Information accessibility impacts all areas of our life. Electronic documents, websites, video games, even ticket machines are sources of information. If information is not accessible, some people may not be able to purchase a ticket, read a document or access areas of a website. Accessible information means information provided in formats that allow all users to equally access content.
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is increasingly seen as a major tool in meeting individual learning needs. In order to provide equitable lifelong learning opportunities, all learners must have equal access to information. As expressed in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, persons with disabilities must have ‘… access, on an equal basis with others, … to information and communications, including information and communications technologies and systems’.
In my view, access to information and accessible ICT has the potential to create synergies, which not only benefit people with disabilities and/or special needs, but also a widening group of ageing population as well as all members of society.
How ICT can support people with disabilities and/or special needs has been a constant issue raised within our work in the Agency. The ICT for Information Accessibility in Learning (ICT4IAL) project is the latest one in a series of projects which have been examining the use of ICT in education. This project is a multi-disciplinary network formed by the Agency in partnership with European Schoolnet, the International Association of Universities, UNESCO, the DAISY Consortium and the Global Initiative of Inclusive ICTs.
I would like to draw your attention to the outcomes of this project, the Guidelines for Accessible Information, a tool developed by project partners to support practitioners and organisations that provide information for learning in creating accessible materials. The document contains a series of instructions and resources on how to create accessible materials in text, audio and video, which can be applied to all types of information produced, and will be especially beneficial to learners with disabilities and/or special needs.
Just because something is free it does not mean it is accessible. Open access to digital resources does not necessarily make all information accessible to everyone, with or without special needs or disabilities. The Guidelines give recommendations and share tools and resources that make it easy for everyone to provide accessible information. The recommendations and resources are divided into different levels of expertise ranging from easy to professional level instructions.
These Guidelines have already had an impact on the Agency’s day-to-day work. We are striving to be a model of accessibility in our outputs, and the Guidelines are a useful tool in achieving that. On the path towards accessibility, the Agency is working on an accessibility policy for the organisation, taking into account the ICT4IAL Guidelines as well as the i-access recommendations, the outcomes a previous project focussing on accessibility of information in lifelong learning.
The Guidelines were presented at the International Conference in Riga, Latvia, under the aegis of the Latvian Presidency to the Council of the EU. Here I had a chance to meet a wide range of professionals who welcomed this resource and agreed that they should be implemented in their own organisations. I believe that with the right advocacy on the part of policy and decision makers, the Guidelines should also be implemented in national level legislation.
It is best to think of accessibility from the start when creating products or offering information in any format. This of course requires awareness for issues of accessibility for all information providers, and in the specific case of learning, for teachers. The Guidelines here can also be of help. The consensus among experts at the conference was that accessibility can be done, we just need to focus more on accessibility for all, and not so much on specific disabilities.
Visit the http://www.ict4ial.eu project website to access the Guidelines. Follow the step-by-step instructions there and start improving your documents today. The Guidelines are a free, open source resource, so if you have any comments and additions, register and post your comments. Accessibility is relevant for us all, so make sure you share this resource with as many people as you can.