DCAD & DC-OER: Building Barrier-Free Emerging Tech through Open Solutions

Summary

This discussion focused on building barrier-free emerging technologies through open solutions to enhance digital accessibility and inclusion for persons with disabilities. Speakers from various organizations highlighted the challenges and potential solutions in this area. UNESCO’s vision for digital accessibility and open content was presented, emphasizing the need for ethical and responsible use of AI and emerging technologies. The importance of involving persons with disabilities in the development of technologies was stressed to ensure their needs are met.

Speakers discussed the role of regulatory authorities in advancing digital inclusion, noting that while regulators may have limited powers, they can advocate for accessibility and advise governments on policy directions. The need for comprehensive competency frameworks and training for educators on inclusive digital education was highlighted. Learning Equality presented their Kolibri platform as a case study of an offline-first, open-source solution designed to provide accessible learning experiences in areas with limited internet connectivity.

The discussion emphasized the importance of a multi-stakeholder approach, involving policymakers, educators, developers, and persons with disabilities in creating inclusive digital environments. Challenges such as the lack of accessible open educational resources and the need for capacity building among teachers were addressed. Participants also stressed the importance of considering cultural, political, psychological, institutional, and professional aspects when implementing educational interventions for learners with disabilities.

Key takeaways included the crucial role of regulators in promoting accessibility, the importance of openness in digital solutions, and the need to consider both digital and non-digital factors in ensuring equitable access to education and information. The discussion concluded by emphasizing the importance of inclusive design and development of technologies to serve their intended purpose for all users.

Keypoints

Major discussion points:

– The importance of making emerging technologies and digital platforms accessible to people with disabilities

– The role of regulators and policymakers in advancing digital inclusion and accessibility

– The need for capacity building and training for educators on inclusive education practices

– The potential of open educational resources and platforms to support inclusive learning

– The challenges of implementing accessible technologies in developing countries

Overall purpose:

The goal of this discussion was to explore ways to build barrier-free emerging technologies through open solutions, with a focus on improving digital accessibility and inclusive education for people with disabilities.

Tone:

The tone was largely informative and collaborative, with speakers sharing insights from their work and research in digital accessibility. There was a sense of urgency around addressing accessibility gaps, but also optimism about potential solutions. The tone became slightly more critical when discussing implementation challenges, particularly in developing countries, but remained constructive overall.

Speakers

– Muhammad Shabbir: Coordinator of IDF’s Dynamic Coalition on Accessibility and Disability

– Tawfik Jelassi: Assistant Director General Communication and Information Sector, UNESCO

– Amela Odobasic: Director of Broadcasting Bosnia

– Mohammed Khribi: Digital Accessibility Services Acting Manager, MADA of Arab states

– Revanth Voothaluru: Global Implementation Project Manager of Learning Equality

– Zeynep Varoglu: Senior Specialist in the Information and Communication Center of UNESCO

– Judith Hellerstein: Co-coordinator at the IGF Dynamic Coalition on Accessibility and Disability

Additional speakers:

– Nicodemus Nyakundi: Fellow for the Dynamic Coalition on Accessibility and Disability

– Itzel: TICET fellow

Building Barrier-Free Emerging Technologies: A Comprehensive Discussion on Digital Accessibility and Inclusion

This discussion brought together experts from various organizations to explore ways of building barrier-free emerging technologies through open solutions, with a focus on improving digital accessibility and inclusive education for people with disabilities. The conversation was informative and collaborative, with speakers sharing insights from their work and research in digital accessibility.

Key Challenges in Digital Accessibility

Muhammad Shabbir, Coordinator of IDF’s Dynamic Coalition on Accessibility and Disability, emphasized the lack of consideration for accessibility in technology development and stressed the need for universal design principles. He shared a personal example of encountering inaccessible VR technology, highlighting the challenges faced by people with disabilities in emerging tech environments. Shabbir also stressed the importance of dialogue between regulators and persons with disabilities to address these issues effectively.

Tawfik Jelassi, Assistant Director General Communication and Information Sector at UNESCO, pointed out the specific challenges in making AI and language models accessible. He presented UNESCO’s vision for digital accessibility and open content, emphasizing the organization’s efforts to advance inclusive education through open solutions. These efforts include developing guidelines for inclusive digital learning and promoting open educational resources.

The Role of Regulators and Policymakers

Amela Odobasic, Director of Broadcasting Bosnia, brought attention to the importance of involving persons with disabilities in technology development. She argued that while regulators may have limited powers, they can play a crucial role by advocating for accessibility to policymakers and implementing accessibility provisions within existing frameworks. Odobasic also noted the need for legal mandates to address new technologies like AI.

Open Educational Resources and Platforms

Mohammed Khribi, Digital Accessibility Services Acting Manager at MADA of Arab states, discussed MADA’s work in Qatar, including their digital accessibility services and training programs. He presented the development of an ICT accessibility competency framework and emphasized the importance of the DARE Index (Digital Accessibility Rights Evaluation Index) in assessing countries’ progress in digital accessibility.

Revanth Voothaluru, Global Implementation Project Manager of Learning Equality, presented their Kolibri platform as a case study of an offline-first, open-source solution designed to provide accessible learning experiences in areas with limited internet connectivity. He detailed the platform’s features, including its ability to work offline, support multiple languages, and provide a range of educational content. Voothaluru also discussed the implementation of Kolibri in various contexts, highlighting its potential to bridge accessibility gaps, particularly in developing countries.

Teacher Training and Capacity Building

The discussion revealed a significant need for capacity building and training for educators on inclusive education practices. Khribi stressed the need to integrate accessibility courses in teacher education curricula and emphasized the importance of continuous training for in-service teachers. Voothaluru highlighted the potential of using technology to support differentiation and personalization in education, particularly in large classrooms where individual attention is challenging.

Systemic Approach to Inclusive Education

Voothaluru stressed the need to consider cultural, political, psychological, institutional, and professional aspects when implementing educational interventions for learners with disabilities. He referenced Dr. Fernando Rimas’ framework for a systemic approach to inclusive education, emphasizing the importance of addressing multiple factors beyond just technology.

Audience Engagement and Unresolved Issues

The audience raised important points, including the need to engage open-source developers in creating accessible solutions and ensuring basic education access for students with disabilities before focusing on technology integration. These comments highlighted the complexity of implementing inclusive education and the need for a multi-faceted approach that considers various perspectives and local contexts.

Key Takeaways and Conclusion

Zeynep Varoglu summarized key takeaways, emphasizing the importance of multi-stakeholder collaboration, the need for continuous capacity building, and the potential of open educational resources in advancing digital accessibility. Judith Hellerstein, co-coordinator of the IGF Dynamic Coalition on Accessibility and Disability, reiterated key points from the audience questions, including the importance of basic education access and teacher training.

The discussion concluded with several thought-provoking comments that shaped the conversation. Jelassi’s framing of information, openness, and accessibility as public goods deserving of public support provided a compelling rationale for government involvement. Odobasic’s quote from a representative of persons with disabilities challenged the perception of accessibility as a ‘special needs’ issue, reframing it as a matter of equal rights and universal design.

In conclusion, the discussion provided a rich, multifaceted exploration of the challenges and potential solutions in building barrier-free emerging technologies. It highlighted the crucial role of regulators in promoting accessibility, the importance of openness in digital solutions, and the need to consider both digital and non-digital factors in ensuring equitable access to education and information. The conversation underscored the complexity of the issues at hand and the need for continued dialogue and collaboration among various stakeholders to create truly inclusive digital environments.

