25TH JANUARY 2023 – MONTHLY ARSO WEBINAR
Time: 2:30 – 4:30 (1430 HRS – 1630 HRS) PM- EAST AFRICAN TIME
Register Here – https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwkfuGtqzorE9HaAKUbdk6ekTupjrPFDwqi
Rationale for the Webinar
Focusing on inclusive Transformation and Sustainable Development, prosperity for all.
Given the growing proliferation of devices, in the information age, it is vital that persons with disabilities (PwDs) can fully access Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and the opportunities they provide in their own right, in an interconnected world, regardless of age, gender, ability, or location.
ARSO, therefore, jointly with the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS), Kenya, WELCOMES you to ARSO Monthly webinar series for January 2023, on 25th December 2023 on Digitization for sustainable & inclusive development – ICT accessibility standards and requirements focusing on the Disabled persons. The Webinar take into consideration the experience of COVID 19 and the rise in the development of SMART Cities, where digitisation and the emerging ICTs are taking central place in sustainable development, permeating all sectors of life, including Health, Trade, Value-Chains, Manufacturing, Transportation, Governance, hence the need to consider the plight of all, including the Disabled, as per the UN Convention of 2006, and in the spirit of 2030 SDGs and the Africa Agenda 2063, that advocate for “inclusive prosperity with No one left Behind”.
The Webinar highlights the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its Optional Protocol (A/RES/61/106) adopted on 13 December 2006, which has established accessibility as one of its general principles, and Article 9 of which, requires the development of accessibility standards, and highlights the strategic role of Stakeholders and Government policy to ensure accessibility of services, as well as technical standards to ensure accessibility is taken into account in the design of technological products and services. The Webinar highlights the current standardisation initiatives including, the ETSI EN 301 549 and ETSI EN 301 549 (EU) and the Section 508 requirements (USA), and in Africa the initiative by Kenya, KEBS for the development of the KS ISO 2952 standard.
The Webinar seeks to create awareness of the growing population of the Disabled and the need for such standards, as UN estimates that 15% of the population worldwide, or some 1 billion individuals, live with one or more disabling conditions, with more than 46 per cent of older persons, those aged 60 years and over, having disabilities and more than 250 million older people experiencing moderate to severe disability. This, as the World Bank estimates that one billion people suffer from some sort of disability and predicting that by 2030, the number of senior citizens aged 60 and above who face age-related disabilities is expected to reach 1.4 billion, rising to 2.1 billion by 2050
The Webinar seeks to highlight the ongoing initiatives, the challenges and the need for regulatory policies that enhance the development and harmonisation of ICT Accessibility standards.
