Accessibility in the News — 12/2/2022.

The US Justice Department has filed a consent decree in federal court to resolve allegations that the University of California Berkeley, violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by making its online content inaccessible to people with hearing, vision, and manual disabilities. Under the three and a half year long consent decree, UC Berkeley will make all future and the vast majority of its existing online content accessible to people with disabilities. This will include BerkeleyX courses, university websites and video and podcast content on its YouTube and Apple Podcasts channels. UC Berkeley will also revise its policies, train relevant personnel, designate a web accessibility coordinator, conduct accessibility testing of its online content, and hire an independent auditor to evaluate the accessibility of its content.

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Accessibility in the News December 2, 2022

“I have not been handicapped by my condition. I am physically challenged and differently able.” ― Janet Barnes

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Feature Stories

Justice Department Secures Agreement with University of California, Berkeley to Make Online Content Accessible to People with Disabilities

November 21, 2022 | Source: Department of Justice and INSIGHT Into Diversity and EdScoop and Inside Higher Ed and CBS News and Higher Ed Dive and Diverse Issues In Higher Education and MSN and Seyfarth Shaw and Forbes

The Justice Department announced today that it has filed a proposed consent decree in federal court to resolve allegations that the Regents of the University of California on behalf of the University of California, Berkeley (collectively, UC Berkeley) violated Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) because much of UC Berkeley’s free online content is inaccessible to individuals with hearing, vision, and manual disabilities. The proposed consent decree was filed together with a complaint setting forth the allegations of discrimination…

National News (U.S.)

21-Year-Old Dance Major Continues Ballet Following Bone Cancer, Leg Amputation: ‘I Never Gave Up’

November 17, 2022 | Source: People

Kara Skrubis has had a passion for ballet since she was 3 years old, competing across the country and sharing dreams to teach the younger generation how to dance. Now 21, the New York native tells PEOPLE that although she’s always had a life purpose, that purpose has become more meaningful since overcoming a “devastating” battle with bone cancer. In October 2019, Skrubis woke up one morning with a lot of pain in her left knee. As an 18-year-old freshman and dance major at the University of Buffalo, she was stressed out about the possible injury. But after a trip to an urgent care found no cause, she pushed through the pain and finished the semester…

Blood tests for Alzheimer’s are here. Here’s what you need to know

November 17, 2022 | Source: The Washington Post

1 in 10 Americans over 65 have dementia, study finds

November 24, 2022 | Source: CNN

Brain expert: The No. 1 thing that sets ‘SuperAgers’ apart from people with ‘weak memory skills’

November 25, 2022 | Source: CNBC

New data shows Alzheimer’s drug can slow cognitive decline

November 29, 2022 | Source: Yahoo

Few illnesses instill as much fear as Alzheimer’s, a fatal neurodegenerative disease that destroys memory and identity. The dread is compounded by the uncertainty that often surrounds the diagnosis of the most common form of dementia. Brain autopsies remain the only way to know for sure whether someone had the disease, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates affects 6.5 million people in the United States. Over the past several years, sophisticated tests such as spinal taps and specialized PET scans have become available — but they are invasive and costly and not routinely used…

DOJ Promises To Resume Filing Federal Website Accessibility Reports

November 18, 2022 | Source: HuffPost

The Department of Justice plans to file its first report in a decade on the accessibility of federal government websites, following a bipartisan push in Congress. “The Department of Justice … recognizes the critical importance of accessible technology to millions of Americans with disabilities,” the DOJ said in a letter received Monday by Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.), who had written to the department in June to demand that the government report on its compliance with accessibility standards. The DOJ added that it intends to submit the document “in the coming weeks.”…

Taylor Swift fan says handicap accessible tickets were not available on Ticketmaster presale

November 18, 2022 | Source: CBS

Mom’s heartfelt Facebook post helps daughter score wheelchair accessible tickets to see Taylor Swift

November 18, 2022 | Source: KCRA

Taylor Swift fans looking for handicap accessible seating say they are getting blocked out of her concert by Ticketmaster. “I had a presale code, and I was eager to try to get tickets for presale,” said Jessica Rogers, who went to her concert at Gillette Stadium in 2011, and is in a wheelchair. “The toggle on the website where you would slide over to select accessible tickets was grayed out, so not even an option to buy wheelchair accessible tickets.” Rogers has been in a wheelchair for 20 years following a car accident in 2002. Her vehicle hydroplaned and rolled over…

