Commission on Access to Technology







Membership list 2007-2011

Chairperson : Peter Brass (Germany)
Vice-Chairperson : Michael Townsend (UK)
Board representative : Emin Demirci
Austria : Mike Busboom
Lithuania : Karolis Verbliugevicius
Norway : Age Nigardsoy
Russia : Vladislav Stepanov
Spain : María Jesús Varela
Switzerland : Roland Gossweiler
Ukraine : Vladyslav Bilchych


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Terms of reference 2003-2007

1. This Working Group is one of three working groups acting under the EBU Commission on Access for Blind and Partially Sighted People.

Consistently with the EBU constitution, EBU policies as laid down by the general assembly, and the instructions of the Board, the primary duties for the Working Group to carry out are :

    1.1 To examine technical devices and services offered to the general public, and to advise what steps (if any) need to be taken to ensure that they can be used by blind and partially sighted people, without extra cost if possible.

    1.2 To advise on what adaptations (if any) may be needed to enable blind and partially sighted people to use new technology.

    1.3 To advise the Board on new equipment produced to assist blind and partially sighted people, and generally to monitor advances in technology.

    1.4 To participate in and monitor the Wai Accessibility Initiative and other programmes designed to ensure that websites can be used by blind and partially sighted people.

    1.5 To participate in and monitor standardisation work in information and communication technologies of relevance to blind and partially sighted people.

    1.6 To promote a culture of equality and diversity by making sure particular groups of blind and partially sighted people have access to technology.

2. As soon as possible after the beginning of the work period, the Board will provide the Coordinator of the Working Group with a copy of the Board's Strategic Plan and of the EBU Equality Policy Paper "Towards a Culture of Equality".

3. Having considered the ways in which it can assist in achieving the objectives set in the Board's Strategic Plan and the EBU Equality Policy Paper "Towards a Culture of Equality", the Working Group will immediately prepare, in consultation with the Commission on Access for Blind and Partially Sighted People, its plan of action for the work period. Such plan of action must be consistent with the Board's Strategic Plan, and must be submitted to the Board for approval. The Working Group may, during the work period, refer further matters to the Board for consideration, advice and, if appropriate, action.

4. In its plan of action, the Working Group may propose the setting up of ad hoc subgroups to facilitate its work by carrying out specified tasks. Such proposal may not be acted upon until approved by the Board.

5. The Board may, during the work period, refer further matters to the Working Group for consideration, advice, and, if appropriate, action.

6. In no circumstances does the Working Group or any of its members have authority to make any commitment on behalf of EBU without the prior approval of the Board.

7. In carrying out its work, the Working Group will comply strictly with the rules set out in the Status and Guidelines for EBU Commissions and Working Groups (revised January 2004).



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PLAN OF ACTION 2003-2007

 PREAMBLE

The Working Group on Access to Technology, acting under the EBU Commission on Access for Blind and Partially-Sighted People - responsible for the compliance of the Plan of Action for the work period 2003-2007 – was appointed at the 7th General Assembly at Athens, Greece (26-28 November 2003).

The initially appointed members are :
Mr Peter Brass (Germany) – Commission Chair
Mr José Luis Fernandez Coya (Spain) – WG Coordinator
Mr Vladislav Stepanov (Russia) – WG Deputy Coordinator
Mr Mike Busboom (Austria)
Mr. Mike Townsend (United Kingdom)

Later recruitments are :
Mrs Helena Björnsdottir (Iceland) (May 2005)

Also on the Discussion Group are :
Mr. Roland Gossweiler (Observer)
Mr. Teuvo Heikkonen (Observer)
Mr. Branislav Mamojka (Liaison Commission Link)
Ms Brigitte Blokland (Board Representation on Access Commission).

With the appointment of this team and always on the basis of the Guidelines and Terms of Reference given by the EBU Board, and the items identified at its first meeting in Berlin (Germany) in 2004, the Working Group decided to elaborate its Plan of Action with the aim of achieving the primary duties set for this working period.



PRIORITY AREAS

1. To hold, at least, one annual meeting in order to review the Priority Areas stated in this Plan of Action 2003-2007 and to propose those area subjects that the members of this Working Group have detected and may consider of interest, as well as those identified and referred by other Commissions and the Board.

2. To define those technological fields on which the Working Group should act and submit reports for further use and reference to the EBU Board.

3. To periodically follow up and review those European Projects with EBU participation.

4. To create that information considered of interest so that the EBU can act as a pressure group before the European Union.

5. To set up an Expert Network, supervised by this Working Group, to encourage and promote the activities performed within this WG.

6. To assess the accessibility level of the EBU website and contribute to improve its contents and accessibility.

7. To take on and develop any activity or action referred by the EBU Board related to technology.

8. To cooperate with other Working Groups or Commissions that may require the advice and service of our Working Group as regards technology.
 

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Plan of Action 1999-2003

Table of Contents






1. Literature in alternative formats

We shall continue the previous Commission's intensive work on the talking book subject, but we shall extend the scope of our activity by considering more generally literature in alternative formats such as e-books, literature on the Internet etc. We shall consider the media, the players, and the delivery systems. The challenging copyright issues will be studied, including digital rights management and technical blocks. We shall study the online supply of digital literature including general and special formats like the Library of Congress and Bookshare. We shall examine the importance of structure and its provision in alternative format materials. We welcome the implementation of the EBU recommendations and specifications by the DAISY Consortium.


