What do we mean by “Accessible
Audio Visual Media” for Persons with
Disabilities and Why it Matters
ITU-EBU Meeting for Central and Eastern Europe on
e-Accessibility in Television Broadcasting
3-4 December 2013; Zagreb, Croatia
Susan Schorr, Head Special Initiatives
Division
International Telecommunication Union,
International
Telecommunication Development Bureau
Telecommunication
Union
Introduction and Background
1 billion people live with some
form of disability
ICT Accessibility in the United Nations
Convention on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities - CRPD
 Article 9 of the CRPD defines ICT
accessibility as an integral part of
accessibility rights on par with transportation
and the physical environment
 Article 30 of the CRPD requires State Parties
to “take all appropriate measures to ensure
that Persons with Disabilities . . . enjoy access
to television programmes [and] films . . . in
accessible formats.
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Defining Persons with disabilities
Disability is the interaction between
persons with impairments and
attitudinal and environmental
barriers that hinders their full and
effective participation in society on
an equal basis with others
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What kind of barriers do they face?
 Deafness/hard of hearing
 Blindness/low vision
 Limited motion/reduced
dexterity
 Impaired cognition
Addressing Accessibility is good
for everyone
Accessibility features also help:
 aging populations
 following fast dialogue or slang
 immigrants and refugees
 promote social inclusion
 the illiterate
 new business models
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Accessibility options for deaf/hard
of hearing
 Captioning or subtitles
 Same language (intralingual)
 Foreign language(s) (interlingual)
 Closed or open
 Color-coded
 Not helpful for illiterate
 Signing
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Signing and how to caption
Learn how captions are made:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2K9-JPIPjg
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Accessibility options for sight
impairments
 For the blind and people with low vision
 Audio description or video description
 For TV, film and theatre
 The who, what, why, where and
when
 Audio subtitles or spoken subtitles
 Reads the subtitles aloud
 Good for foreign language
programmes
Learn how AD changes lives:
http://www.jostrans.org/issue20/int
_romero.php
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Accessibility options for reduced
mobility and dexterity
 People with reduced mobility and dexterity
 Well designed remote controls and EPGs
 Accessibility keys, tactile and audible feedback, large, wellspaced keys, etc.
 Formal help schemes for the elderly and those with
registered disabilities to tune or retune set top boxes
or TV receivers (provided by volunteers, paid staff or
informally by friends and family)
ITU BDT Making TV Accessible
Report
 BDT Report, prepared by Peter Looms,
Chairman of ITU-T Focus Group on
Audiovisual Media Accessibility
 Looks at how TV can be made more
accessible
 Timely given the transition from
analogue to digital TV
 BDT publishing a model ICT
accessibility policy report
http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/sis/PwDs/index.phtml
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Model ICT Accessibility Policy Report
 Provides policy guidelines and legal and regulatory
framework
• Designed to help policy makers and regulators develop
their own accessibility policies and regulations
• Modular design includes stand-alone sections on policies
for:
• Mobile accessibility
• Audio visual media accessibility
• Web accessibility
• Public procurement
• Also identifies and explains changes needed for existing
ICT legislation and disability-specific legislation
• Reviewed by industry and government stakeholders
• Planned for publication by ITU and G3ict in early 2014
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http://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Digital-Inclusion/Persons-with-Disabilities/Pages/Persons-with-Disabilities.aspx
Conclusion and Recommendations
 Accessible TV is required by the UN CRPD
 Accessible TV is good for everyone
 The switch to digital TV is an ideal time to develop
access services
 offers opportunity to provide a greater range of
possible access services and increased flexibility
 Broadcaster can offer “closed” access services, i.e.
where users decide whether or not to use them
 Accessibility involves producing, distributing and
making users aware of accessibility features and how
to use them
Thank you!
susan.schorr@itu.int
http://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/DigitalInclusion/Persons-withDisabilities/Pages/Persons-with-Disabilities.aspx
International
Telecommunication
Union