Twitter – Microassist

Disabled people fear Twitter changes under Elon Musk leave them behind

November 18, 2022 | Source: The Washington Post

Disabled employee sues Twitter over Musk’s ban on remote work

November 17, 2022 | Source: Reuters

Twitter’s Layoffs Are a Blow to Accessibility

November 21, 2022 | Source: WIRED

Twitter is the voice of Persons with Disabilities. Dear Elon Musk, don’t fail us now

November 21, 2022 | Source: ThePrint

Twitter has long been an essential public space for people with disabilities because of its unique format and broad reach. But now many people worry that recent cutbacks and changes by Elon Musk will disproportionately harm disability communities. Twitter employees have tweeted that recent layoffs included the entire accessibility engineering team, which helped make the website usable for those with disabilities, particularly those with sensory challenges, mobility issues and visual or auditory impairment…

Why Top Brands Should Rethink Adaptive Fashion And Take It Seriously

November 18, 2022 | Source: Forbes

Ramping Up Fashion’s Accessible Future

November 21, 2022 | Source: YES! Magazine

Far from simply being a narrow niche concern, the adaptive fashion market is projected to be worth some $400 billion by 2026. Adaptive fashion refers to clothing and apparel that is suitable for individuals with physical or sensory disabilities who may have difficulty dressing or experience severe discomfort and inconvenience wearing standard clothing. Typical modifications to ensure clothing can meet the needs of disabled consumers may include magnetic and Velcro fastenings instead of buttons and laces for individuals with dexterity issues, concealed zips for access to external tubes and temperature control fabrics…

What Disabled Workers Told Us About Sheltered Workshops

November 19, 2022 | Source: ProPublica

We published a story about sheltered workshops in Missouri — facilities where it’s legal to pay employees less than the minimum wage because they have intellectual, developmental or physical disabilities. More than 5,000 disabled adults work in Missouri’s sheltered workshops, some earning less than $1 per hour. Across the country, disability rights advocates have lamented these facilities and their low wages, calling them discriminatory and exploitative. At least 14 states have banned subminimum wages, and advocates are ramping up pressure on the federal government to repeal the more than 80-year-old law authorizing them nationwide…

Dance company works to ensure dance is accessible to all

November 20, 2022 | Source: Caribbean Life

Alice Sheppard studied ballet and modern dance with Kitty Lunn, and she made her debut when she was working with Infinity Dance Theater. She then worked with Axis Dance Company, where she performed on tour and taught in the company’s education and outreach programs. She has been an independent artist for a couple years now. As part of this stage in her career, she founded Kinetic Light Dance Company (KLDC) in 2016, due to being intrigued by the intersecting concepts of gender, race, and disability…

Disabled Shoppers Struggle With Inaccessible Self-Checkouts

November 21, 2022 | Source: The Wall Street Journal

Stores’ self-checkout machines can annoy shoppers with error messages about unexpected items in the bagging area and other hiccups. But for some disabled people, they are often unusable. Blind people can have trouble navigating the touchscreens. Deaf people might not be able to troubleshoot on kiosks that connect to a customer-service worker located somewhere else. And wheelchair users sometimes can’t reach or see the screens, or fit their chairs comfortably in the space allocated to each checkout…

City elections board misses deadline to make all polling places accessible, 30 years after ADA became law

November 21, 2022 | Source: Chicago Sun-Times

Chicagoans checking where to vote on Election Day may have been surprised to find that fewer than 10% of the city’s polling places were marked as accessible for people with disabilities — and a third of the city’s 50 wards had no sites considered compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The Chicago Board of Election Commissioners admits it has not met a deadline arising from a U.S. Department of Justice investigation that required the city to make every voting location fully accessible to people with disabilities for the last election — despite receiving a four-year extension…

U.S. Attorney Announces Agreement With New York University To Increase Accessibility Of Student Housing Facilities

November 22, 2022 | Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office Southern District of New York

Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced a voluntary compliance agreement under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) with New York University (“NYU” or the “University”) to increase the accessibility of NYU’s student housing facilities for individuals with disabilities. The agreement covers all of NYU’s student housing facilities in the New York metropolitan area…

