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Qatar’s eAccessibility Policy Draft Proposal May 26, 2011
Qatar’s eAccessibility PolicyDraft Proposal
May 26, 2011
Slide 2
Why is an eAccessibility Policy Needed?
Removes barriers to accessing and
using ICT products,
services and applications
Ensures persons with disabilities can
use computers, mobile phones, the Internet, ATMs, eKiosks and
digital content on an equal basis with others
Slide 3
Disability Statistics
The World Bank estimates that 10 to 12% of the world’s population has a
disability. If age related disabilities are included, the population with disabilities
climbs to 18% -- over a Billion people.
In Qatar there are 10,174 registered disabled people as per the Statistics
Authority: 7,270 are physically disabled; 1,806 are visual, hearing, or speech
disabled; 125 are elderly disabled and 973 are with various disabilities.
These numbers are growing:
From 2007 to 2009, the number of people with disabilities increased by 27%
The 2010 census shows that people over 65 doubled from 2000 to 2010
Slide 4
Barriers to an Accessible ICT ecosystem in Qatar
1. Internet Websites and content – only a handful of websites in Qatar are
accessible by international standards
2. Critical telecommunications services and supporting technologies are still
needed by those with disabilities – emergency services, public pay
phones and relay services are still unavailable
3. Public access terminals/eKiosks/ATMs – features are not available to
enable many persons with disabilities to use them independently
4. Assistive Technologies (ATs) – persons with disabilities, their families,
teachers and employers are not fully aware of the benefits of ATs and
how to get access to them
5. Local digital content – music, text, audio, images and video is mostly
inaccessible to the those with disabilities in Qatar.
Slide 5
Reducing the barriers – the Policy Provisions
Qatar’s eAccessibility policy is designed to:
reduce each of the 5 key barriers identified
over a period of 5 years
be practical – achievable and without
undue financial burden on implementing
bodies
Build partnerships among key stakeholders
– Mada (Qatar’s assistive technology
center), telecommunications service
providers, Banks, government
organizations, digital content producers
and distributors so as to successfully
implement the policy.
Slide 6
Policy Provision 1 – Web Accessibility
1. All public sector websites providing
online services and information for
the public are required to meet
international standards for web
accessibility – including delivering
web content to mobile devices
2. The second edition of the World
Wide Web Consortium’s (W3C) Web
Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0
Level AA and W3C’s Mobile Web
Best Practice Guidelines 1.0 will be
the referenced standards for Qatar.
Time Frame
2013 – any new public sector website should be in compliance
2015 – any existing public sector website should be in compliance
Slide 7
Policy Provision 2 – Telecommunications Services
1. Accessible handsets and user interfaces in 2011
2. Accessible public pay phone services within 6 months of the policy’s effective date
3. Relay Services for the hearing impaired and speech impaired starting from 2012
4. Accessible emergency services within 6 months of the policy’s effective date
Slide 8
Policy Provision 3 – ATMs and Public Access Terminals/eKiosks
1. Government owned banks should provide
at least 1 fully accessible and/or universally
designed ATM at strategic located branches
– e.g. large shopping malls by 2013
2. Government agencies who provide online
services via public access terminals and
kiosks should ensure that at least 1 terminal
located at strategic locations such as
customer service centers and at geographic
main offices is fully accessible/and or
universally accessible by 2015
Slide 9
Policy Provision 4 – Assistive Technologies
1. Establish a fund to improve access to ATs and services in 2011
2. Develop practical guidelines to facilitate uptake and usage of ATs
Accessible Websites by 2011
Digital Content by 2012
Procurement by 2013
3. Provide demonstration, training and evaluation of ATs for persons with
disabilities as well as their families, educators and employers
4. Collaborate and coordinate with stakeholders to increase the availability
and utilization of ATs in Qatar
Slide 10
Policy Provision 5 – Accessible Digital Content
Recommendation 1: 10% of total digital content - eBooks, online news, electronic educational materials and government services produced or distributed locally should be accessible by 2015
Recommendation 2: at least 450 hours per year (equivalent of 0.5 hours per day) of captioned video programming should be available in 2013
Recommendation 3: at least 900 hours per year (equivalent of 1 hour per day) of captioned video programming should be available in 2015
Accessible eBooks and public eServices Accessible Video Programming
