The Internet is for Everyone: Overcoming disabilities and limitations – Flash 04 2024
18 June 2024 | 15:00 - 15:45 EEST | WS room 2 | 
Consolidated programme 2024 overview
The Internet and digital services are now considered basic needs (and in some countries, basic rights) and as such, they should be available for everyone. A disability should not be a limitation when accessing these services. Electronics and AI technologies have helped overcome these challenges notably since the 1980s (for the few who could afford them), but only recently have these technologies been available for “everyone”. What can YOU do to make life better for your fellow Human accessing your site, using your app, driving your brand’s car?
Session description
Note: This session focus on the technological aspects of dealing with disabilities and limitations. For the session related to legal frameworks (etc.) please refer to Pre 3: The European Accessibility Act: a model for a more accessible digital Europe
Over the last 50 years of technological advances, applications of such technologies have increasingly coped with disabilities reduce their limitations, and provide a more equalitarian living experience for everyone.
These limitations can be either permanent or temporary. Blindness is usually permanent while a broken leg is temporary. A pregnancy (which still constitutes a limitation) is temporary.
While no definitive (consensual) list details all the possible situations, the following are the most common (some span multiple categories, list focusing on mitigation technologies):
- Visual
- Blindness (full)
- Blindness (partial: narrow field, blurred, etc.)
- Protanopia/Daltonism (colour blindness)
- Hearing
- Loss of hearing (full)
- Loss of hearing (partial: reduced, single)
- Voice
- No voice (full)
- Other voice limitations
- Mobility
- Lower body (full, partial)
- Upper body (full, partial)
- Neurological
- Dyslexia
- Epilepsy
- Autism (and similars)
- Cognitive Impairments
- ADHD (formerly ADD or hyperactivity)
- Cognitive Delay
- Degenerative (these usually fall into one or more of the above categories)
- Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, etc.
- Old age
- Environmental (or external)
- Anxiety, stress, overwhelming
- Social conditions (that pose limitations on the above categories)
- Poverty, abuse, homelessness, etc.
The objective of this session is to show that many of these issues can be mitigated with current technology, as well as to recommend best practices for inclusion.
(more details TBA)
Format
Open discussion session, guided by short presentation slides (with context and technology information).
Further reading
Links to relevant websites, declarations, books, documents. Please note we cannot offer web space, so only links to external resources are possible. Example for an external link: Main page of EuroDIG
(available soon)
People
Moderator
- André Melancia, Technical community, Portugal
Key participants
- TBD
This is an open discussion session. Everyone is welcome to contribute with experiences on these topics.