Barnes and Noble class action claims website not accessible to blind, visually impaired users

November 22, 2022 | Source: Top Class Actions

Barnes and Noble failed to design and maintain its website so that it would be fully accessible for individuals who are blind or visually impaired, a new class action lawsuit alleges. Plaintiff Daniel Rodriguez, a legally blind man, claims Barnes and Noble violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by allegedly not making its website fully accessible to blind and visually impaired individuals. Rodriguez argues the alleged denial of full access to its website is a denial of the goods and services offered on it…

For Vermonters with disabilities, the search for housing is even harder

November 24, 2022 | Source: VTDigger

More than 11 months into her housing search, Ren Vanwagner steeled herself for another day filled with dozens of fruitless calls. Then, just after 9 a.m., her phone rang a melody that would become ingrained in her mind as the sound of her saving grace. “You’ve been approved for housing,” said a voice on the other line. Vanwagner, 63, who had been stuck living at a nursing home as she searched for housing, waited another 30 days before she could finally move into a place of her own…

Lesson Plan: ‘26.2 Miles Is Easy. Getting Around New York City Is Not.’

November 28, 2022 | Source: The New York Times

Daniel Romanchuk, 24, placed second in the New York City Marathon this month. But just getting around the city in a wheelchair can be more challenging than a race. In this lesson, you will learn about Mr. Romanchuk’s remarkable story, as well as the challenges he faces after finishing races. Then, in a Going Further activity, we invite you to investigate and assess the accessibility of public spaces where you live. Have you ever competed in a marathon? If not, would you want to?…

‘Disability rights are workers’ rights’: Disabled UC Davis workers on strike advocate for greater accessibility on the picket and in the university

November 28, 2022 | Source: CapRadio

In a 10-9 vote Nov. 30, the UAW 2865 bargaining team voted to move the UC’s latest “reasonable accommodations” article to a tentative agreement, effectively eliminating the last access needs article on the table. Similarly, in a 10-9 vote the same night, the bargaining team voted to move the pay floor in their wages proposal to $43,000 — down from an initial $54,000 demand — and keep the cost of living adjustment language out of the wages contract. Both representatives for the Davis branch of the union local voted in favor…

MTA to spend more than $1B on accessibility upgrades

November 28, 2022 | Source: Gothamist and amNewYork and Trains Magazine

The MTA is moving forward with more than $1 billion worth of accessibility upgrades. It’s the latest step in the agency’s recent commitment to build more elevators and ramps. The agency’s board is scheduled to vote this week on a slate of contracts for the improvements, which will add elevators or replace old ones at 14 subway stations and nine Long Island Rail Road stations. One of the proposed contracts — valued at $965 million — covers the installation of 21 new elevators at eight stations across the city, as well as 14 elevator replacements at five other stations…

Rutgers study examines discrepancies in accessibility of epilepsy treatment

November 28, 2022 | Source: The Daily Targum

Rutgers researchers recently conducted a study on the disparities in access to epilepsy treatments for those in racial or minority groups. Brad Kamitaki, an assistant professor in the Department of Neurology at Robert Wood Johnson Medical Center (RWJMC) and the lead author of the study, said there is not a large amount of scholarly research dedicated to examining disparities in epilepsy treatment. In order to expand this field of study, he said he wanted to examine the population of people with epilepsy in New Jersey and discern what obstacles people face when trying to receive epilepsy treatment…

Voters with disabilities say voting needs accessibility reform amid Georgia runoff

November 29, 2022 | Source: FOX 5 Atlanta

Jes Gordon received a free ride to her polling location so she could participate in early voting on Thursday. It was made possible thanks to Zan Thornton, of GA ADAPT. Gordon said finding even one option can be a major barrier for voters with disabilities. “If you have a mobility aid, or you need wheelchair access, you need a van that’s accessible to you,” said Gordon. She added that available options are often too expensive. “I have friends who say they have a company, but it can cost upwards of $50 to just go one way,” said Gordon…

