Issue 20 – September 2010

Difficulty trying to access products, services, environments, and facilities is an issue for any of us – let alone the millions of people around the world living with disabilities. An international World Standards Cooperation (WSC) workshop will be held on 3 and 4 November 2010 in Geneva, Switzerland, to review and examine the Standards needed to help the development of accessible solutions around the world. The workshop will be followed by a special meeting for Standards developers (but also open to other stakeholders) on 5 November 2010.

The workshop is the latest initiative organised by the three partner organisations of the WSC: International Electrotechnical Commission, International Telecommunication Union, and International Organization for Standardization, which are also raising awareness of accessibility in this year's World Standards Day, celebrated each year on 14 October.

Accessibility is the degree to which a product, device, service, environment, or facility is usable by as many people as possible, including by persons with disabilities. The workshop on 'Accessibility and the contribution of international Standards' will bring together key stakeholder groups from all over the world representing disability organisations, government, regulators, Standards developers, consumers, and product designers and manufacturers faced with accessibility requirements. The workshop will address three key subject areas:

• accessibility of everyday products
• accessibility and buildings
• eAccessibility and eInclusion (in information and communication technologies).

The results of the conference will provide a better understanding of both the work on accessibility issues in standardisation and the needs of those most concerned.

For more information, including the full programme and registration form for the workshop, please refer to the ISO Accessibility and the contribution of International Standards website. (www.iso.org/wsc-accessibility)