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2. Access to the Internet

The ever-growing importance of the Internet and particularly the World Wide Web necessitates a strong stand by the visually impaired community to guarantee access to this source of information, commerce and entertainment. The examination of accessibility standards, their promotion and widest possible dissemination must be considered a major objective of our work.

As in the previous commission, we shall continue looking at the activities of the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI). However, more than just following their activities and discussing their recommendations, we shall launch initiatives to motivate governments and organizations in commission members' countries to implement them in their web pages. Since the WAI recommendations are rather technical and hard to follow for the average web page designer, we shall work out simplified and concise versions which are easier to read and which therefore might have a better chance to be followed. We shall compare several recommendations for web accessibility worked out in different countries (UK, Germany, Scandinavia), to formulate unified recommendations on their basis.


It becomes more and more difficult to find information on the Web efficiently. On the other hand, this ability is more and more needed to be successful on the labour market. This problem is of special concern for blind people for they can process information not as quickly as the sighted can. To know which search engine is appropriate in which situation and to handle it efficiently is therefore of great importance for today's blind computer user. We shall thus work out a document to assist blind computer users in handling modern search procedures on the Web.

In addition, these items were assigned to the Commission by the Board of EBU :

- A comparison of the websites of organizations represented on the Commission shall be worked out, to see how well they conform to accessibility standards.
- Our Commission shall contribute to develop the EBU website to a level such that it can serve as an example of good practice with respect to accessibility.
- Government and public websites in countries represented on the Commission should be examined for accessibility, and, where lacking, steps should be addressed for their improvement.


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3. Graphical user interfaces and their representation
particularly on refreshable braille displays

Although much has been reached in this respect over the last five years, usage of a graphical environment for a blind individual is still complicated, cumbersome and non-intuitive. Moreover, usability is not always given the necessary emphasis in present screen reader development. We shall therefore establish minimum criteria for GUI access through screen readers focusing special attention on the question of usability. In order to broaden the scope of this topic, access to Linux and X-Window systems will be included in the discussions.


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4. Distance learning

The delivery of distance learning is a matter of growing importance. Many universities sell packages for distance courses through the Internet and/or include them in their standard curriculum. In most cases, those packages are not accessible. Accessibility to these sources of information must be maintained or gained where it is currently lacking. We shall try to investigate this issue.


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5. Domestic appliances, household

While complex systems like the PC are fairly accessible by now, comparatively simple systems like micro-waves, washing machines, video equipment etc. are hardly accessible. We shall investigate possible solutions of this problem by remote control such as infra red or Blue Tooth. Also, this problem shall be dealt with under the aspect of Universal Design.


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6. Cellular phones

With regard to the growing popularity of cell phones and the increasing number of services available through them, intensified involvement of the visually impaired community towards the accessibility of these devices is paramount.

There are already some systems on the market that offer restricted accessibility via speech. We shall evaluate these systems, trying to get in touch with the manufacturers in order to stress the importance of this topic for our community, to further evaluate the products, and to convey our requirements to them.


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7. Smart Cards

These will be an important part of both the everyday lives of people in the community, and specifically used in technical devices. We will build on the work, particularly developed by John Gill, UK, recognized in the recent international awards. Smart cards will contain personal profiles, and unlock access to many activities. They may well be used in digital rights management. Therefore it is vital that we study their inclusive design and use for visually impaired people.


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8. Audio description

Again, we were committed to this item directly by the EBU Board. Access to television (audio description and programme guides) is a high priority: Audio description activities are encouraged not only for recorded films in the VHS and DVD formats but also for general TV coverage (news, magazine shows, and other up-to-date content). Talking images in areas including theme parks, exhibitions, museums and galleries will also be covered.


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9. Braille technology

We shall consider the topic of braille production, braille translation, braille displays, and related questions. We shall also include the issue of computer games for blind children.


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10. Educational software

This will overlap with the last item, and also with the item on distance learning mentioned earlier. More and more educational software appears on the market, which is normally extremely visually oriented. We shall investigate measures to facilitate accessibility for blind individuals of at least part of the amount of software available. We shall lobby and assist information engine designers, because they provide the tools for generating the educational materials. We shall educate and petition governments over procurement, so they restrict purchases to only inclusively designed courseware. We shall inform the E-Learning initiative of the EU.


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11. Technical needs of developing countries

This issue shall be covered in co-operation with the relevant EBU commission. Much technology is expensive, but not all. Developing countries should not be excluded from the information age, and we will lobby commercial and governmental agencies over the special needs of visually impaired people in developing countries.


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12. Design for All

We took this item into our work plan by a special directive of the EBU Board. We shall identify manufacturers within Europe, particularly those with key influence. Having identified them, we shall explain and define "design for all" principles, and encourage them to take them into account. Also, cooperation and consultation with manufacturers of domestic appliances will be sought to promote their accessibility by the visually impaired and the elderly needs.

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