Muhammad Shabbir: Hello, and good morning, everyone. I am Muhammad Shabbir, the coordinator of IDF’s Dynamic Coalition on Accessibility and Disability. And I welcome you in the first session of this webinar. I am Dr. Mohammad Shabir, the coordinator of IDF’s Dynamic Coalition on Accessibility and Disability. And I welcome you in the session, Building Barriers, Free Emerging Tech Through Open Solutions, jointly organized by the Dynamic Coalition on Accessibility and Disability and the Dynamic Coalition on Open Educational Resources. I am thankful to the Internet Governance Forum for the opportunity and also to the team who have worked with me to organize this session. Just a couple of housekeeping rules. There aren’t many. First, we have amongst us some speakers. We will talk about different issues. Each speaker would have about 10 to 12 minutes for their early or initial intervention. Then we would come to the hall and online for the participants if there are any questions. People can address the question to a specific speaker or make general interventions as well. And then we would have the wrap-up by the moderators. and we would have a wrap-up, and in the end, there would be a vote of thanks. So to start with, I would invite our first speaker, Dr. Tawfik Jelassi, Assistant Director, Journal Communication and Information, Sector UNESCO. Dr. Jalassi will speak about overview of UNESCO’s vision for digital accessibility and open content. Dr. Jalassi, over to you. No, it’s okay, okay, okay, thank you.

Tawfik Jelassi: Good morning to all of you. Thank you for coming to this session, and let me also thank our moderator, Dr. Shabbir, but also Dr. Henrich Stein of the Dynamic Coalition on Accessibility and Disability for co-organizing this important session in the context of IGF 2024. I’m very pleased with the topic that was selected, Building Barrier-Free Emerging Technologies Through Open Solutions. Clearly, this is a very timely topic, especially in the context of IGF, the multi-stakeholder approach that characterizes this global forum, but also I think it’s a timely topic in today’s digital environment. I’m sure that the session will explore open solutions and technologies, in particular, to help barriers and foster inclusive digital. spaces. We all know that emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and generative AI are drastically impacting the way we approach education. When we pair open educational resources with these technologies, the impact can only be transformative. What’s us? What type of learning value can we deliver to pupils and to students? And here I can say something from my more than three decades being a professor and dean and then minister of higher education. I think the new technologies of today with open educational resources give us the opportunity, maybe unique opportunity, to deliver personalized learning value so learners can adapt to the content, to their pace, to their style, sometimes even choosing their preferred language to get access to knowledge. The second key element beyond personalized learning is enhancing accessibility. We can here think as an example of visually impaired students. How can they navigate textbooks? I can help translate text speech and facilitate graphics. This is very important in terms of accessibility, especially for persons with disabilities. The third, I think, major transformative dimension is how to expand localization. And when we talk about today’s world, of course, it’s borderless, it’s global, but also I think technology can help us have relevant value-added content that is culturally relevant. And this is very important nowadays. However, this technology, especially when I say artificial intelligence, tomorrow quantum computing, they have to be used in a responsible and ethical manner. And I want here to mention the landmark recommendation by UNESCO back in 2021 on the ethics of artificial intelligence, a recommendation being currently implemented by more than 60 countries worldwide. So the ethical use of AI is a major challenge for everybody. We need to combat existing biases. If I take the gender-related biases, you know that in some of these gen AI large language models, there are many biases that depict women in domestic roles, and there is an association of women with family, with children, with households, while men related to men are more linked to business career. So obviously what we have seen from our studies at UNESCO is that large language models in generative AI not only replicate online the gender biases that exist offline, but they even amplify them. It’s obviously a very dangerous. Second dimension besides the gender bias is that we were reminded two days ago at the opening of this activity, and therefore they don’t benefit from any digital literacy. This is obviously a major challenge as well. The third is representation in AI systems. 40% of the world’s population lacks access to education in their native language, and therefore they are being excluded. very important and we need to tackle it as well. So these are challenges but of course we have to take stock of some accomplishments, whether it is in terms of enhanced accessibility, whether it is in terms of access to open educational resources which are universally available through digital platforms, and here I want to mention a major outcome of the UNESCO Third World Congress on Open Educational Resources that took place last month in Dubai, and the Dubai Declaration which was endorsed at the end of this major event very much calls for a commitment to advancing inclusive education through open solutions, and this is very important I think to take stock of. This is in line with the 2019 UNESCO recommendation on Open Educational Resources by 193. So a pledge was made in Dubai last month to increase the reach of inclusive education platforms by 25% by 2030, so this is a ambitious goal but hopefully through collective efforts we will achieve it. And let me mention here also the UNESCO revised guidelines for people with disabilities in online and distance learning. These revised guidelines offer a comprehensive roadmap to create open educational resources and digital platforms that can serve diverse needs of learners. Let me try to conclude here by saying that this session this morning is for a range of ideas. ideas, hopefully it is a springboard for change. It’s all in this context. Us as educators, we can advocate for open education resources that are tailored to local needs. Policy makers can ensure internet connectivity, bridging the digital divide, especially in areas. And thirdly, developers can design technologies from the outset. Let’s recall Joseph Stiglitz, who said, information is a public good. And as a public good, information needs to receive public support. I think the same is true for openness and accessibility. And this requires, obviously, a collective commitment by all. Let me assure you that UNESCO is unwavering in its mission to ensure that no one is left behind in the digital age. We should, together, seize this moment, not just to envision change, but hopefully to make it happen. Thank you.

