Committed to connecting the world
ITU and Digital Inclusion
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ASEAN-ITU Seminar on ICT Accessibility and Assistive Technologies for
Equity in Society --25-26 August 2014, Bangkok, Thailand
Mr. Wisit Atipayakoon
ITU Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific
Email: wisit.atipayakoon.itu.int
ITU: International Telecommunication Union
 Founded in 1865; Responsible for issues that concern Information
and Communication Technologies.
 193 Member States, 545 Sector Members, 161 Associates, and 33
Academia.
 HQs in Switzerland, Geneva; and 4 Regional Offices & 7 Area Office.
ITU-R
ITU’s
Radio-communication
Sector that globally manages
radio-frequency spectrum and
satellite orbits that ensure
safety of life on land, at sea
and in the skies.
ITU-T
ITU's
Telecommunication
Standardization Sector that
enable
global
communications
by
ensuring that countries’ ICT
networks and devices are
speaking
the
same
language.
ITU-D
ITU’s Development Sector
that fosters international
cooperation and solidarity in
the delivery of technical
assistance and in the
creation, development and
improvement
of
telecommunication/ICT
equipment and networks in
developing countries.
ITU: Reaching out to the World
ITU Headquarter: Geneva, Switzerland
Europe Regional Office
Geneva, Switzerland
CIS Area Office
Moscow, Russia
Americas
Asia-Pacific
Regional Office
Brasilia, Brazil
Regional Office
Bangkok, Thailand
Area Offices
Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
Santiago, Chile.
Bridgetown, Barbados
Acting Regional Director
Mr. Sameer Sharma
Africa
Regional Office
Arab
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Area Offices
Yaoundé, Cameroon
Harare, Zimbabwe
Dakar, Senegal
Regional Office
Cairo, Egypt
Area Office
Jakarta, Indonesia
Head: Ms. Aurora Rubio
ITU: Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific
 Responsible for affordable and sustainable access to and use of telecom/ICT
infrastructure and applications through assisting members with various development
initiatives and projects based on multi-stakeholders' partnerships in the Asia-Pacific
Region.
 38 Member States and over 72 Sector Members.
Least Developed Countries
(13)
Afghanistan
Bangladesh
Bhutan
Cambodia
Lao, PDR
Nepal
Myanmar
Timor Leste
Kiribati
Samoa
Solomon Is.
Tuvalu
Vanuatu
Fiji
Maldives
Marshall Islands
Micronesia
Nauru
Tonga
PNG
Small Islands Developing States (12)
Low-Income States (9)
The Rest (10)
D.P.R. Korea
Australia
Brunei
China/Hong Kong
Iran
Japan
India
Indonesia
Mongolia
Pakistan
Sri Lanka
Malaysia
New Zealand
R.O. Korea
Vietnam
Singapore
Philippines
Thailand
Digital Inclusion
Promotion of ICT access and use for the social and economic
development of:
 Indigenous peoples
 Persons with disabilities
 Women and girls
 Youth and children
ITU Work on Accessibility
 General Secretariat: ITU Accessibility Task Force
 BDT (ITU-D): Study Group Question 7/1 “Access to
telecommunication/ICT services by persons with disabilities and with
specific needs”
 TSB (ITU-T): Study Group Question 26/16 “Accessibility to multimedia
systems and services”
ITU-T
• Standard making body
• Coordination among Standard Development Organizations
• Research & study
ITU-D
• Policy and regulatory matters
• Guidelines, toolkits, and training
• Promotion & awareness raising, Project implementation
http://www.e-accessibilitytoolkit.org/
Making Mobile Phones and
Services Accessible Report
Making TV Accessible
Report

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
Identifies ways in which TV
can be made more accessible
Timely given the transition
from analogue to digital TV
Prepared by Peter Looms,
Chairman of ITU-T Focus
Group on Audiovisual Media
Accessibility

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Explains, in concrete
terms, what we mean by
accessible mobile phones
Developments in
accessible mobile apps
Business opportunities and
case studies
Policy guidelines
http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/sis/PwDs/index.phtml
Model ICT Accessibility Policy Report
 Provides policy guidelines and legal and regulatory
framework
 Designed to help countries develop their own accessibility
policies and regulations
 Modular design includes stand-alone sections on:





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Model ICT legal, policy and regulatory framework
Model ICT accessibility framework on public access
Model mobile communications accessibility policy framework
Model television/video programming accessibility framework
Model web accessibility policy framework
Model accessible ICT public procurement policy framework
WTDC-14 and Accessibility
 ITU-D Objective 4 as approved by WTDC-14 is to: “Build human and institutional




capacity, provide data and statistics, promote digital inclusion and provide
concentrated assistance to countries in special need” Output 4.3 is “Digital
inclusion of people with specific needs”
WTDC-14 agreed that instead of referring to “people with special needs” the
term “people with specific needs” would be used;
As per Output 4.3, digital inclusion of people with specific needs, there will be
three Regional Initiatives on persons with disabilities: in the ARB, EUR and CIS
regions
Question 7/1 will address policies and strategies for promoting and
implementing services and solutions which provide access to
telecommunications/ICTs by persons with disabilities and with special needs, and
for people with difficulties mastering reading and writing. This recognizes that
people with difficulties mastering reading and writing can often benefit from ICT
solutions for persons with disabilities.
WTDC-14 also approved WTDC-14 Res. 58 on persons with disabilities,
combining contributions from RCC and CITEL
Planned ITU-D activities in
Accessibility
 Regional Initiatives on ICT accessibility :
Development of training on audio description
 Asia-Pacific and ASEAN -- ?
ITU: Asia-Pacific Regional Initiatives (2015-2018)
Initiative #1
Special Consideration For LDCs*, SIDSs**, Including Pacific Island
Countries, And Landlocked Developing Countries
Initiative #2
Emergency Telecommunications
Initiative #3
Harnessing The Benefits Of New Technologies
(includes Digital Broadcasting)
Initiative #4
Development Of Broadband Access And Adoption Of Broadband
Initiative #5
Policy And Regulation
* LDC: Least Developed Countries
** SIDS: Small Island Developing States
I
Thank
U
ITU : http://www.itu.int
ITU Asia Pacific : http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/asp/CMS/index.asp
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