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It might surprise people to know that besides its many peacekeeping and diplomatic missions, another U.N. goal is promoting full participation of disabled people in social life and development around the world. Worldwide more than 500 million people worldwide are disabled, and no matter what country they're in, their lives are limited by physical, social, economic, cultural, and telecommunications barriers. Even though nearly 80% of the world's disabled population lives in developing countries, one of the most significant issues that must be addressed is the accessibility of disabled people to new and emerging information technologies through computer literacy.
"The enormous international resources provided online by the Internet remind us that one of the most effective ways to share power is by linking minds across cultures and geographical/economic boundaries," says Clinton Raply of the U.N.'s office of Social Policy & Development. Raply develops and implements U.N. Web sites accessible to people with disabilities.
The U.N.'s program for persons with disabilities says "Accessibility is the right thing to do. It helps achieve societal goals of full participation and of equality." However, critics inside and outside the U.N say it is a nominal crusader when it comes to improving Internet accessibility for people who are disabled. At least 75% of the U.N.'s Web pages are not accessible to the disabled. These critics say policymakers refuse to make accessibility a major goal and also refuse to provide the funds to achieve this goal.
NO REPLY.
James Robreski, a visually impaired teacher, says: "The U.N.'s Development Program and its UNICEF sites are not accessible to me. Why?" In Chile, Roberto Hammerburg, who has cerebral palsy, adds: "I can access the International Fund for Agricultural Development, but I cannot access the International Monetary Fund site. Why?" An angry Eugenio Marcelli, a blind student, says: "The World Health Organization's Web site is not accessible to me. Why?" Although many of these groups are quasi-independent agencies, they fall under the U.N.'s umbrella. Robreski, Hammerburg, Marcelli, and others have written letters to U.N. officials, asking them to make more of their Web sites accessible to the disabled. So far, they've gotten no response.
One private-sector initiative is WorldEnable.net. Located in Vancouver, B.C., it's an Internet-accessibility initiative in support of the U.N.'s international goals to equalize opportunities for persons with disabilities. WorldEnable.net is jointly developed by the Vision Office Support Sevices in Vancouver and by Associates for International Management Services Ltd., in Mt. Temper, N.Y. A report by WorldEnable to the U.N. says, "There are three Internet accessibility issues before the U.N. They are: Web accessibility, e-mail accessibility, and adaptive technologies."
The U.N. has allocated millions of dollars to make progress on these issues. But most of the money has not yet been spent. Some of it goes to finance trips Raply makes to dozens of U.N. offices around the world, where he works with U.N. staff to help make their Web pages accessible to the disabled. In some countries, accessibility is the law. In the U.S., the Americans with Disabilities Act requires reasonable accommodation for employees with disabilities, and that requirement extends to Web site accessibility.
EVERYONE GAINS.
Accessible designs benefit not only people with disabilities but also those in the mainstream in developing countries. For example, screen readers and dictation software that empower the blind and other disabled individuals can be used to create documents by people who can speak but not write a language, such as English or Spanish.
Adaptive technology is a major prerequisite for many people with disabilities to use computer technology. These are modifications or upgrades to a computer's hardware and software to provide alternative methods of entering and receiving data. And many of those modifications can be made relatively inexpensively. Some modifications can be as simple as lowering a computer desk or as elaborate as attaching an input device that tracks eye movements.
Common adaptive technologies include programs that read or describe the information on the screen, programs that enlarge or change the color of screen information, and special pointing or input devices. These "electronic curb-cuts" -- a term borrowed from the curb-cuts in city sidewalks that improve wheelchair mobility -- enable disabled people to use computers to access the Internet.
The U.N.'s future efforts on accessibility must consist of reinforcing current programs in cooperation with various departments within the U.N. and specialized agencies. The issue of accessibility to new technologies must become more of a priority. When accessibility becomes a world priority, everyone benefits. When accessibility is only partially implemented, another U.N. mission is a partial failure.
What do you think about the U.N.'s Web site accessibility? Let us know at BW Online's Assistive Tech Forum. Or drop John a line at JMMAW@aol.com
Copyright 2000 , by The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. All rights reserved.
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