Muhammad Shabbir: Thank you, Dr. Tawfik Jelassi, for these welcoming remarks, as well as the enlightening vision of UNESCO and how UNESCO is contributing in making digital environments accessible through open resources. Our next speaker, Lydia Best, was supposed to be online. But unfortunately, we received a message from her this morning that she fell ill, so she cannot contribute. So we wish her best and good recovery. Next, I will be speaking about challenges and solutions into addressing accessibility barriers in emerging technologies. And this is a topic when, as I, myself, a person with disability, encounter and interact with emerging technologies, there are a number of challenges that come in the way. And it is really unfortunate that the technologies that are coming up these days, they carry a huge potential to facilitate persons with disabilities. But due to certain barriers in the development, in the planning or execution of those solutions, those emerging technological solutions, that when they come to people with disabilities, they encounter certain barriers. And before I move forward, I would like to give a personal example. Some years back, I happened to encounter a wonderful VR solution, headset with some specific solutions. But when I tried to use that, it was, we found that it was only applicable or activatable through vision or touch. And it did not have any visual features. I’m not sure if the latest VR or AR systems, they do come with these kinds of assistive technologies or solutions. But it was about two or three years back. I believe it was in the end of 2021. So we might have those solutions. But unfortunately, some sort of developers, when they start developing solutions, they either forget, either are unaware of, or sometimes they feel it convenient. disregard the accessibility considerations. There comes a lot of sessions like this, and this session is a remembrance that disability, as UNCRPD, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, says that disability occurs when impairments in persons interact with the societal barriers. And this way, I would say disability is not specific to me or any specific group. It is cross-gender, cross-geographic boundaries, cross-race, cross-religion, and cross the boundaries of developed and developing world. So, any accident, any natural or man-made disaster, or any illness, just by passing off time as we age, this disability can catch us. So, whether you are a policymaker, whether you are a developer, where decisions are being made, you need to ensure that the technologies that are being developed are developed inclusively, and inclusively following the design of universal access or universal design, so that when, if today, we need it tomorrow, it may happen, we won’t push it on anyone, but it may happen that you may need it, and you may find that technology was inaccessible, and the time has passed to take the decisions. There are AI technologies in the system where we are using the technologies, but persons with disabilities are found neglected in the development of those technologies. JGBT and other LMS systems, they certainly provide certain accessibility issues. I would not talk about their biases against disabilities. That’s another topic and not the subject of this session, but we need to consider how they interact with people with different kinds of disabilities. There aren’t any sign language interpretation, for instance, coming with these kinds of solutions or platforms. Similarly, when different banks and different financial institutions, they develop their applications. They develop in a way that makes them secure. They make the websites and the apps inaccessible for people with disabilities. Same is the case with the learning management systems, LMS. I have encountered a number of LMS in Pakistan that are provided through international providers and the local providers as well. That when the students and teachers with disabilities, when they interact with those kinds of technologies and LMS, we found that those technologies were developed without considerations of people with disabilities in mind. So what is the solution then? The question comes to mind. What is the solution? The solution is definitely, number one, the developers need to be aware of the standards that are internationally available to make the solutions and platforms accessible for people with disabilities. such as Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, the stable version is 2.1. And more as we move along and more and more technologies are coming out, these standards are also being evolved. So the developers need to know this. The policy makers need to consider the policies that the development phase, the research phase and the execution phase. All phases include persons with lived experience of disabilities and testing them that these developments and technologies are being developed, accessible and inclusive for everyone. I will stop here and give the cue to the next speaker who is online again. And we will keep discussing this and more topics related to accessibility. But my next speaker is Amila Odubesic, Director of Broadcasting Bosnia. And Amila shall be speaking about regulatory frameworks and policies for accessible digital technologies. Amila, the floor is yours.

Amela Odobasic: Thank you very much, Dr. Shabir. Greetings to all of you from Bosnia and Herzegovina. I would have preferred to be in Riyadh with you, but unfortunately I was not able to. So let me first say that I’m extremely sorry that Lydia Best could not join us because she is such an expert in this field. But however, Dr. Shabir made an excellent introduction into the topic. Let me first say that I am not going to talk only from the perspective of the regulatory authority, but I’m also a co-rapporteur for the question on ICT accessibility for persons with disabilities that is being discussed within the International Telecommunication Union. And I have been involved in the topic for the last, well, since 2014, so it’s quite a long time. So I will definitely touch upon and tell you on what are the biggest challenges when it comes to policy makers and their efficiency or lack of efficiency in the area of creating policies, legal and regulatory framework. But I will also, if you allow me, refer to some of the global practices and perhaps convey what are the biggest challenges that members of the International Telecommunication Union are facing. So, as was previously pointed out, there is no doubt that in our contemporary era, as the digital revolution continues to gain momentum, the profound global impact of information and communication technologies is undeniable across all sectors. And this is something that within the question that I just mentioned, at the International Telecommunication Union, we always stress that the topic on ICT accessibility. disability cannot be singled out. We cannot look at this topic in silos. It should be looked at within a holistic approach. So, Dr Shabir already touched upon the challenges that persons with disabilities are facing. And they’re numerous, believe me, whichever country you look at. So, at the same time, you see, it’s quite interesting to see when, for example, during our meetings at the ITU, we have in the same room at the meetings, representatives of persons with disabilities as well as the representatives of the policy makers, the ministries, the regulatory authorities, other governmental topics. We also have industry. We also have a disabled society. We also have academia, etc. And it’s really, it’s quite, it’s not easy for us who are coming from the policy makers’ area, from the government’s area, really, to face all the challenges that persons with disabilities are facing. And as I said, I mean, there are many. First of all, the biggest challenge that persons with disabilities are facing in the, especially even, I mean, 10 years ago, that the barriers were even more solid and bigger. And that has considerably changed within this period. Nowadays, persons, even persons with disabilities, they became, the associations, I mean, they became more organized, more up front. For example, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in particular, we encouraged associations of persons with disabilities to be a little bit more, a little bit more, you know, more organized, to be a little bit more, you know, more, you know, loud in advocating for their goals and in advocating for the, you know, going towards the government and really demanding that their needs have been made. And I will just say that during one meeting, you see, we always quite like to refer to this topic that persons with disabilities have their specific needs. And I will always remember that one of the representative or one of the associations of persons with disabilities said once, he said, well, look, our needs are the same as yours, okay, who do not sort of like fall into the category of the persons with disabilities. So we do not have specific needs, our needs are the same to have access to information, access to communication, et cetera. And this is the only thing that we are really asking for. So the first step, persons with disabilities, as I said, I mean, the government, not only the persons with disabilities, but even the government should be open to have a dialogue, to listen to the problems that persons with disabilities do need and the problems that they have and try to do their best in order to accommodate them. However, you see, we always think that the governments are very sort of like closed bodies, they’re closed authorities that are not allowing access to external parties. For instance, we at the Regulatory Authority of Bosnia and Herzegovina, I personally, because I gained all the knowledge at this working group of the International Telecommunication Union from the another lady, Andrea Sachs, and many, many other experts.

Muhammad Shabbir: So, I was personally very adamant that the government, first me as the regulatory authority and then the policy maker, should listen to persons with disabilities. So, the most important thing is not only to have that dialogue, but the most important thing is really to implement, to fulfill all the preconditions in order to make services accessible. Available and affordable, most importantly, to persons with disabilities. So, my personal view is that I always insisted that the implementation of the guidelines, of the standards, of good practices, and there are plenty of them and they’re all outlined in the report that are available on the ITU website under the Bureau of Development, in the Bureau of Development section. So, there are so many good practices that can be replicated, that can be adjusted to our environment, you see. So, there is the governments, for example, the policy maker, we create regulatory framework, excuse me, but what are the governments usually going to say? For example, now we are talking about artificial intelligence. The government is going to say, well, sorry, we can’t really, for example, in Europe, there is a body, there is the European Union, countries, members, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other six countries all together from our region, we are not members of the European Union. However, at the level of the European Union, there is a very distinct legislation that is being developed and implemented in the countries of the European Union. So, in the countries that are not members of the European Union, Union the governments will always sort of like find excuses and they will say well look we are not members so therefore we cannot implement because it’s not obligatory in the sense that let’s say European Union is going to follow and monitor our work and this is basically the role of the regulators authority that is crucial because regulatory authorities although they government linked to the government but we are expert bodies okay our job is really to follow what is happening internationally to see what are the good practices to talk to all the interested parties in this case with persons with disabilities and to try to do our best to through the development of the regulatory framework okay to implement the provisions and to impose certain obligations okay I mentioned in the light of the artificial intelligence at the level of the European Union for instance there is the the law on artificial intelligence has been adopted and put in force as of May this year so inevitably we as the regulator we can follow what are the provisions that are referring to the digital inclusion all together because we are also I mean in this as we said in this global digital revolution we are moving away from singling out only ICT accessibility but putting it in the context of the digital inclusion because that’s the only way you know that that we somehow respond adequately to this cross-cutting topic okay so for example the in our country and in many others like in many other countries in Europe so what we can do for now we can follow the development we can follow the good practices and see if there are any provisions that we can already put in our regulatory framework. Inevitably for that, the regulatory authorities should have legal mandate to do that. However, in most of the countries we do not have legal mandate because even artificial intelligence is such a brand new topic for the regulatory authorities to deal with. However, what the regulators could do, they could follow the topic, they could see what are the good practices and then they could perhaps develop some recommendations