What travelers with wheelchairs need to know: Protect your gear, plan carefully

November 30, 2022 | Source: Wicked Local

Adriana Mallozzi travels for business and for pleasure. “I have cerebral palsy. I am a quadriplegic. I use a powered wheelchair, and I’m involved with a lot of different things,” said Mallozzi, of Brookline, founder and chief executive officer of Woburn-based Puffin Innovations, which specializes in assistive technologies for people with limited mobility in their upper extremities. “My initial device is a mouth-operated device that connects to mobile devices,” Mallozzi said. “It allows someone to use a mobile phone, laptop, tablet, any computer, iPad, or whatever. It connects via Bluetooth, and we have an app that accompanies the hardware.”…

As DOJ, GSA publicly report on Section 508 progress, US Access Board driving change

November 30, 2022 | Source: Federal News Network

For the first time in a decade, the Department of Justice will issue a report on agency progress in meeting accessibility requirements under Section 508 of the Americans with Disabilities Act. DOJ told the Senate Special Committee on Aging in a Nov. 14 letter that it has been working with the General Services Administration and will release the mandated report in the coming weeks. “Following the last Section 508 report issued by the department in 2012, the Office of Management and Budget issued a Strategic Plan for Improving Management of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, setting up a program to track federal agencies’ progress in complying with Section 508…

Medical bills remain inaccessible for many visually impaired Americans

December 1, 2022 | Source: NPR

A Missouri man who is deaf and blind said a medical bill he didn’t know existed was sent to debt collections, triggering an 11% rise in his home insurance premiums. In a different case, from California, an insurer has suspended a blind woman’s coverage every year since 2010 after mailing printed “verification of benefits” forms to her home that she cannot read, she said. The problems continued even after she got a lawyer involved. And still another insurer kept sending a visually impaired Indiana woman bills she said she could not read, even after her complaint to the Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights led to corrective actions.

Jack Fact — One in 26 people in the United States will develop epilepsy at some point in their lives and that list is growing with 150,000 new cases of the disease reported every year. An estimated 3.4 million Americans and 65 million people worldwide currently live with epilepsy.

Hit The Road Jack — State Of Accessible Travel – Part Two and The Top 6 Best Airlines For Wheelchair Users

International News

Ageing Better calls on UK Government to raise accessibility standards of newly-built homes

November 18, 2022 | Source: THIIS- UK

The financial and societal benefits of raising the accessibility standards of new homes outweigh the costs of implementing them, says the Centre for Ageing Better as it calls on the UK Government to implement the eagerly-awaited improvements to building regulations as soon as practicable. While housebuilders have been stating that implementing ‘Part M’ accessible housing regulations would cost around £310 million a year, charities and housing experts are highlighting the significant current cost of homes with poor accessibility – a sizeable proportion of which is currently paid by the taxpayer…

Airlines can’t seem to safely transport my wheelchair, but they’ve found a way to move horses by air

November 19, 2022 | Source: CBC- Canada

Airline travel can be stressful for anyone, and particularly for a person with a disability. A disabled traveller has the usual concerns, such as scheduling and connections, but also the additional concern about the safety of their mobility equipment. Worldwide, airlines have a poor record for safely transporting mobility equipment. According to a recent CBC story, the Canadian Transportation Agency — the federal air travel regulator — says it has received 247 wheelchair-related air accessibility complaints over the last five years…

Accessibility Standards Canada signs two memoranda of understanding with Ontario

November 21, 2022 | Source: Law Times- Canada

The Accessibility Standards Canada (ACS) has signed two memoranda of understanding (MOUs) with the Ontario government to improve efforts and coordination and facilitate sharing of resources dedicated to creating a barrier-free Canada. “People with disabilities deserve accessible, equitable, and inclusive systems regardless of jurisdiction,” said Carla Qualtrough, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion. “Accessibility Standards Canada is doing vital work with provincial and territorial governments, like the Government of Ontario, to ensure that accessibility standards are more harmonized across the country.”…

Campaigning to create better accessibility for wheelchair users in town centres

November 22, 2022 | Source: THIIS- UK

During this year I’ve been campaigning to create better accessibility within my town. I met with councillors to give them a different perspective of how it is to be a wheelchair user. I also visited local shops where I discovered that a few shop owners had not been aware of the duties which are described in the Equality Act. After I had explained the reasons why improving access into their shops would be a benefit, I explained that in most cases a portable ramp is efficient…

Plow operator training on accessibility undergoing review and update to improve service, City of Winnipeg says

