessibility policies around the world
- We now examine the policies across seven
countries to give us an idea of the - modalities involved in formulating a policy on
internet accessibility - the implications and repercussions in different
countries - effective implementation and monitoring models
and - possibilities for improvement
- Countries examined Australia, Germany, India,
Japan, Korea, UK, USA
8Accessibility policies Australia
- Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) enacted
in1992 - DDA Advisory notes for web accessibility
published in 2002 applicable to all service
providers - Guide to minimum website standards in 2000 and
revised in 2003 - Guidelines compliant with WCAG 1.0
- Advisory notes and guidelines not legally
enforceable but DDA provisions are (case law
Maguire vs. SOCOG, 2000) - Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission
(HREOC) promotes DDA objectives and provides
advice on implications and monitoring
9Accessibility policies Germany
- Act on Equal Opportunities for Disabled persons
(2002) - Web Accessibility covered by Barrier free
Information technology Ordinance (BiTV) - Federal BiTV based on WCAG 1.0 state level
standards non uniform - Barrier free environment also includes
communication, living environments etc. - Applicable to authorities, health insurances and
other bodies, foundations and public institutions - Legally enforceable
- Federal govt appoints a commissioner for the
Interests of persons with disabilities - Ordinance effectiveness to be reviewed
periodically
10Accessibility policies India
- Generic legislation Persons with Disabilities
(Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights Full
Participation) Act 1995 - No accessibility specific legislation or policy
yet - Policy is work in progress government working
with NGOs and disability rights groups to frame
policy - Signatory to both UNCRPD (2006) and Biwako
Millennium framework towards an Inclusive,
Barrier-free and Rights-based Society for PWDs in
Asia and the Pacific (2002) - In absence of domestic law on accessibility,
international conventions and norms are read into
domestic law where they do not contradict enacted
domestic law
11Accessibility policies Japan
- No overall legislation, web and electronic
accessibility covered by Japanese Industrial
Standards (JIS) X 8341 - Not legally binding, open to substantial
interpretation - Guidelines mandatory for government agencies,
optional for others - Some guidelines borrowed from WCAG with
compliance issues arising from nature of Japanese
language and character set
12Accessibility policies South Korea
- Disability Discrimination Act (2007) provides
rights, reasonable accommodations, agencies and
defines web accessibility obligations - Informatization act (2009) covers ICT access and
usage for PWDs and the elderly - Guidelines for improving accessibility (2002)
- Guidelines based on WCAG 1.0 and 2.0
- 5 policy groups - Developing and supplying
assistive technologies for PWD, operating ICT
accessibility programs, developing ICT
accessibility standards, conducting research and
increasing awareness
13Accessibility policies UK
- Generic legislation - Disability Discrimination
Act (1995, amended 2005), no accessibility
specific legislation - Code of Practice outlines duties under the DDA
and provides best practice guidelines - PAS 78 (2006) guide to commissioning accessible
websites, partial reference to WCAG - Applicable to any service provider both public
and private
14Accessibility policies USA
- Generic legislation like Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA 1990), Rehabilitation
Act(1973) - Sec 508 of Rehabilitation Act (1973 amended
1998), covers web accessibility but is not
compliant with WCAG - Sec 251 (a)(2) and 255 of Telecommunications Act
(1996) require communications services and
equipment to be accessible by PWDs - Sec 508 applicable to federal government websites
and agencies receiving federal funding state
government requirements and standards vary - Signed UNCRPD only in 2009
15Accessibility Policies Summary
- Chart depicting the position of countries with
respect to the types of accessibility policies
(legislation vs. policy) and scope of coverage
(whether only generic or web or covering other
aspects of accessibility as well). The countries
best placed score high on both aspects.
Japan USA Germany Korea
India UK Australia
High (covers web other infrastructure)
Scope of Coverage
Low (only generic or web)
High (Legislation and guideline or policy)
Low (only guideline or policy)
Type of policy
16Accessibility Policies Key Features
- Coverage types of accessibility included e.g.
web, electronic, other - Scope - legislation vs. policy
- WCAG compliance
- Applicability public sector only or private
sector as well - Mechanisms for review, monitoring and compliance
17Considerations for a Good Policy
- Futuristic
- Interoperable with other policies
- Leave room for modification
- Unambiguous and clear in its mandate
- Determine accountability
- Ensure a smooth and effective mechanism for
implementation and evaluation - Involve both the public and private sector
- Have a definite time frame for implementation
- Involve persons with disabilities in every stage
of the policy formulation and implementation
process
18Thank You !