Amela Odobasic: or guidelines for our licenses wherever relevant and try to sort of like impose that as a non-obligatory measure somehow, which can maybe a little bit contradictory. But in that way, what the regulators could do, they educate, they raise awareness, they share knowledge and then at the same time they encourage, let’s say, their licenses to get more involved in the topic. However, at the same time, the regulatory authorities could establish a dialogue with policy makers and then they could advocate that certain provisions should be put or the government should create the laws and certain provisions should be put in laws and encourage the government that in the process of public consultations, persons with disabilities and other interested parties are involved in this process, that their comments are very clear and to make sure that they are implemented in the best possible way. So, this as we could see, this is all. process. Okay. However, it may look, it may look as a very complicated process. Okay. But still, it is possible to do a very specific, to have a very specific results in practice. Okay, I’ll tell you when I first, when I was first, I started to get involved with this topic, when I came back to Bosnia and to my, to the regulatory authority where I work, I was, I was literally confused. And I was sort of like thinking, how can I make the first step? Okay. And a few years later, we managed to have the full, for example, I, we try to identify what is the biggest challenge. Yes, you need to wrap up, please. Okay. So I will cut across with the, I will cut, cut out this practical example. So let me just wrap up and to say that, yes, this, the topic is very challenging for the, for the government. However, we, I believe that all stakeholders, as, as Dr. Shabir already pointed out, should join in their efforts. Okay. Advocacy efforts are extremely important. We should look at it as a cross-cutting topic, and we should really advocate towards the policy makers in this sort of like joint way. So I’ll stop here. If there are any questions later on, I will be available. Thank you.

Muhammad Shabbir: Yes. Hello. hear me? Okay. Thank you very much, Amila, for your great intervention. Surely, our audience and I do have some questions to ask you. But the unfortunate responsibility as a moderator includes to cutting across speakers when they are exceeding their time limit. Our next speaker is from Qatar, Dr. Mohammed Khribi. He is the Digital Accessibility Services Acting Manager, MADA of Arab states. And he will be talking about innovations in accessibility services in the Arab states region. Dr. Mohamed, the floor is yours.

Mohammed Khribi: Okay. Thank you so much. Good morning. Hello, everyone. It’s a pleasure to be here at the internet in the IGF forum 2024. You know, 20 years after I first participated in the OASIS summit in Tunis back in 2005. You know, I participated in the summit representing at that time my university, the virtual university of Tunisia. Today, I’m honored and pleased to represent and privileged to represent the organization to which I belong, MADA, or Qatar Assistive Technology Center, where I work as acting director of the Digital Accessibility Services. But you know, I’d like to like define myself informally, just saying that I’m a passionate advocate for open and inclusive digital education for all. Initially, I have prepared the presentation to shed light on MADA’s contributions to bridging the digital accessibility gaps. But you know, the setting, but it doesn’t, you know, fit to the setting to our panel yesterday. So I’m going to just talk rapidly about my organization and shed light on, you know, some of the MEDA flagship projects in terms of digital accessibility, with the ultimate goal to empower people with disabilities accessing technology in order to live independently and participate in all aspects of life. But let me first get back to what has been said by Dr. Mohamed, actually when he explained it and he focused on how we need to address disability and how to focus on the accessibility barriers that prevent people with disabilities to access technology. So you know disability is often misunderstood, or let me say it’s not only defined from the medical or the charity or the special needs perspectives. In my view, I think we need to focus more on the interactions between persons with disabilities and the barriers preventing them to, you know, avail all digital services and opportunities. And our work is to enhance access for them, is to, I will not say remove these barriers, but at least reduce these barriers. So this is what we are doing in our organization at Qatar Assistive Technology. We are trying to enhance ICT accessibility in Qatar and beyond. Let me rapidly say a few words about Mada. So, Mada, it’s a non-profit organization founded in 2013. At that time, under the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, now we shifted like two years ago to the Ministry of Social Development and Family. As I’ve previously said, we are focusing on enhancing ICT accessibility for persons with disabilities in Qatar and beyond. And we are working closely with all the stakeholders involved in the field of digital accessibility in order to innovate and to create and develop and offer innovative digital solutions for all. We are offering in Mada a wide range of digital accessibility services, as well as programs and activities. We are conducting a research agenda dealing with ICT accessibility and assistive technology. We are leveraging emerging technologies, like artificial intelligence, in order to develop digital solutions for people with disabilities. Let me talk a little bit about the digital accessibility services that we are offering. Basically, the services are around three pillars. The first pillar is the ICT accessibility services. So, we are partnering with local entities, whether governmental or from the private sector, to enhance the accessibility of their existing digital platforms. websites, web-based applications, kiosks and ATMs, mobile applications, etc. So we are counseling, like consultation sessions with these users, in order to let them make their digital platforms accessible. We are preparing auditing reports in order to check these websites and help them to make these websites accessible. We are offering accreditation services to these users, so that we can make sure that their solutions are fully accessible for persons with disabilities. We are offering also assistive technology services. We have assistive technology assessors that are making assistive technology assessments for persons with disabilities in order to identify which assistive technology solutions or devices that fit better their specific needs. And based upon the assessment, we ensure the provision of assistive technology devices and solutions for persons with disabilities. Based upon our internal policy of AT provision, and also based upon key priorities, like the areas, key strategic sectors that we are focusing on, for example, the education sector, the employment sector and the community sector. We are offering also a one-on-one training session for persons with disabilities to help them use the assistive technology that we have provided them with. We also offer continuous support. for them in order to make sure that the assistive technology devices and solutions are kept to their needs. And last but not least, we are offering also training and capacitive services, not only for persons with disabilities, but for all the stakeholders in order to foster the ecosystem. So we are delivering sessions for, like, teachers from the education sector, from the Ministry of Education, from universities, and also for web development in order to make sure that we are developing and designing digital solutions that are fully accessible and aligned with the standards of accessibility. Our training services are delivered, like, in different training modalities. We have face-to-face training workshops, we have online training courses, and we also conduct, like, blended learning experiences through our mega-academy initiative, based on, like you said, Dr. Muhammad, the learning management system that we’ve developed in order to even cater to the needs of everyone, including persons with disabilities. The second part, I’d like to shed light a little bit on the academy projects that are happening in the U.S. The first pillar is dealing with… The second is the… accessible, open and accessible training materials. So first of all, I would like to take this opportunity to record that those of my studies that I have been involved in, the key findings of this study are that there is a lack and there is a lack in terms of ICT accessibility and also there is a lack in terms of accessible open educational resources and there is like no existing common competency framework that covers all the required competencies around the topics of ICT accessibility and input design. My mic is not working. There is an interruption, right? Okay. But let me first maybe recall the main motives that drive us, you know, working on this, on this, let me say, proposals. You know, the Data Index, the Digital Accessibility Right Evaluation Index, it’s a benchmarking tool developed by G3 ICT organisation, you know, initiative of inclusive ICT organisation, that aims at tracing the progress of countries in terms of offering accessible, digital accessible services. In the Data Index, the edition 2020, Qatar has been ranked first. with a score of 89 out of 100. However, there are many domains in the Derandex that needs more endeavor and more work in order to enhance access for people with disabilities to these different sectors, like the ICT and education from oil sector. And the key findings of the Derandex report is that there is a lack of ICT accessibility competencies and expertise all over the world. There is also a lack in ICT accessibility courses. This means that students basically, in the field of the major, in the discipline of computer science or IT, continue to graduate without having any competencies or skills in the field of digital accessibility. Also, employees that want to build their capacity in the field of digital accessibility, visibility and inclusion, they cannot find professional training or education services to learn more about these topics. Okay, and the most important thing is that the colleges of education want to include in their curriculum topics around inclusive digital education or digital accessibility to let them be able to create and develop accessible digital content. So, based on these key findings, we proposed the ICT App Competency Framework, which is a comprehensive competency framework covering all the required competencies in the field of ICT accessibility. So, there are six competency domains in this competency framework, dealing with how to create accessible digital content, how to create accessible web content, how to become familiar with visibility and accessibility, and other competencies. So, from the one to the six, there are six competency domains. Then, we developed also a common repository hosted on the OER Commons platform. It is called ICT App OER Competency Framework, in which we are gathering all the accessible open educational resources around the themes of ICT accessibility and inclusive design. And we are using these open educational resources to conduct training workshops and to provide continuous online learning. experiences. OK, I got to stop now, I think.

