The National Policy on Electronic Accessibility will change the Life of 80 Million Disabled in India - Says Javed Abidi at Techs

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Techshare 2012, Indias only conference on disability was inaugurated in Delhi yesterday at The India Habitat Centre by Rob Sinclair, Global Accessibility Officer, Microsoft

Mumbai, Maharashtra, India., February 7, 2012 - (PressReleasePoint) -

Delhi

7-02-12

BarrierBreak Technologies, owned by Ashoka Fellow Shilpi Kapoor, in association with National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP), Royal National Institute of Blind People (UK) organises Techshare India, the country's only Pan-Disability Conference and Exhibition.

The conference, now in its 3rd edition in India explores how technology can enrich the lives of persons with disabilities. During the opening discourse, Javed Abidi, now also Global Chair of Disabled People's International (DPI) and Honorary Director of NCPEDP openly voiced the urgency of passing the National Policy on Electronics Accessibility.

Explaining the details of the policy, Ashoka Fellow Shilpi Kapoor, the organiser for Techshare 2012 and owner of BarrierBreak Technologies says, "its an overarching policy that encourages

1. The need for accessibility and assistive technology through education

2. Reinforces the need for research

3. It also requires that standards and guidelines be created for everything; just as there are w3c guidelines for websites to be accessible...similar guidelines need to be created for movies, television software, digital talking books and even electronics like faxes and washing machines etc.

Watching a movie or a television serial is not an exclusive right of the fully abled. A civilized world has to explore how visually impaired people can enjoy entertainment... Sofa seats and push button in expensive theatres is great but what about cinema for the visually impaired? This discourse has to reach the Information and Broadcasting Ministry. Indian channels that broadcast abroad are captioned, in accordance with the guidelines of those Governments. The Ministry of Social Justice is reviewing the 6 page 'National Policy on Electronic Accessibility ' which has the potential to revolutionize the approach of all of us towards people with different abilities. We are eagerly looking at their comments on the bill and hope they will clear it at the earliest.

There are about 80 million disabled people in India and less than 1% have any access to assistive technologies.

Over 47 new products for people across a spectrum of disabilities were showcased at Techshare 2012 and over 2000 people attended the same. Key speakers for the day included Ashoka Fellow Shilpi Kapoor, Rob Sinclair, Global Disability officer Microsoft, Stephen King, Group Director Royal National Institute for Blind People, Dilip Chenoy of the National Skill Development Corporation, Dr. Govind, the CEO of NIXI, Kiran Kaja, Accessibility Engineer Adobe Systems and George Abraham, CEO of the Score Foundation