IGF workshop no. 137
“Mainstreaming the disability perspective for
an inclusive society”
IGF, Nairobi, Kenya, 28 September 2011
The Internet is now used - to the best of their ability
– by a wide variety of people, including children,
persons with disabilities and senior citizens. Today’s
Internet users will get older, and these future users,
as well as children and persons with disabilities, will
soon find it difficult to use the web if websites
continue to become more complex. What solutions
can be envisaged for broad access to the Internet?
Persons with disabilities are likely to be deprived of
access if their specially designed hardware is not taken
into account for access to any given web service. Think
of a paralysed person wanting to do their shopping
over the Internet… Or a blind or sight-impaired person
wanting to subscribe to their favourite newspaper on
line because they can no longer read the paper copy.
How will persons with disabilities and senior citizens
in the countries of the third world, who are a
particularly vulnerable segment of the population
(handicapped by age, physical ability and poverty)
be able to access the web?
Whatever one’s difficulties, whatever one’s disability,
everyone should be able to access the same content
and services as the average person. I know that many
professionals, in particular webmasters, overlook the
fact that computers may be used by a blind, sightimpaired or older person, for example, and that these
people need to enjoy the benefits of the Internet. Not
only are they consumers like everyone else, but the
Internet constitutes a strong tool for their insertion in
daily life. Forgetting them is not only a strategic error,
but to some extent inhuman.
Persons with disabilities and senior citizens are
potential visitors and/or customers for any commercial
site. Therefore, web professionals need to reassess
their content and service offerings. To achieve this
objective, we must encourage the establishment of
national agencies and mulitpurpose centres or
cybercafés….
National agencies: All countries should establish
national agencies, to progressively reform national
websites so as to make them accessible for everyone,
and to ensure interoperability and good ergonomics.
Multipurpose centre or cybercafé: Following the lead of
ITU (International Telecommunication Union), all nongovernmental organizations should encourage thirdworld countries to equip themselves with multipurpose
centres/cybercafés.
Mali is one of the countries in which ITU has financed a
mulitpurpose centre, where we witness broad access to
the Internet… Such centres can serve as veritable
testing grounds… Indeed, in the third-world countries
in general, and Africa in particular, there is a large
potential pool of Internet consumers or e-commerce
customers. However, it is true that these populations
are generally poor and may be illiterate, young or
disabled due to wars or illness.
To ignore this segment of the world’s population
would prevent us deriving the threefold benefit to be
gained from accessibility of Internet sites, namely:
Public authorities, who must lead by example, want
digital services to be used by all citizens.
Companies seeking to reach the largest possible
market understand that it is essential for people to be
able to use their websites.
Africa’s hugely rich cultural heritage can be made
available to humanity as a whole.
The centre equipped by ITU comprises:
10 computers (8 standard and 2 designed for sightimpaired or blind people)
1 fax
2 printers (standard and Braille)
5 webcams
Installation and training costs.
It is planned for the centre to start up in Bamako (Mali’s
capital) with branches in all the regional capitals.