Agenda

EDICT2010: Enabling Access to Education through ICT-

How can accessible information and communication and assistive technologies for persons with disabilities be best deployed in schools and universities?

October 27-29, 2010

India Habitat Centre,

New Delhi, India

Enabling Access to Education through ICTs: How Can Accessible Information and Communication and Assistive Technologies for Persons with Disabilities be Best Deployed in Schools and Universities?

An international inquiry organized by the Centre for Internet and Society in cooperation with G3ict, an advocacy initiative of the United Nations Global Alliance for ICT and Development with the support of UNESCO, the International Telecommunication Union, the DAISY Consortium and the World Intellectual Property Organization

Wednesday, October 27, 2010
08.30 – 09.30 Registration opens
09.30 – 11.00 Opening session
•    Welcome note from the organizers, CIS, G3ict, UNESCO, ITU and WIPO
•    Key note address by Smt Vibha Puri Das, Secretary, Higher Education, Ministry for Human Resource and Development
•    Introductory remarks by Dr.Indrajit Banerjee, Director, UNESCO
•    Axel Leblois, Executive Director, G3ict 
ICT Accessibility and Reasonable Accommodation in the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Implications of Article 9 and 24 for State Parties and Education Ministries
Moderator: Nirmita Narasimhan

11.00 – 11.30 Tea break

11.30 – 13.00  Why Accessible and Assistive Technologies Matter? – An Overview of ICT Barriers to Access and Solutions
Live examples and case studies of ICT accessibility issues and solutions in education. The topics – (access to websites), (published works and libraries),(classroom materials and tests), (hardware and software) and (K to 12 and university perspectives)
Speakers
•    Cyndi Rowland, Associate Director, Center for Persons with Disabilities
Visible and Hidden Barriers for Students and Faculty
•    Dr. Sushmita Mitra, Director, Student Support Services, National Institute of Open Schooling
School Textbooks and Educational Resources – Making Distance Education Work
•    Dr.Hemalata, Deputy Director, NCDS, IGNOU
Information Communication Technology (ICT) for Inclusion
•    Mr.S.C.Kunthiya, Joint Secretary Elementary Education, Ministry of HRD
Barriers and Initiatives of the HRD Ministry
•    James Thurston, Senior Strategist for Global Policy and Standards, Microsoft
Accessibility Guide for Educators
Q & A discussion
Moderator- Ambassador Swashpawan Singh

13.00 – 14.00 Lunch break

14.00 – 15.30    Beyond Accessibility: Implementing Assistive Technologies for Students with Disabilities
Live examples and demos. Topics – (input / output devices), (screen readers), (text to speech and voice recognition), (language support); need for individual solutions, training and support essentials
Speakers
•    Dinesh Kaushal, Code Factory
World of Assistive Technologies
•    Prof S R Mittal, Professor in Education, Department of Education, University of Delhi
Challenges faced by Students with Disabilities in Higher Education
•    Sunil Abraham, Executive Director, Centre for Internet and Society
Open Educational Resources
•    Arun Rao, CEO, The Deaf Way Foundation
ICT Applications in Deaf Education
•    Prof Tanmoy Bhattacharya, Coordinator, Equal Opportunities Cell,  Delhi University
Education of Students with Disabilities: An Evaluation of the Indian Educational Policies
Moderator: Mrs. Mala Ramadurai

15.30 – 16.00 Tea break

16.00 – 17.30 Shifting Paradigms for Accessible and Assistive Solutions: Can India Schools Leapfrog Current Solutions?
As technology evolves, new opportunities emerge to implement accessible and assistive solutions in new ways.  This session will highlight current and potential new developments which may accelerate inclusion in education.
      Speakers
•    Prabir Purkayastha, President, Centre for Technology and Development, Chairperson of Knowledge Commons, Vice President, Delhi Science Forum and Chairperson of Program Review Committee on Perception and Control, ASTeC Programme, Ministry of Information Technology
•    Mandar Naik, Director – Platform Strategy with Microsoft India
Open Source Software and Proprietary Software, the Need for Interoperability
•    Susan Schorr, Head, Special Initiatives Division, International Telecommunication Union BDT
Connecting Schools: Global Challenges and Solutions
•    Claudio Giugliemma, President, Dominic Foundation (Switzerland)
Cloud based assistive solutions
•    Professor Kenryu Nakamura, Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology
University of Tokyo
99 Tips in My Pocket In-Class Use of Mobile Phones for Students with Disabilities
Moderator: Noopur Jhunjhunwala