November 22, 2022 | Source: CTV News Winnipeg- Canada

The City of Winnipeg has announced crews will plow residential streets after complaints and concerns piled up following a recent snowfall and some hope accessibility will play a bigger role in snow clearing going forward. Nancy Gabriel uses a walker and rides the bus. She found it difficult to get around Winnipeg following the recent snowfall, which saw the city blanketed with between 10 and 20 centimetres, depending on the area, from Nov. 10 to 11. “Sometimes my husband has to carry my walker and I struggle to walk,” Gabriel said. She’s not alone…

Local diabetic with vision loss pushing for legislated accessibility on all medical equipment

November 22, 2022 | Source: Canada.com

Slowly making progress on getting changes secured with manufacturers on insulin pumps to accommodate those with vision loss, a local man is among those now focused on seeing new federal legislation put in place so all medical equipment must pass accessibility tests. Ryan Hooey, 36, of Tecumseh has been dealing with diabetes since childhood and lost his eyesight almost overnight because of the disease roughly 10 years ago due to diabetic retinopathy. Canada has one of the highest rates of retinopathy — 25.1 per cent of people living with diabetes — which is the leading cause of sight loss in working-age adults…

Royal National Institute of Blind People’s ‘Nice List’ Celebrates Brand’s Accessible Christmas Ads

November 22, 2022 | Source: LBBOnline- UK

Leading sight loss charity the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) is donning its Father Christmas hat to celebrate brands who have made the nice list for creating Christmas adverts with accessibility in mind. Brands including Amazon, Sainsbury’s, John Lewis, Waitrose, Tesco, Marks and Spencer clothing advert, Virgin Media, Aldi, Morrison’s, Haleon and TK Maxx have all added audio description (AD) to their Christmas offerings this year, allowing the 350,000 people who are registered blind or partially sighted in the UK to enjoy the adverts at the same time as their sighted friends and family…

Campaigners for accessible EV charging host reception at the House of Commons

November 23, 2022 | Source: Forecourt Trader- UK

MPs and industry leaders attended a Parliamentary reception hosted by Motability, the charity, to learn more about how public electric vehicle (EV) charging can be made accessible to disabled people. The House of Commons reception, which took place on Monday 21 November, was held to mark the launch of a new British Standards Institute (BSI) standard for accessible EV charging. Attendees included Tom Pursglove, the minister for disabled people, health and work…

Brisbane train station closures, upgrades for Cross River Rail lead to accessibility issues

November 23, 2022 | Source: ABC- Australia

Questions have been raised about transport accessibility during construction of the Cross River Rail as another platform is closed for the works. Dutton Park station’s outbound platform will close from Monday as part of Cross River Rail works. The whole station will close from last service on Friday until Sunday for track maintenance on the Beenleigh line. Rocklea station was closed in September and will reopen in late 2023 while Fairfield closed in February and should reopen in coming weeks…

Qatar 2022 one of most accessible tournaments in history

November 24, 2022 | Source: The Peninsula- Qatar

As FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 is to be one of the most accessible tournaments in history, Qatar has ensured accessibility beyond the stadiums. With few days into the World Cup, experts from Qatar Foundation (QF) and Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy (SC) discussed about Qatar’s goal of hosting the most accessible tournament. The experts disclosed that Qatar 2022 features a number of firsts for differently-abled fans, including the availability of audio descriptive commentary in Arabic and English at all matches…

Europe Names Its First Disabled Astronaut

November 24, 2022 | Source: The Swaddle- Europe

Yesterday, the European Space Agency (ESA) announced its first “parastronaut” — a disabled astronaut — who will join a crew of 17 recruits undergoing astronaut training. British Paralympic sprinter John McFall will take part in a feasibility study, so the ESA can better understand and build capacity for disabled astronauts to live and work in space, according to Reuters. The announcement comes amid conversations about science and tech’s accessibility for disabled people. This isn’t the first time a disabled person was involved in space flight…

WTM: Majority of Travel Websites Not Disability-friendly

November 24, 2022 | Source: Greek Travel Pages- London

The digital receptiveness of travel websites as a first step towards accessible travel was discussed during a session at this year’s World Travel Market London (WTM). During a session entitled “Accessible Travel: How are we really doing?”, a panel of accessibility heads and tourism professionals discussed recent developments and pinpointed improvements that need to take place to assist the travel experience of people with disabilities. Accessibility Lead for British travel agency Skyscanner Heather Hepburn pointed out that 95 percent of travel websites are currently not disability-friendly…

