Critical Factors for an
Effective Transition to School
and Work for Persons with
Disabilities
Fernando H. F. Botelho
Project Manager
Mais Diferenças
São Paulo, Brazil
ITU Workshop on Accessibility
Bamako, Mali, 13 – 15 October 2009
International
Telecommunication
Union
The Education and Employment
Challenge
90% of children who are blind or visually
impaired in developing countries have no
access to education.
99% of women with disabilities in
developing countries are illiterate.
Sources:
ILO: http://www.ilo.org/public/english/region/asro/bangkok/ability/.../wwd.pdf
UN: http://www.un.org/disabilities/default.asp?id=18
International Council for Education of People with Visual Impairment (ICEVI); "Strategic Goals
2002-2005"; 2002.
ITU Workshop on Accessibility
Bamako, Mali, 13 – 15 October 2009
International
Telecommunication
Union
Avoid Exclusive Focus on Any
Single Factor
Barriers
to
education
and
employment are a consequence of
factors such as:
Cultural
misunderstandings
and
outdated customs;
Poverty-induced health problems and
disabilities;
Physical obstacles such as lack of
accessible transportation and schools;
ITU Workshop on Accessibility
Bamako, Mali, 13 – 15 October 2009
International
Telecommunication
Union
Avoid Exclusive Focus on Any
Single Factor
Barriers to education and employment are
a consequence of factors such as:
Human resource constraints such as
teachers
without
disability-specific
training;
Lack of assistive technologies such as
screen readers or special keyboards;
Potential employers without experience
with or knowledge about persons with
disabilities.
ITU Workshop on Accessibility
Bamako, Mali, 13 – 15 October 2009
International
Telecommunication
Union
Cross-Sectoral Strategies
Cultural misunderstandings and outdated
customs:
TV and radio programs that highlight the
achievements of persons with disabilities in
Africa.
Poverty-induced
disabilities:
health
problems
and
Labor laws and tax incentives for the hiring of
persons with disabilities.
Community-based health care initiatives.
ITU Workshop on Accessibility
Bamako, Mali, 13 – 15 October 2009
International
Telecommunication
Union
Cross-Sectoral Strategies
Physical obstacles such as lack of
accessible transportation and schools:
Urban planning and school construction
based on universal design principles.
Human resource constraints such as
teachers
without
disability-specific
training:
Rely on local experts, demand freely
shareable training materials, and use
local best practices when possible.
ITU Workshop on Accessibility
Bamako, Mali, 13 – 15 October 2009
International
Telecommunication
Union
Cross-Sectoral Strategies
Lack of assistive technologies such
as
screen
readers
or
special
keyboards:
Rely on technology that is low-cost
or free, use the experience of other
developing countries with free and
open source software and Creative
Commons materials.
ITU Workshop on Accessibility
Bamako, Mali, 13 – 15 October 2009
International
Telecommunication
Union
Cross-Sectoral Strategies
Potential
employers
without
experience with or knowledge about
persons with disabilities:
Encourage internship opportunities,
support organizations that facilitate
interaction
between
business
community and persons with
disabilities.
ITU Workshop on Accessibility
Bamako, Mali, 13 – 15 October 2009
International
Telecommunication
Union
A Costly Strategy
Low and no-cost Assistive Technologies
are
created
by
individuals
and
organizations that usually have no
marketing budget.
Many organizations and government
agencies seek funding and donations to
acquire costly Assistive Technologies used
in wealthy countries which are more
widely known.
ITU Workshop on Accessibility
Bamako, Mali, 13 – 15 October 2009
International
Telecommunication
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A Costly Strategy
Children are then trained and
become dependent on technologies
that their families, local schools, and
potential employers cannot afford.
Transitions from local NGO to school,
to a local library, to an internship
opportunity, and to employment
become practically impossible.
ITU Workshop on Accessibility
Bamako, Mali, 13 – 15 October 2009
International
Telecommunication
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Control is More Important than
Price
The wrong technology donated for
free can be costly in the medium and
long term.
Key factor is control of the
technology.
Technology that can be copied,
modified, improved, and shared is
available for Linux and Windows
systems.
ITU Workshop on Accessibility
Bamako, Mali, 13 – 15 October 2009
International
Telecommunication
Union
Free and Open Source Software
(FOSS) Assistive Technologies
FOSS Assistive Technologies are free
or low cost because no single entity
controls it.
Overpricing attracts
developers that charge less.
ITU Workshop on Accessibility
Bamako, Mali, 13 – 15 October 2009
International
Telecommunication
Union
Free and Open Source Software
(FOSS) Assistive Technologies
Examples of FOSS Assistive Technologies include:
Dasher, a virtual keyboard application for Linux and
Windows.
http://www.inference.phy.cam.ac.uk/dasher/
NVDA, a screen reader for Windows.
http://www.nvda-project.org/
Orca, a screen reader and magnifier for Linux.
http://live.gnome.org/Orca
Virtual Magnifying Glass, a screen magnifier for Linux
and Windows.
http://magnifier.sourceforge.net/
ITU Workshop on Accessibility
Bamako, Mali, 13 – 15 October 2009
International
Telecommunication
Union
Benefit from Zero Marginal Cost
Whenever possible demand that
contractors, consultants, and other
entities provide training and other
materials under a Creative Commons
license:
http://CreativeCommons.org/
ITU Workshop on Accessibility
Bamako, Mali, 13 – 15 October 2009
International
Telecommunication
Union
Many Critical Factors but a Few
Good Strategies
Focus on the development of human
resources and on technology that
facilitates that.
Make sure you understand who
controls the technology you choose
to depend on.
Give preference for solutions that
maximize how much control remains
local.
ITU Workshop on Accessibility
Bamako, Mali, 13 – 15 October 2009
International
Telecommunication
Union
Thank you!
Fernando H. F. Botelho
Fernando.Botelho@F123.org
Botelho & Paula Consultoria
Solutions that scale.
http://www.F123.org/
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0
Unported License.
To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons,
171 Second Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, California, 94105, USA.
ITU Workshop on Accessibility
Bamako, Mali, 13 – 15 October 2009
International
Telecommunication
Union