•    17.30 Adjournment, Announcements for Next Day Program

Thursday, October 28, 2010

09.30 – 11.00 Morning Session – UNESCO-CIS Case Studies.  Overview of accessible and assistive ICT solutions for Education.   Success Stories in the Asia Pacific region.
            Speakers
•    Nirmita Narasimhan, Programme Manager, Centre for Internet and Society
Presentation on UNESCO case study
•    James Mathew- Insite, Project Coordinator of Insight
Insight ICT for the Differently abled
•    Professor Mamoru Iwabuchi, Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology University of Tokyo
Development of ICT based Assistive Technology for Minority Languages
•    Sachin Malhan, CEO and Co-founder, Inclusive Planet
The Global Social Library for the Visually Impaired
Moderator: Dr.Indrajit Banerjee

11.00 – 11.20 Tea break

11.20 – 13.00 Plenary Session with DAISY Speakers – The New Frontier for Access to Published Works: Success Stories and Roadblocks.
Copyrights and technology evolutions open the door to accessible reading and publishing options with significant potential for education and life long learning.
           Speakers
•    Mr.Andrew Tu, Senior Advisor to Assistant Director General of WIPO
Facilitating Access to Copyright Works for Visually Impaired Persons – The WPO VIP Initiative
•    Hiroshi Kawamura, President, DAISY Consortium
Daisy Consortium Presentation
•    Viji Dilip, International Program Manager, Bookshare
The Bookshare Success Story
•    Mr. Vivek, Mehra, MD and CEO Sage publications
•    Dr. Sam Taraporevala, Associate Professor and Head of Department of Sociology, St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai
India’s situation
•    Discussion and Q & As
Moderator: Susan Schorr, Head , Special Initiatives Division, International Telecommunication Union BDT

13.00 – 14.00 Lunch break

14.00 – 15.30 DAISY Best Practices for Educators
Implementing the DAISY standard in education brings multiple benefits to educators and students alike.  The panel will cover latest trends, developments in DAISY use and practices.
            Speakers
•    George Kerscher, Secretary General of the DAISY Consortium and President of the International Digital Publishing Forum
Latest Technical Developments and Sample Implementations such as in DAISY Mathematics
•    Prashant Ranjan Verma, Consultant, DAISY Consortium
Over view of Hardware and Software Tools for Authoring and Playback of DAISY Books
•    Birendra Raj Pokharel, President, National Federation of the Disabled-Nepal, Convener, DAISY Nepal Foundation, Vice Chair, DPI Asia Pacific and Chair, DPI South Asia
Sharing of Experiences on Implementation of DAISY Book Production and Distribution in Developing Countries
•    Michael Katzmann, Chief of the Materials Development Division, National Library Services for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, USA
Best Practices in Providing Accessible Materials to Persons with Disabilities
•    Mr. N Ravi Shanker, Joint Secretary, Department of Information and Technology, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology

Moderator: George Abraham, CEO, Score Foundation

15.30 – 16.00 Tea break

16.00 – 17.30  Break-out Sessions

Guidelines: Sunil Abraham
Each break-out session will discuss and report on the following topics with 4 slides to be presented and commented during the plenary session next morning:
1.    Major take away points from the case studies and presentations
2.    Top 3 key success factors
3.    Top 3 obstacles
4.    Policy and program recommendations

• Group 1: Primary education
• Group 2: Secondary education
• Group 3: Tertiary education
• Group 4: Vocational and lifelong learning

Moderators and rapporteurs to be chosen by each group
17.30 Adjournment

19.30 Dinner for all participants at the Gymkhana Club c-oorganised by Daisy Forum of India, Bookshare and CIS

Friday, October 29, 2010

09.30 – 11.00 Developing an ICT Accessibility and Assistive Technology Support Eco-system for Educators 
The topics – (centers of excellence and peer support), (training the trainers), (employing disabled persons as trainers), (resources for field practitioners), (role of universities), (standards), (public procurement), (international examples), (discussion with selected case studies leaders and participants and India’s Ministry of Education officials)

Speakers
•    Cyndi Rowland, Associate Director, Center for Persons with Disabilities
Impact of Lack of Accessible ICTs for Students with Disabilities – An International Perspective
•    Arun Mehta, President, Bidirectional Access Promotion Society
Opportunities and Challenges for Education in a Neuro-Diverse World
•    Joyojeet Pal, Visiting Assistant Professor, Polytechnic Institute of New York University and a Computing Innovation fellow at University of Colorado Boulder
Developing a curriculum in Disability Studies and Assistive Technology for higher education
•    Shanti Raghavan, Founder and Managing Trustee, Enable India
Centres of Excellence, Train the Trainers, Employing Disabled Persons as Trainers
Moderator: Geet Oberoi

•    11.00 – 11.20 Tea break

11.20 – 13.00 Wrap-up session presentation of group work, feedback and action points.  On site web based survey of participants on policy priorities.  Will be used to edit white paper.
Facilitator: Axel Leblois

13.00 – 14.00 Closing lunch

14.00 – 15.30 Afternoon Organizer’s Private Session
•    Summarizing key findings
•    Drafting key points of white paper
•    Drafting table of contents
•    Next steps

15.30 – 16.00 Tea break

16.00 Adjournment