Accessible garden allows wheelchair-user to smell the roses (or the coffee)

November 25, 2022 | Source: Stuff- New Zealand

Kate Paterson can actually enjoy the rain in her garden – it’s one of the things she likes most about it. As a wheelchair-user, she doesn’t go out in wet weather much as her powered chair stops working, so “it’s really nice” to be able to enjoy her garden when it’s raining, she said. There’s an area off the side of the shed – she calls it “the cabana” – that’s fully covered, so she can sit there and watch the rain. Paterson’s garden is one of 20 garden spaces around Auckland featured at Auckland Garden DesignFest…

Athens Acropolis Becomes Accessible to the Visually Impaired

November 25, 2022 | Source: Greek Reporter- Greece and eKathimerini

The Acropolis of Athens has become accessible to the visually impaired through a route unveiled on Thursday that combines models of monuments, haptic feedback points, and signs in Greek and English Braille. During the unveiling, Culture and Sports Minister Lina Mendoni noted that “equal access to cultural goods is a goal, an objective, and a bet for the ministry and its services.” The haptic course features twelve stops and four information points, with signs in Greek and English Braille and a tactile 3D model of the archaeological site of the Acropolis, also with Braille notation in Greek and English…

The Accessibility Law: 40 years of disappointment

November 26, 2022 | Source: The Manila Times- Philippines

I would like to start by commending the Department of Transportation (DoTr) and the National Council on Disability Affairs (NCDA) for launching a public consultation process this week to review and amend the implementing rules and regulations of Batas Pambansa Bilang 344 (BP 344, commonly known as the “Accessibility Law”). Soliciting feedback from stakeholders is the first step toward achieving the law’s purpose and intent, which unfortunately remains unfulfilled…

Judiciary should reach out to people: CJI Chandrachud on inclusion of technology for making justice accessible to all

November 26, 2022 | Source: India Legal

Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud, while stressing on expanding the intent of technology in making the access to justice easy, said on Saturday that it was essential that the judiciary reached out to people, rather than vice-versa. Speaking during the celebration of Constitution Day at the Supreme Court premises, the CJI said that in order to make justice delivery system accessible to everyone, the Indian judiciary has taken many new initiatives to realise this goal, including the adoption of technology…

This Woman Started Petition To Make Helplines Accessible For The Hearing Impaired

November 26, 2022 | Source: The Logical Indian- India

Despite 63 million people in the country reportedly being affected with hearing disabilities, there is no provision made on a governmental level to make helplines accessible to them. The emergency helplines of 100, 101, 102, 1098, and so on are of no use to them as the people on the other end do not speak the same language as them. Addressing this concern, Naina Navlani, chair of the accessibility vertical at Young Indians Indore, started a petition with Change.org. Through the petition, she requests the Government of India to make helplines accessible to all through video call services with sign language interpreters…

Integration of People with disabilities is difficult at all Levels

November 26, 2022 | Source: Sarajevo Times- Balkans

In the Western Balkans economies “most of the progress was registered in the areas of inclusion of children with disabilities, especially in the process of deinstitutionalization of children with disability, inclusive education and support services offered at the community level”, reads the Regional Overview of Western Balkan Economies Regarding the European Pillar of Social Rights 2021, prepared by the Regional Cooperation Councils (RCC) Employment and Social Affairs Platform 2 Project (ESAP 2)…

A guide to making music festivals more accessible

November 27, 2022 | Source: Mint Lounge- India

When the Bacardi NH7 Weekender—rated as one of the biggest platforms for independent music—opens this weekend in Pune’s Mahalaxmi Lawns, it will boast not just of an eclectic lineup of over 40 artists but also of its inclusivity and accessibility. For in its 13th edition, the conversation on accessibility reached a whole new level when “ardent fans sent emails requesting to bring their differently abled friends on wheelchairs to the festival”, states Akshat Rathee, co-founder and managing director, NODWIN Gaming, which owns the IP, or intellectual property, for the music festival…

