Access For All

A variety of new features greatly enhance the accessibility of Android 4.0 for blind or visually impaired users. Most important is a new explore-by-touch mode that lets users navigate without having to see the screen. Touching the screen once triggers audible feedback that identifies the UI component below; a second touch in the same component activates it with a full touch event. The new mode is especially important to support users on new devices that use virtual buttons in the System Bar, rather than dedicated hardware buttons or trackballs. Also, standard apps are updated to offer an improved accessibility experience. The Browser supports a script-based screen reader for reading favorite web content and navigating sites. For improved readability, users can also increase the default font size used across the system.

The accessibility experience begins at first setup — a simple touch gesture during setup (clockwise square from upper left) activates all accessibility features and loads a setup tutorial. Once accessibility features are active, everything visible on the screen can be spoken aloud by the standard screen reader.
Source: Android

CLOUD4all, the European Commission funded program to develop a cloud-based accessibility architecture, started on 1st of November 2011. The project began with a meeting of the 30 partners and collaborators in Madrid, at Technosite/ONCE. Technosite is a member of the Raising the Floor Consortium and the coordinator for the project.
Raising the Floor – International is the technical coordinator for CLOUD4all. CLOUD4all will be carrying out research on some of the key core technologies of the Global Public Inclusive Infrastructure (GPII) and creating some of its first implementations. The 4-year, $3 million/year project is funding the European efforts of the Consortium to build the GPII.

CEN, CENELEC and ETSI are organising a 2nd open workshop on “European Accessibility requirements in public procurement of ICT products and services” to be held in Brussels on 28 October 2011. This is the second of a series of three workshops that give stakeholders an opportunity to learn about the work, to discuss the latest drafts of the standards and reports and to give feedback about the work being done.
Participation is free of charge, but registration is required. Palentype and sign language can be made available upon request.
Source: http://www.mandate376.eu/

The main objective of the Focus Group on Audiovisual Media Accessibility (FG AVA) is to address the need to make audiovisual media accessible for persons with disabilities. The Focus Group encourages participation of all standards development organizations (SDOs) working in this area. The FG AVA is open to ITU Member States, Sector Members, Associates and Academia. It is also open to any individual from a country which is a member of ITU and who is willing to contribute to the work. This includes individuals who are also members or representatives of SDOs as well as other interested stakeholders. The third meeting will be held on 17 November 2011 in Barcelona.
More information.

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) established a Dynamic Coalition on Accessibility and Disability.
Users of telecommunications and information technology have a varied capability of handling information and the controls of their presentation. The source of this variation lies in cultural and educational backgrounds, as well as on age-related functional limitations, in disabilities, and in other natural causes.
The Dynamic Coalition on Accessibility and Disability will facilitate interaction between relevant bodies, and ensure that ICT accessibility is included in the key debates around Internet Governance in order to build a future where all sectors of the global community have equal access to the Information Society. We are convinced that the entire community can benefit from an “accessible ICT world,” as people can be permanently or temporarily disabled due to personal, environmental (e.g., a phone call in a noisy environment) or cultural (e.g., spoken language diversity) conditions. Moreover, we will all grow old and lose abilities that we take for granted now, thus enlarging the part of the population that would benefit from accessible communication. We cannot allow isolation of a part of the population due to lack of appropriate functionality that prevents the use of ICT resources by everybody to the fullest possible degree.
The coalition is open to any organization entity or individual working on the field, including Standard Developing Organizations (SDOs), and i coordinated by Andrea Saks (TDI Telecommunications for the Deaf Inc.)

Official Web site: Dynamic Coalition on Accessibility and Disability

The 1st International Conference on Age-Friendly Cities will be held in Dublin on 28th-30th September 2011.

Conference Programme
Participants will gain an insight into critical thinking on the issue of age-friendly cities from a broad spectrum of internationally recognised practitioners and speakers. Experts come from a diverse range of perspectives including spatial planning, leadership studies, social gerontology, anthropology, transport, city transformation, psychology, architecture, health, technology, city administration, education, and evaluation studies. The conference will also capture geographically diverse age-friendly initiatives from the developed and developing world including Ireland, the UK, the USA, Eastern Europe, Africa, Canada, Japan, Singapore, China and India. World renowned speakers include Gary Lawrence, Chris Phillipson, Charles Landry, Michael Mehaffy and Etienne Wenger.

Networking Opportunity
400 leaders and senior managers from existing members of the Age-friendly Cities Global Network, CEOs and senior managers of municipal authorities including planners, architects and elected representatives will share insight on age-friendly city initiatives. As the conference brings together experts involved in a broad range of age-friendly initiatives internationally, it provides a forum to meet people actively implementing age-friendly programmes at the Global Village exhibition. Participants will include senior professionals across the public, private and voluntary sectors in areas such as transport, health care and housing, research and academia, and key older people’s organisations.

Another centre piece of the conference is the Dublin Declaration on Age-Friendly Communities. This will be launched at the conference by the Lord Mayor of Dublin and signed by a core group of mayors and leaders from across the world. If you would like your municipality to endorse the Declaration please bring this important element of the conference to their attention. We’ve also developed a process whereby cities don’t have to travel to Dublin to endorse the Declaration. Further information is available by emailing us at hilary@ageingwellnetwork.ie

Planning for the Global Village exhibition is also well underway. This informal exhibition space is an integral part of the conference programme and will provide opportunities for delegate representatives to present and showcase developments in their cities and communities throughout the three days of the conference. Already New York, Manchester, New Delhi, Lyon and Hong Kong have decided to be involved in the Village. You can get additional information about the Village at cbyrne@ageingwellnetwork.ie

Full information on the conference, including the programme and the registration process is available at www.afc-internationalconference.ie.