Muhammad Shabbir: Yes, thank you very much, Doctor. And it is indeed a pleasure listening to your work and the kind of activities that you have been doing. It’s Mada Arab organization is doing a lot of wonders in the region. At least I was not aware of this work, so it was really enlightening listening to you. So the next speaker, ladies and gentlemen, is Revanth Voothaluru. I’m sorry if I’m pronouncing the name wrong, so please forgive me for that. Revanath is Global Implementation Project Manager of Learning Equality and shall be speaking about Open Content Platforms for Inclusive Education, the case study and insights. Revanath, the floor is yours. Revanath is online.

Revanth Voothaluru: Thank you so much, everyone. It’s wonderful to be a part of this. And sorry I couldn’t join in person. I’ll very quickly start sharing my screen. Wonderful. Good afternoon to everyone once again. And my name is Revanth Voothaluru, and I am joining from Bangalore, India today. I’ll be talking to you about how my organization, Learning Equality, is creating barrier-free emerging technologies through open solutions with a specific focus on equity, inclusion, and accessibility. The colleagues who have spoken before me have extensively covered about the challenges that exist and have discussed many different ideas. I’ll be talking about how some of this specifically comes alive in the work that we do at Learning Equality. Yeah. So I think in the world today, there are 2.6 billion people who remain offline and are unable to participate in the digital learning revolution. And more than 70% of the learners are unable to read. even a basic text. And this paints a stark picture of the global learning crisis, right? And unfortunately, the learners who are most affected by the crisis are often the ones who also lack access to digital resources. And what that does is it further widens the gap in learning opportunities for these learners. While we know that tech is not a silver bullet solution, we believe that it’s a strong means for addressing some of these gaps. And I think, yeah, and we build at Learning Equality, we build and maintain Colibri, an open source software solution designed to provide offline first teaching and learning experiences. Colibri is free to use and openly licensed and is equipped with over 200,000 open educational resources or OERs as a part of our library, which covers a wide range of subjects and learning needs. And for those of you who may not know what open educational resources are, these are openly licensed materials that can be reused, redistributed, and even repurposed depending on the license. And Colibri serves as a platform that hosts such resources. We also provide support to educators through our platform to differentiate learning and personalize learning. And there’s also features to collect granular data from the learner’s performance, which will further help in facilitating for differentiation. And all of this is enabled by a comprehensive do-it-yourself toolkit with detailed guidance materials to empower individuals and organizations to implement Colibri independently without relying on Learning Equality support. And Colibri is versatile and adaptable, working with a wide range of hardware models, all the way from older and low-cost devices like Raspberry Pis. And it also supports diverse pedagogical approaches, including self-learning, group-based learning, whole-class instruction, while blending technology into the learning environment. Aligned with a focus on equity, we also ensure that our products are compliant for people with disabilities. We work to continually improve the user experience for everyone while adhering to the relevant accessibility standards, and we keep adding new features consistently. The Colibri Learning Platform is partially conformant with WCAG 2.1 Level AA. While the platform is accessible, many OERs still do not adhere to accessibility standards, and I think Dr. Shabbiri spoke about this when he was presenting. Most of the OERs do not adhere to accessibility standards, which prevents them from being useful for learners with disabilities. As one of my colleagues says, it’s like you build a big door, but nobody can get in from there. That’s what it feels like when you work with Colibri and make it friendly for users with disabilities. But the content that is inside is not thoughtfully designed, and that’s a challenge that we often face. And in addition to that, Colibri also supports use of assistive devices, but many of these devices are cost-prohibitive in underserved communities where we work in. And some of these challenges continue to hinder our efforts in equitable access to learning materials, but we keep doing everything that we can to make this more and more accessible for learners with disabilities. And some examples of what this looks like is to ensure accessibility, we focus on multiple features, such as making all text functional, screen reader compatible, and resizable up to like 200%, while some videos also include sign language and captions. And links that are included in Colibri are designed clearly to indicate the purpose that they serve. And all of these features make Colibri beneficial for a range of contexts and learners around the world. And through our organic adoption and strategic partnerships, learning equality reached over 10 million learners across 220 countries and territories. And Colibri also adapts to various implementation models, depending on the unique context and needs of learners, right? Colibri can be implemented in several ways. For self-paced learning through an application. for group settings, enabling collaborative learning, and hybrid learning models as well where learning occurs across multiple different locations. For example, learners can visit a central location connected to a Colibri server, receive lessons and quizzes chosen by an educator, and then continue learning independently at home. And when they’re back at the central location, their data seamlessly syncs, so an educator can make informed decisions for learning journey, all without the internet. And this flexibility showcases the power of thoughtfully designed technologies, ensuring that the products are tailored to the real-world challenges faced by learners and educators in underserved communities. And additionally, to touch upon a little bit around our work with emerging technologies, to ensure that the technology can be used meaningfully, we believe that it’s crucial to make the relevant quality materials available as well. And we have been leaning into a new process that leverages advancements in generative AI and machine learning algorithms based on years of data collected through manually organizing digital content to curricular standards. As a result, we have developed a new holistic process that creates sets of curriculum aligned to digital resources by dramatically reducing the resources needed for an otherwise labor-intensive and knowledge-intensive process. And we’ve been piloting this across three countries and two languages. And in one of the projects that we did, we successfully mapped 6,500 content items to over 2,000 learning objectives and reduced the time spent for this process from months to a couple of days. And to quickly, before wrapping up, I wanted to share an example of what Colibri usage can look like in a school setting. So let’s say there’s a student, imagine that there’s a student called Angela, a student at a school where internet access is limited or unavailable. Angela’s school administrator receives a USB key preloaded with Colibri and digital learning resources. And they install that on a school’s existing laptop, which is then used as a class server. And Angela accesses the pre-curated content on a tablet, exploring lessons aligned to her curriculum. And as she progresses, her teacher can view a detailed report that highlights Angela’s strengths and areas where she’s struggling. And this enables the teachers to provide targeted support, recommend additional resources, and help Angela overcome challenges to succeed. And meanwhile, Angela’s school data is recorded locally, and when possible, it gets synced centrally. This allows the program administrators who are remotely located as well to analyze reports and make iterative improvements in the program. And here’s the most powerful part, which is everything happens seamlessly even without internet connectivity. And this is how Colibri brings impactful learning to students like Angela, who may not have internet accessible. And to close out, I think at Learning Equality, just like all of you, we also similarly want the world to be connected, but we know that the process is stagnating, right? Like even when there is connectivity, it may not be consistent or reliable enough to support classroom instruction. And hence, based on the work that we do, there are a couple of calls to action that I wanna invite you to hold on to. And in your work, I encourage you to consider the tech tools that you’re using and their reliance on connectivity. Who is left out when the internet is not available? That’s a question that I want us to think about. And if you’re advocating for use of emerging technologies like AI, is it being equitably used? And how can it be used as a tool for backend processes that enhance teaching and learning for everyone? Because not everybody can be able to afford technologies that support personalized learning through AI, right? And if you’re developing content, the question is how are you ensuring that the contents created are accessible for all? And I hope that you will consider equity in a new way as a result of this presentation and the examples that we shared through the work that we do. And I invite you to connect with me to discuss more about how we can strive to strive for equity in learning, enabled by edtech, even when internet. is limited. Thank you so much for this opportunity and I’d be happy to answer any questions that might yeah that that come up.