Focus on New Technologies For Disabled At Accessibility Fair in İstanbul

November 28, 2022 | Source: Turkish Journal- Turkey and Daily Sabah

Istanbul celebrates ACI accessibility first

November 28, 2022 | Source: Airports International- Turkey

İstanbul is preparing for its 12th edition of the Accessibility Fair and Awareness Summit opening Dec. 1. The sixth summit of its kind in the world, it includes four days of exploring the latest technologies for those physically challenged and those with more severe disabilities. The summit goal is also to raise awareness about issues that face the disabled community on a daily basis. Turkish President Erdogan had declared Turkiye to be the Year of Accessibility for the physically challenged in 2020 where the Turkish government tripled its efforts to draft new regulations and policies to assist the disabled…

Accessible stadiums, facilities win wide appreciation

November 29, 2022 | Source: Gulf Times- Qatar

The range of services and facilities in place to ensure connectivity and mobility for specially-abled fans from across the world at FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 is winning praise for the country, especially for making the mega tournament an inclusive event. “I am able to explore Qatar by enjoying the matches and tourist destinations. I can do things on my own. Qatar’s transport network is fully equipped to meet the requirements of fans like me,” Hassan Ameera, a football fan from Jordan told Gulf Times. He has so far attended five matches while using metro, buses and taxis to reach his destinations…

Colleges show some improvement around accessibility and support for disabled students

November 30, 2022 | Source: FE News- UK

One year on from the study that revealed FE colleges are failing blind and partially sighted students, ALL Able and Thomas Pocklington Trust (TPT) have repeated the research – and the findings show small improvements. Last November, TPT revealed a lack of awareness, engagement and compliance across the FE sector in providing accessible learning, teaching and assessment materials. The research looked at blind and partially sighted students’ access to information and assistive technology (AT) in mainstream FE…

Accessibility toolkit launched for Wicklow community groups

December 1, 2022 | Source: Independent- Ireland

A toolkit that shows local community and sports groups how they can be more accessible and inclusive to people with disabilities will be launched by Wicklow County Council’s Disability and Inclusion Steering Committee (DISC) on Friday, December 2. The toolkit offers practical advice for sports and community groups, so that they can make their facilities and meeting spaces as accessible as possible. It also gives tips on how to make communication clear for everyone, and how best to include people with disabilities in the management of clubs and societies…

Association of Blind Seeks Accessibility on Bank Mobile Apps, USSD

December 1, 2022 | Source: This Day- Nigeria

Championing a world of total inclusion and equal opportunity for persons living with visual impairment has been the core mandate of the Nigeria Association of the Blind (NAB) since its establishment in 1968. This time, however, why technology is rapidly growing exponentially, making life and connectivity easier, members of NAB are feeling left out. Hence, the association has called the attention of the Central Bank of Nigeria to enforce all regulated financial institutions to make their websites, mobile applications, money wallets, and USSD among others to be usable and accessible for persons with disabilities in the country…

Accessibility can improve everyone’s lives

December 2, 2022 | Source: Social Europe- Estonia

Years ago, while I was studying at university, a lecturer keen on innovation insisted on the final examination being taken online, via a platform hitherto unknown to me. There was a time limit for taking the test and, among other things, the assessment took into account how long it took to answer some questions. I asked the lecturer, well in advance, whether the platform was accessible. The answer came in an ironic tone, insisting that students were of course guaranteed access to the platform when on the university’s network…

Stories of lived experiences, and a cheeky magpie, enable a powerful session about accessibility

December 2, 2022 | Source: CommBank- Australia

Avoid making assumptions about others, and remember that not all disabilities are visible. Those were among the powerful messages from an event hosted by Enable, Commonwealth Bank’s accessibility and inclusion network, ahead of International Day of People with Disability on Saturday, December 3. The event included a panel discussion featuring three long-time CommBank employees, who shared their lived experiences with disability: Scott Pavitt, who was born missing his fingers; Shari Cosgriff, who has rheumatoid arthritis and is also a carer for her husband; and Al Reid, a carer for his girlfriend, who has low vision…

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Learn More About Digital Accessibility

Our Digital Accessibility Digest blog covers our Accessibility in the News archives as well as expert commentaries on digital accessibility issues.

Our most popular commentaries include:

mockup of website on laptop and mobile screens with heading 'WCAG 2.2"

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