News, Universal Access, Disability, ITU, Global: Telecom Africa focussed on disability this year, in the run up to World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD) on 17 May.

ITU Secretary-General Hamadoun Touré used the occasion of Telecom Africa in Cairo to highlight the importance of making ICT equipment and services accessible to meet the needs of people with disabilities. He announced three ITU World Telecommunication and Information Society Awards during the event. These were to Suzanne Mubarak, Egypt's first lady, for her work with children and young people with disabilities, and Andrea Saks for her work promoting standards for disabled people and for creating a host of accessibility events in the ITU. 

The third award was given to the DAISY Consortium rather than to an individual. DAISY, which stands for Digital Accessible Information System, is a worldwide organization of libraries and ICT companies spanning more than 40 countries which promotes open, non-proprietary standards known as ANSI/NISO Z39.86-2005. The consortium aims to develop international standards and technologies which enable equal access to information and knowledge by all people with print disabilities, and which also benefit the wider community. 

WTISD is heir to the World Telecommunication and World Information Society Days of yore, set up to commemorate the founding of the ITU. Since its inauguration in 2006 ITU member states have been invited to "organize appropriate national programmes with a view to stimulating reflection and exchanges of ideas on the theme adopted by the Council, debating the various aspects of the theme with all partners in society and formulating a report reflecting national discussions on the issues underlying the theme, to be fed back to ITU and the rest of its membership". 

The theme for 2008 was Connecting Persons with Disabilities: ICT Opportunities for All. With an estimated 10% - 650 million - of the world's population living with a disability there is huge scope for ICT planners and businesses to address issues of improved access to ICT for disabled people through better strategies and improved design of ICT equipment and services, not least in developing countries where additional resources for disabled people are often limited. 

An interesting demonstration of technologies to help disabled people was provided at Telecom Africa by Swiss company QualiLife, in association with Microsoft. ‘Assistive technology' software can be used in combination with a personal computer or mobile phone to make it accessible to people with a wide range of disabilities. "Designed to improve the quality of life of people with disabilities or functional limitations, these technologies are designed to help any person to achieve greater independence at home, at work, at school, in hospitals and in normal life," said Claudio Giugliemma, CEO of QualiLife. 

Demonstrating the use of this technology to an audience of high-level government officials, international organizations, private sector and civil society, Mr Albergati Diamante showed how despite severe disabilities he could navigate through a series of computer applications. Paralysed from the neck down, Mr Diamante has severe mobility impairment. But with the use of only one muscle, he is able to surf the net, write, communicate on the phone, switch between video and radio applications, and even take some control over home appliances. 

• More info: http://www.qualilife.com/

• http://www.itu.int/