The right of differently-abled to ICT

We all know disabled people whom we now refer to as the 'differently abled'. They may be members of our own family, schoolmates or neighbours. We ourselves may have disabilities. The disabled are a part of us.

Over 10 per cent of Sri Lanka's population is said to be disabled. Disabilities come in many forms; some people are visually-handicapped, have hearing or mobility disabilities, may have invisible disabilities such as epilepsy, heart conditions, diabetes or have learning disabilities or psychiatric problems. But they are just like us; they need everything that we need; they like the same things that we like.

All these people are remembered on December 3, which is the International Day of Disabled Persons. The Day seeks to promote the integration of people with disabilities into society.

The focus this year will be on improving access to new information technology for persons with disabilities. The theme as declared by the United Nations is 'E-accessibility'. Although new opportunities have been created for everyone due to the developments in Information and Communication Technology (ICT), people with disabilities haven't been able to utilise them fully.

This has been due to most websites being inaccessible to the visually impaired, computers being heavily dependent on using the mouse, and because training is often conducted in inaccessible formats and venues.

Also, in this day and age when education is becoming increasingly dependent on information technology, not being able to access the Internet has limited the learning potential of the differently abled.

However, developments in ICT are particularly meaningful for them, as they can use those technologies to overcome barriers that society has placed on them.

At the first World Summit on the Information Society held in Geneva, Switzerland in 2003, many governments had committed themselves to building a people-centred, inclusive and development-oriented information society, where everyone can create, access, utilise and share information and knowledge. This year's theme for this Day is expected to mobilise action to allow those with disabilities to participate in that global vision.