Muhammad Shabbir: Thank you very much for your very insightful comments, case studies and then wrapping up in promptly in time. So thank you very much once again. So before I open the list of my own questions, I would like to see if there are any online questions or someone wants to interact or ask questions from the participants presented here.

Audience: We have an online question. Can you hear me? Is this working? online question and the question is how many other in many countries in Africa persons with disabilities have disabilities. They may be slower learners or they may require different types of learning environment and oftentimes the teachers are not as knowledgeable about how to teach persons with disabilities differently. I know with people with autism and people with dyslexia there’s other different ways of teaching and what can we is there something that we can do that can help provide more training, more capacity building.

Muhammad Shabbir: Is the question directed to a specific speaker? We’ll direct it to either Dr. Shabir or Mohammed. Or learning ecology or to you the last speaker. Dr. Mohamed, or Revant, do you want to take a chance or should I? I’m happy to take, go ahead. I think I can give chance to Dr. Mohamed and then if Revant wants to add in.

Mohammed Khribi: Yes, thank you. Thank you for the question, it’s certainly very crucial. As I previously said in my speech that, here, you hear me all right? Okay. It’s okay, yeah. When it comes to offer like inclusive learning experience, there is, you know, lack in terms of, you know, capacity building for teachers. Their knowledge and their competencies around the topic of inclusive education, how to deal with learners with disabilities, how to prepare like digital education content, which is like fully accessible for people with disabilities. So this was also part of the key findings of, as I’ve mentioned previously, of the Derenbeck’s report. So how to tackle that? I think there is a need that universities, especially colleges of education, there is a need that they integrate in their curriculum courses dealing with accessibility, disability, inclusive education for all teachers, not only for those who are, you know, registered in the special education discipline. For all teachers, there is a real need. to build their capacities in terms of digital accessibility and inclusive education. One way to do that is to invest in the continuous training of teachers in service training. So, we need to collaborate. We need a multi-stakeholder approach. We need to collaborate with all involved parties in order to build the capacities of in-service teachers in terms of how to deal with learning disabilities in an inclusive education perspective. We at MEDAR are doing a lot in this perspective as we are collaborating internally with the Ministry of Education and with local universities and we are offering many training workshops around the topics of digital accessibility and inclusive education.

Muhammad Shabbir: Thank you, Dr. Maman. And instead of going to Vivant, I think I need to ask this question to Dr. Taufiq Jilasi. Since UNESCO is… Okay, so I think Dr. Jilasi left due to his own commitments. So, Revanth, do you want to take a shot on this?

Revanth Voothaluru: Absolutely. Thank you so much, Dr. Shabbir. I think one of the things that I often think about to build off of the response that was already shared is when you talk about supporting learners with disabilities, teacher capacity building is definitely one of the big ways to go about it. And I think to support it, specifically strategies like differentiation and personalization play a crucial role. But when we are talking about developing countries or global south, the classroom sizes are huge. So that’s where I think technology needs to be effectively leveraged in terms of… just getting that data about learner performance and differentiating support using that data so that each learner gets their own, you know, like learning materials that they can engage with. And the teacher is playing a role of like correcting their misunderstandings, clarifying and all of that. And learners can engage with learning at their own pace, which is what is useful for learners who sometimes struggle with certain aspects of learning processes, right? And I think the other point that I also want to add is when I look at problems like this, it’s important to approach it from a more systemic lens. And there is this particular framework that Dr. Fernando Rimas from Harvard recommends. He says, you need to look at any education intervention through five different perspectives. It needs to be cultural, political, psychological, institutional, and professional. I think even for something as simple as providing teachers with the tools to cater to learners with disabilities, there are all of these five things that need to come together so that it’s effectively delivered. I think those would be the two ways in which I would respond to the answer. It’s not an easy solution, but it’s a solution that can be thoughtfully implemented is what I would say.

Muhammad Shabbir: Exactly, I understand. We understand that there aren’t any easy solutions and search for easy solutions is not always the good one. So no matter how difficult we have to adopt these solutions, if we truly want inclusion and participation of all. So Judith, if we have a question online and if they are available, if they can ask the question by themselves. No, we cannot do that, sorry.

Audience: Okay. This question is directed to Amelia and it should be the role of regulatory authorities in advancing digital inclusions for persons with disabilities.

Amela Odobasic: Thank you, Judith. In my intervention, I already, I think, responded to that part of what is the specific role that regulatory authorities should do. However, I would just like to repeat again. that regulators cannot take steps and go ahead in front of the policy makers and governments. However, as expert authorities, as expert bodies, regulators should gain necessary knowledge on the particular topic and then they should really do as much as they can in advocacy effort towards the government in order to achieve the goal. However, there was one activity that I did not mention in my intervention and it’s also equally relevant for the regulators and that is to tailor the activities that they implement under the umbrella of media information literacy, in particular in light of digital literacy, producing researches, mapping the challenges, gathering all these stakeholders together and trying to achieve as much as possible, especially about what was being said when it comes to education. You see, for example, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the education system is extremely complex and it’s usually also like any changes in that particular area, they take a long time. However, considering the target that the children and minors should be really, should receive necessary support in as much as possible, I mean, so that they can progress in their development without boundaries, the regulators should focus also their activities on media and information literacy and touching, discussing on accessibility and digital inclusion, particularly, I mean, that is something that we do in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but again, that would be another topic.

Muhammad Shabbir: Thank you, Amela. I think I would just want to add a couple of points into your intervention, really the great one, but with a little bit of differentiation to the point that regulators do not have the sort of powers or authority of policymakers. Yes, they do not, I understand that, but what the regulators can do, and this we have been doing in Pakistan as well, with both the telecom regulator and the banking regulator on both sides in terms of digital accessibility, we have been feeding them information about and we are training them about the activities, abilities, and requirements of persons with disabilities. And in turn, because one role of the regulator is they are the specialist in their own area and they feed the policy input to their governments. So what they can do is they can advise the governments to guide the governmental policies in the right direction. And when the policies are made, then it’s the job of the regulator to ensure that they are implemented. So that’s the crucial point where the role of regulator comes in.

