[vicsireland] FW: Media Release | DIGITAL AGENDA: EDF AND PARTNERS LAUNCH NEW CAMPAIGN

From: "Cearbhall O'Meadhra" <omeadhrac@xxxxxxx>
To: <vicsireland@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Thu, 16 Jun 2011 22:03:20 +0100
Received from EDF today.

All the best,


Cearbhall 

T: +353 (0)1 6364364 m: 08333 23487 E: omeadhrac@xxxxxxx

-----Original Message-----
From: Charlotte May [mailto:Charlotte.May@xxxxxxxxxxxx] 
Sent: 16 June 2011 08:21
To: Charlotte May
Subject: Media Release | DIGITAL AGENDA: EDF AND PARTNERS LAUNCH NEW
CAMPAIGN

media release

European Disability Forum

DIGITAL AGENDA: EDF AND PARTNERS LAUNCH NEW CAMPAIGN

16 June 2011 /// On the occasion of the 1st Digital Agenda Assembly EDF and
its partners are launching their campaign for Accessible websites. 95% of
public websites remain inaccessible. Concretely, this means that older
people and persons with disabilities cannot access vital information online
and perform the same everyday tasks as non-disabled people can.

 

>Why is access to websites crucial?

In an increasingly digitalised society, more and more essential information
and services are available online. To access them, persons with disabilities
and older people require websites designed according to web-accessibility
standards to operate correctly with their assistive technologies.
Unfortunately, most of the websites, including public websites, do not
respect those standards and are inaccessible to a vast majority of the
population.

>What is needed?

The European Commission has committed to improving web-accessibility by
2015:

- The Digital Agenda for Europe, one of the flagships of the Europe 2020
Strategy, and the European Disability Strategy 2010-2020 mention a
legislative proposal that would ?ensure that public sector websites and
websites providing basic services to citizens are fully accessible by 2015?.


- By concluding the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities, the EU committed to take action to ensure equal access to
information to persons with disabilities.

In the past, the European institutions have repeatedly promised to make
public websites accessible but this has not been fulfilled.

 

 

>Web-Access must become a reality for all!

It is time to act! On the occasion of the first Digital Agenda Assembly, 4
key European organisations, AGE platform Europe, ANEC, EBU and EDF, have
come together to call on the European Commission to propose a binding
legislation, that delivers web accessibility for all, as soon as possible.

EDF, represented by its Secretary, Rodolfo Cattani, and its Acting Director,
Javier Güemes, will present our proposals, for increased accessibility, at
the Digital Agenda Assembly on 16 June 2011. 

 

>More information:

Download the ?Access Denied! Campaign for Accessible Websites? leaflet
<http://cms.horus.be/files/99909/MediaArchive/Members%20Room/work%20in%20pro
gress/eAccessibility/Access_Denied_Leaflet_PDF.pdf> 

Read the EDF position on the Digital Agenda
<http://www.edf-feph.org/Page_Generale.asp?DocID=13855&thebloc=26554> 

Read complete media release on EDF website <http://bit.ly/lMyKI6> 

 

 

 

Charlotte May-Simera
Communications Assistant
European Disability Forum | nothing about us without us Square de Meeus 35 |
1000 Brussels Belgium T +32 2 286 51 83 | M +32 470 39 50 68 | F +32 2 282
46 09 Charlotte.may@xxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:Charlotte.may@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
www.edf-feph.org <http://www.edf-feph.org/> 

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[vicsireland] FW: Media Release | DIGITAL AGENDA: EDF AND PARTNERS LAUNCH NEW CAMPAIGN

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