Accessibility Policy making - An international perspective

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• Accessibility Policy making - An international
  perspective
• Nirmita Narasimhan
• Centre for Internet and Society, India

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Agenda

• The Information Age
• Barriers
• UNCRPD
• Accessibility policies around the world
• Considerations for a Good policy

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The 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

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Barriers

• Inaccessible and unaffordable technologies
• Inaccessible web sites
• Unsupportive laws
• Lack of awareness
• Lack of accountability on the internet

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UNCRPD

• 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.

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Accessibility 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

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Accessibility 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

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Accessibility 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

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Accessibility 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

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Accessibility 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

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Accessibility 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

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Accessibility 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

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Accessibility 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

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Accessibility 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

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Accessibility 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
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Accessibility 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

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Considerations 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

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Thank You !