Amela Odobasic: I absolutely agree with you. However, you see, I was only sort of like looking at the role of the regulator as a link between, you know, towards the governments. However, the regulators can and they definitely must do as much as they can in order to implement the provisions in their regulatory framework, you see. For example, that is what we did in Bosnia and Herzegovina. We detected that when it comes to TV accessibility, for example, that the percentage was extremely low. So what we did, we completely changed the provisions within the regulatory framework. We did not need a government, a new law for that. And we introduced quotas and considerably improved that area. So, yes, I absolutely agree with you. The regulators can do a lot. And this was just one example.

Muhammad Shabbir: Yes. Thank you very much for that. Thank you. Any in-person participants want to contribute?

Audience: My name is Nicodemus Nyokundi. I’m a fellow for the Dynamic Coalition on Accessibility and Disability. First is to Nela. I think I’ll comment that what she said on that disability needs are not specific needs. They are specific needs like any other person. And so in tackling such, we should be aware that anybody may be in need of such accessibility needs to engage. Accessibility and inclusion, in this case in the education sector. I wanted to add on the learning equality platform that the approach also should much focus on the trainers. Because I remember, I’m from Kenya, and I remember a previous government administration had a digital program for the education sector where they issued laptops. They ended up this way. So it was implemented. I feel like I passed on. Okay, sorry, sorry. Okay, I’ll You can actually focus on educating the and offering assistance to so that they are.

Muhammad Shabbir: Thank you, Nicodemus. I think there isn’t any question. Unless we have any questions, we can move to. OK. From the audience, so yes, and quickly. Very quickly.

Audience: It was more of a comment, actually, to the moderator. What attracted me here was the wide open solution. And you talked a lot about developers, and I’m one. And that is what I think is very important in this talk. Because it’s the developers who are going to build all these solutions. We are talking about what should be default, how it should really work. So I’d like us to always engage this open community, because that is how we can easily embed all these beautiful softwares and concepts into each and every digital platform. That was my comment. Thank you. My name is Itzel. I’m one of the TICET fellows. I don’t have a question. It’s more like a comment. I think that the education for people with disabilities is a common challenge in all the countries. And probably before we think about technology and access to the internet, we should make sure that all students with disabilities have access to basic education. Because in case of Mexico, that’s something that it’s not happening. And how can we think about inclusive education when the system and the government? governments refuse to invest in the development of people with disabilities. Because that’s what’s happening in Mexico. We only think, they speak a lot about inclusion, but it’s just what they say. It’s not happening in the reality.

Muhammad Shabbir: Thank you very much for the comments, both by Nicodemus and Incel. I am sorry to have this unfortunate duty performed once again. We cannot take any more questions because it’s the time to close and wind up the session. So for the key takeaways from the speakers and the discussion, I would like to request Ms. Zeynep Varoglu, who is the senior specialist in the Information and Communication Center of UNESCO. So I would request that you give us a brief summary of the key points from the speakers. Ms. Zainab.

Zeynep Varoglu: Okay. I think the key takeaways we can walk away with are that, first of all, we talked about the importance of governance and the role of regulators in ensuring that there is equality and equity in access to information and to learning. And second of all, the role of openness has been underscored and the role of stakeholders in terms of governments and in terms of educational institutions has been underscored. And a third point that we’d like to just underscore is the fact that what we’re talking about here is not the – it’s not the – there are other factors that are involved in terms of education and in terms of access to information and to learning that has to be taken into account, which are not digital, and that play a very big role in ensuring ensuring that there is actually movement in this way, but technology is an important factor, and when technology is done, it’s important that it’s done inclusively, it’s done with persons with disabilities also guiding the way and making sure that they are part of the process of the development of these technologies to ensure that they are actually serving the purpose that they’re supposed to serve. If I may, I’d like to just give the floor back, Shabir, but to thank also the speakers on behalf of UNESCO also and also underscore the importance that we thought of having a joint cooperation of the two DCs in this meeting because of the complementarity and the richness that comes from the discussion. So with that, I give the floor back to you, Dr. Shabir.

Muhammad Shabbir: Thank you very much, Zainab, and last but not the least, I will now pass on the floor to Judith Hellestein. She is my co-coordinator at the IGF Dynamic Coalition on Accessibility and Disability for the summary of key takeaways from the discussion that we just had after the speakers and the vote of thanks. Judith.

Judith Hellerstein: Thank you so much, Dr. Shabir. Yes, it was very fruitful and meaningful discussion, and some of the key takeaways from the questions are the importance of the regulator and what the regulator can do in helping to advance technical issues for persons with disabilities, whether it is through subsidies for universal access for smart devices for persons with disabilities, whether it is other type of subsidies there, what is their role as policymakers and regulators in ensuring that technology is available to all participants and also underscores the importance of the education department and the work on there in making sure that education is open and available to all persons and not giving the full thought to only one type of education. As we saw from one of our speakers, there are multiple options of learning platforms that can be adjusted and that can work for different persons with disabilities. So we want to make sure that we take into account all types of issues. And thank you so much because we are ending our session on time because the captioners have to leave for lunch. Thank you. And thanks for everyone coming here.

Muhammad Shabbir: Yes, thank you very much, Judith. Thank you very much, Zainab and the DCOER for collaborating with us on this session. I would also like to thank the participants who came here to attend this session. And last but not the least, a profound thanks to all the teams who assisted us, including the technical team, the captioners, the sign language interpreters, and others who made this session a possibility. Thank you once again.

Agreement Points

Importance of accessibility in emerging technologies

Muhammad Shabbir

Tawfik Jelassi

Amela Odobasic

Lack of consideration for accessibility in development

Need for universal design in technology development

Challenges in making AI and language models accessible

Importance of involving persons with disabilities in technology development

The speakers agree that emerging technologies often fail to consider accessibility needs, and there is a need for universal design and involvement of persons with disabilities in the development process.

Role of regulators in promoting accessibility

Amela Odobasic

Muhammad Shabbir

Regulators should advocate for accessibility to policymakers

Regulators can implement accessibility provisions within existing frameworks

Importance of dialogue between regulators and persons with disabilities

The speakers agree that regulators play a crucial role in promoting accessibility by advocating to policymakers, implementing provisions within existing frameworks, and engaging in dialogue with persons with disabilities.

Need for accessible open educational resources

Tawfik Jelassi

Mohammed Khribi

Revanth Voothaluru

UNESCO’s efforts to advance inclusive education through open solutions

Need for accessible open educational resources

Creation of offline learning platform with open educational resources

The speakers agree on the importance of developing and promoting accessible open educational resources to advance inclusive education.

Similar Viewpoints

Both speakers emphasize the importance of teacher training and capacity building in digital accessibility and inclusive education practices.

