stakeholders and promoters of the accessibility process - ISRAEL- Dana Kaspi-Tsahor: danakas@openu.ac.il Tali Heiman: talihe@openu.ac.il Dorit Olenik-Shemesh: doritol@openu.ac.il The open university of Israel

Plan PRESENTATION Accessibility law and regulation in Israel Accessibility stakeholders in Israel Accessibility stakeholders in higher education Stakeholders with whom educational institutions are presently working regarding students with disabilities and ICTs Strategies to engage stakeholders Challenges in engaging stakeholders

Accessibility law and regulation in Israel 1998 - Equal rights act for people with disabilities The equal rights act for people with disabilities that came into effect in Israel in 1998, constitutes a higher framework for regulating accessibility to people with disabilities in public buildings and services 2005 - Amendment 2 to the equality act Amendment 2 to the equality act – the accessibility act that was legislated in 2005, defined accessibility as the ability to get to a place, move and find one's way in it, enjoy and make use of the service and information provided in it, use the facilities or participate in the activities there, in an egalitarian, respectful, independent and safe way 2013 - Accessibility regulations In order to help implement the equal rights act for people with disabilities, service accessibility regulations, which regulate the procedures and practices in adjusting accessibility to service, were written in 2013. The document is arranged by chapters and sub-articles that include almost all fields of life

Accessibility in Higher Education in Israel In the past decade, a development is noted in Israel with regards to the integration of people with disabilities into higher education due to the understanding that it constitutes an essential component of integration into society: 2011- An equal rights regulation draft was written which included accessibility adjustments to existing public places that are higher education institutions, and to higher education services they provide 2016- The regulation of higher education institutions was legislated. 2017- Higher education institutions required accessibility adjustments by 24th of November.

Accessibility stakeholders in Israel Minister of Justice Commission for Equal Rights of Persons with Disabilities (The Ministry of Justice) Minister of Labor, Welfare and Health Committee of the Knesset (education & Welfare and Health) National Insurance Institute (Department of Vocational Rehabilitation) Ministry of Defense (Department of Rehabilitation) Non-profit organizations (e.g “Access Israel” ) Service Accessibility Expert Buildings, Infrastructure and Environment Accessibility Expert

Higher Education in Israel More than 310,000 students register yearly  66 Higher Education Institutions: 9 universities 36 Academic Colleges 21 Colleges of education

Accessibility stakeholders in higher education Administration Dean of students Director General (CEO) Head of Accessibility Department Academic Counselors Academic Secretariat Legal Counselor Human Resources Administration Librarians Study centers managers Academic studies President of the University Dean of Academic studies Academic Department Chairs Senior faculty Department faculty Course Coordinators Tutors

Effective Strategies OF accessibility process Obtaining approval from the President of the University Engaging the legal advisor Engaging members of the board Dean of students, Dean of Academic studies, Director General (CEO) Forming an accessibility committee Assimilating the accessible service regulations Posting regulations by email, Online newsletter Raising staff awareness Seminars, Online newsletter, Guidelines for accessibility of lectures

Challenges in engaging stakeholders Lack of knowledge Lack of awareness Absence of empathy Fear of compromising the academic level Fear of intervention in academic freedom Budget Limitation …

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