The Alliance for Digital Inclusion (ADI), a pan-industry body focusing on the impact of information and communication technology on our society, has appointed a consortium led by RNID and supported by the Disabled Living Foundation and leading technology development consultancy Scientific Generics to research the use of information and communication technology (ICT) by disabled people.
A very important part of this research was to have a debate with all stakeholders, and foremost disabled people all across the spectrum of abilities and preferences themselves, about the barriers they face, but also the ways in which technology has helped them in becoming more independent and being fully enabled citizens in the modern information society.
We also collected your stories. We invited disabled people, their friends, colleagues, families to tell us about positive and negative experiences in using information and communication technology as part of our research.
Guido Gybels, Director of New Technologies at RNID, says: "There has been a lot of debate over the last few years about how technology can create both opportunities as well as threats to full participation for disabled people. However, it is very important that disabled people themselves drive this inclusion agenda, identify the barriers they face and decide on their own requirements. This project is all about listening to disabled people and learning from what they have to say."
Part of the project has created an eInclusion Charter, which was presented to Government and industry. This Charter outlines a strategy for inclusion and provides recommendations for action. It promises to make an impact by lowering barriers to accessing all types of technology and achieving greater participation of disabled and older people in the ICT field.
ADI is concerned that some disabled people in the UK are being left behind in the information age, and aims to change this through lobbying for policy change and raising awareness. Heidi Lloyd, spokesperson for ADI, commented, "ADI members are keen to ensure that everybody in the UK has an equal chance of accessing technology but we can't ensure this without finding out what difficulties people currently face and what people need. ADI doesn't believe in prescriptive changes. We believe in people led solutions and communicating them to influence developments."