Mohammed Khribi

Revanth Voothaluru

Need to integrate accessibility courses in teacher education curriculum

Importance of continuous training for in-service teachers

Using technology to support differentiation and personalization

Unexpected Consensus

Systemic approach to inclusive education

Revanth Voothaluru

Unknown speaker

Need to consider cultural, political, psychological, institutional and professional aspects

Importance of basic education access before focusing on technology

Role of governments in investing in education for people with disabilities

Despite coming from different perspectives (technology developer and audience member), both emphasize the need for a holistic approach to inclusive education, considering various factors beyond just technology.

Overall Assessment

Summary

The main areas of agreement include the importance of accessibility in emerging technologies, the role of regulators in promoting accessibility, and the need for accessible open educational resources. There is also consensus on the importance of teacher training and capacity building in digital accessibility.

Consensus level

There is a moderate to high level of consensus among the speakers on the key issues discussed. This consensus suggests a shared understanding of the challenges and potential solutions in making digital technologies and education more accessible and inclusive. The implications of this consensus are that it provides a strong foundation for collaborative efforts to address these challenges across different sectors and stakeholders.

Different Viewpoints

Role of regulators in advancing accessibility

Amela Odobasic

Muhammad Shabbir

Regulators should advocate for accessibility to policymakers

Importance of dialogue between regulators and persons with disabilities

While both speakers emphasize the importance of regulators in advancing accessibility, they differ in their approach. Odobasic focuses on regulators advocating to policymakers, while Shabbir emphasizes direct dialogue between regulators and persons with disabilities.

Unexpected Differences

Priority of basic education access vs. technology integration

Revanth Voothaluru

Unknown speaker

Creation of offline learning platform with open educational resources

Importance of basic education access before focusing on technology

While most speakers focused on technological solutions, an audience member unexpectedly emphasized the need to prioritize basic education access for students with disabilities before focusing on technology integration. This highlights a fundamental difference in approach to inclusive education.

Overall Assessment

summary

The main areas of disagreement revolve around the role of regulators, approaches to teacher training, and the prioritization of basic education access versus technology integration.

difference_level

The level of disagreement among speakers is moderate. While there is general consensus on the importance of accessibility and inclusive education, speakers differ in their proposed approaches and priorities. These differences highlight the complexity of implementing inclusive education and the need for a multi-faceted approach that considers various perspectives and local contexts.

Partial Agreements

Both speakers agree on the need to improve teacher capacity for inclusive education, but they propose different approaches. Khribi emphasizes integrating accessibility courses in teacher education, while Voothaluru focuses on using technology for differentiation and personalization.

Mohammed Khribi

Revanth Voothaluru

Need to integrate accessibility courses in teacher education curriculum

Using technology to support differentiation and personalization

Similar Viewpoints

Both speakers emphasize the importance of teacher training and capacity building in digital accessibility and inclusive education practices.

Mohammed Khribi

Revanth Voothaluru

Need to integrate accessibility courses in teacher education curriculum

Importance of continuous training for in-service teachers

Using technology to support differentiation and personalization

Key Takeaways

Emerging technologies like AI have great potential but often lack accessibility considerations for people with disabilities

Regulators and policymakers play a crucial role in advancing digital inclusion and accessibility

Open educational resources and platforms can help make education more accessible and inclusive

There is a significant need for teacher training and capacity building on inclusive education and teaching students with disabilities

A systemic, multi-stakeholder approach is needed to truly achieve inclusive education

Resolutions and Action Items

UNESCO pledged to increase the reach of inclusive education platforms by 25% by 2030

Learning Equality developed an offline learning platform (Colibri) with open educational resources to improve access

MADA is offering training workshops on digital accessibility and inclusive education in Qatar

Unresolved Issues

How to effectively implement teacher training on inclusive education at scale

How to ensure governments invest adequately in education for people with disabilities

How to make AI and language models fully accessible and unbiased

How to provide basic education access for all students with disabilities before focusing on technology

Suggested Compromises

Using technology to support differentiation and personalization in large classrooms where individual attention is difficult

Regulators implementing accessibility provisions within existing frameworks when new laws are not possible

Information is a public good. And as a public good, information needs to receive public support. I think the same is true for openness and accessibility.

speaker

Tawfik Jelassi

reason

This comment frames accessibility and openness as public goods deserving of public support, which provides a compelling rationale for government involvement and investment in these areas.

impact

It set the tone for discussing accessibility as a societal responsibility rather than just an individual or private sector concern. Subsequent speakers built on this idea of collective commitment and multi-stakeholder approaches.

Our needs are the same as yours, okay, who do not sort of like fall into the category of the persons with disabilities. So we do not have specific needs, our needs are the same to have access to information, access to communication, et cetera.

speaker

Amela Odobasic (quoting a representative of persons with disabilities)

reason

This reframes the discussion of accessibility from a ‘special needs’ perspective to one of equal rights and universal design. It challenges the common perception of accessibility as an add-on for a specific group.

impact

It shifted the conversation towards viewing accessibility as a universal benefit and influenced later comments about inclusive design and development practices.

We need to collaborate. We need a multi-stakeholder approach. We need to collaborate with all involved parties in order to build the capacities of in-service teachers in terms of how to deal with learning disabilities in an inclusive education perspective.

speaker

Mohammed Khribi

reason

This comment emphasizes the need for collaboration across different sectors to address accessibility in education, highlighting the complexity of the issue.

impact

It broadened the discussion from focusing solely on technology solutions to considering the importance of capacity building and systemic approaches in education.

When you talk about supporting learners with disabilities, teacher capacity building is definitely one of the big ways to go about it. And I think to support it, specifically strategies like differentiation and personalization play a crucial role.

speaker

Revanth Voothaluru

reason

This comment brings attention to the pedagogical aspects of accessibility, emphasizing that technology alone is not sufficient without proper teaching strategies.

impact

It led to a more nuanced discussion about the intersection of technology, pedagogy, and accessibility, highlighting the need for a holistic approach.

Overall Assessment

These key comments shaped the discussion by broadening the perspective on accessibility from a narrow focus on technology to a more comprehensive view that includes policy, education, and societal attitudes. They emphasized the need for collaboration across sectors, the importance of viewing accessibility as a universal benefit rather than a special accommodation, and the critical role of capacity building alongside technological solutions. This multifaceted approach led to a richer, more nuanced conversation about creating truly inclusive digital environments.

How can we provide more training and capacity building for teachers to effectively teach persons with disabilities?

speaker

Online audience member

explanation

This is important because many teachers lack knowledge on how to teach persons with disabilities differently, especially for conditions like autism and dyslexia.

How can we effectively leverage technology to support differentiation and personalization for learners with disabilities in large classrooms?

speaker

Revanth Voothaluru

explanation

This is important for providing individualized support in developing countries with large class sizes.

How can we approach education interventions for learners with disabilities from a more systemic lens, considering cultural, political, psychological, institutional, and professional perspectives?

speaker

Revanth Voothaluru

explanation

This holistic approach is important for effectively implementing solutions to support learners with disabilities.

How can regulatory authorities better advance digital inclusion for persons with disabilities?

speaker

Online audience member

explanation

This is important to understand the specific role regulators can play in promoting accessibility.

How can we better engage the open source developer community in embedding accessibility features into digital platforms?

speaker

Audience member (developer)

explanation

This is important because developers play a crucial role in building accessible solutions.

How can we ensure basic education access for students with disabilities before focusing on technology and internet access?

speaker

Itzel (TICET fellow)

explanation

This is important because in some countries like Mexico, basic education access for people with disabilities is still a challenge.