[11761] in Public-Access_Computer_Systems_Forum
NSF Grant
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Public-Access Computer Systems For)
Wed Oct 22 20:28:07 1997
Date: Wed, 22 Oct 1997 18:02:17 -0500
From: Public-Access Computer Systems Forum <LIBPACS@UHUPVM1.UH.EDU>
To: PACS-L@LISTSERV.UH.EDU
Reply-To: Public-Access Computer Systems Forum <PACS-L@LISTSERV.UH.EDU>
From: Prof Norm Coombs <NRCGSH@ritvax.isc.rit.edu>
Subject: NSF Sponsors Access to Internet for Disabled Users
NSF EFFORT TO INCREASE ACCESS TO THE WEB
BY PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
The National Science Foundation, with cooperation from the
Department of Education's National Institute for Disability and
Rehabilitation Research, has made a three-year, $952,856 award to
the World Wide Web Consortium's Web Accessibility Initiative to
ensure information on the Web is more widely accessible to people
with disabilities.
Information technology plays an increasingly important role
in nearly every part of our lives through its impact on work,
commerce, scientific and engineering research, education, and
social interactions. However, information technology designed
for the "typical" user may inadvertently create barriers for
people with disabilities, effectively excluding them from
education, employment and civic participation. Approximately 500
to 750 million people worldwide have disabilities, said Gary
Strong, NSF program director for interactive systems.
The World Wide Web, fast becoming the "de facto" repository
of preference for on-line information, currently presents many
barriers for people with disabilities.
The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), created in 1994 to
develop common protocols that enhance the interoperability and
promote the evolution of the World Wide Web, is working to ensure
that this evolution removes -- rather than reinforces -
accessibility barriers.
National Science Foundation and Department of Education
grants will help create an international program office which
will coordinate five activities for Web accessibility: data
formats and protocols; guidelines for browsers, authoring tools
and content creators; rating and certification; research and
advanced development; and educational outreach. The office is
also funded by the TIDE Programme under the European Commission,
by industry sponsorships and endorsed by disability organizations
in a number of countries.
Issues of accessibility are timely this month: October is
National Disability Employment Awareness Month; the Access Board
will soon be releasing its guidelines for accessibility of
telecommunications products under Section 255 of the
Telecommunications Act; and, the National Research Council
report, "More Than Screen Deep," addressing the issue of every
citizen interfaces, has recently become available.
