Proceedings of

Extending Horizons

16th January 2007

Conference organised by COST 219ter

Accessibility to Next Generation Networks

MS VIVIENNE READING (Via Videolink): Ladies and gentlemen. Technological innovation has already brought huge benefits to our society and economy. It allows us to do things today that we would not have been imagining possible just few years ago. TV and video on our mobile phones; GPS telling us where we are and where to go; remote health monitoring, helping us to stay healthy – even healthy devices reminding us to lock the door or turn off the cooker.

The pace of change continues unabated. Most interestingly, we now see developments in social applications, fuelled by WEP2 products and converging technologies. IC2 now plays such a fundamental role in all our daily lives that it is sometimes difficult to remember what life was before.

But some people in Europe are not shaping these benefits. Around 30% of Europeans don’t actively participate in an information society. Only 10% of people over 65 use the internet, compared to 65% of people aged between 16-24 years of age. Disabilities mean about 15% of Europeans have difficulties performing daily life activities. Older people particularly are often confronted with minor disabilities which can prevent them from enjoying the benefits that technology offers. With an ageing European population, the number of people in this situation will significantly increase in the coming years.

Now, don’t get me wrong. It is a great achievement that people now live longer – and a big opportunity too. But the same technological advances that you or I enjoy can be significant barriers for many older people or those with some disability. Recognising, understanding and responding to their accessibility needs lies at the heart of design for all approaches. Often simple, small changes made at a design face will result in products and services that are more useable and useful - and sometimes life-changing – for a wider range of people. An information society that is accessible for all is much more than just a social necessity.

Older Europeans today are healthier, and more active than ever before. They wish to enjoy life when retiring. Many of them are interested and willing to use new products, new services which help them live independently. Making up around 20% of Europe’s population, they offer significant business opportunities for companies and service providers that can offer accessible technologies and services and should offer them.

In satisfying the needs of this part of the population, products and services often become more useable for everybody. Take, for example, the leading supermarket that invested 50,000 euros in making the website accessible and, as a result, they tapped into a new market of over one million customers, and a return on investment in excess of two million euros.

The electronic communications networks are underpinning many of these technological advances. I’m pleased that you are considering the accessibility of next generation networks today. It is sometimes challenging to make existing products and services accessible, but there is really no excuse when we are looking forward to new ones.

Next generation networks must be designed to meet the needs of everyone, not just the next generation. This is an opportunity we should not miss.

I believe that one of the keys for addressing accessibility in an effective and sustainable way is to involve real users and user organisations as early as possible. The ICT industry must take this message fully on board, and I know many are. But user representatives and organisations should also organise themselves in a better way in order to facilitate this involvement by the industry.

I hope that today’s conference will help develop and deepen these relationships, making the promise of accessibility a reality. I wish all of you a most productive conference.

DR JOHN GILL: Obviously you won't be able to ask questions to Vivienne Reading. During this conference, we will have an opportunity for speakers to finish in time to ask questions but I do ask you to use, we do have, roving microphones. They must be used otherwise the hearing aid loop, and interpreters don't pick it up. If you do ask a question please give both your name and affiliation. Our first speaker today is Sir Bert Massie who was recently knighted, and Chairman of the Disability Rights Commission, Sir Bert?

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