WIPO-ITU Accessibility workshop “The ILO experience” A. Quacchia International Labour Organization

Background Strong engagement Recent panel “people with disabilities in times of Economic crisis” Employs one person visually impaired The ILO has a strong engagement to provide better working conditions for people with disabilities in particular in this time of crisis The ILO Director’s General outlined it well : “ he said: NON DISCRIMINATION is one of the fundamental rights at work. So having an accessible web site means giving equal opportunities of access to the information. Also organization, voice and dialogue are fundamental in helping to shape social and economic policies that embrace the disabled. It’s about ensuring that the disabled are counted in, not counted out. That as any other worker, they are both protected and empowered. What are some of the things we are doing in our own work, from the ILO? First – helping to set the policy and legal foundation. In doing so we draw on the ILO’s international labour standards on disability and on the practical Code of Practice on Managing Disability in the Workplace. Second through research evaluation and identification of good practice in vocational rehabilitation, skills development, employment and self-employment as The ILO is an agency with a Tripartite structure where the role of Employers’ and Workers’ organizations as advocates; they can also lead by example and hold governments to account. And to get there we are engaged in constant advocacy and awareness building. Marlee Matlin’s conviction involved in this effort is indispensable to make the world at large see the abilities of the disabled and not just their disability. People with disabilities can contribute to economic recovery and sustainable development. See the recent panel “people with disabilities in times of Economic crisis” http://www.ilo.org/skills/what/events/lang--en/WCMS_115119/index.htm The Actress and activist Marlee matlin “We read headlines telling us of reduced employment of disabled workers, less public expenditure on programmes relevant to their employability and employment, and reduced demand for products of enterprises employing disabled persons,” the actress said. “Disabled persons must also be ‘counted in’ programmes and services, including vocational and training, that help equip and prepare them for the economic upturn”. Ms. Matlin stressed that people with disabilities face poverty both in developed and developing countries, noting that “in the US, a recent study shows that about half of all working-age adults who experience income poverty for at least 12 months have a disability.” At the same time, she said disabled women are particularly at risk of being poor, especially in developing countries. See the video “decent work for people with disabilities: “Count us in” http://www.ilo.org/public/english/disability/countusin/index.html One ILO official is visually impaired which gives us the possibility to test the accessibility of our website directly with her. I can tell you that ILO web presence since 1996 Internally WEBDEV is raising awareness about web accessibility issues In response to the ILO engagement in providing a better working conditions for people with disabilities See the recent panel “people with disabilities in times of Economic crisis” http://www.ilo.org/skills/what/events/lang--en/WCMS_115119/index.htm Vocational rehabilitation in Caracas

Web presence Since 1996 Composed of over 150 Unit web sites Decentralized publication model An holistic approach is still quite fragmented Few examples of ILO accessible web sites done for specific audience with disability

Current status Create uniformity in the interface and navigation Raise awareness Use a CMS with Accessibility features Design choice - Textual navigation links Increase readability from the screen readers

Accessibility guidelines Help boost SEO Help site usability Help drive more traffic

In the future Redesign of the website Architecture Content Make extensive use of Alt tag Guidelines and training on accessible PDFs

Thank you ! quacchia@ilo.org Watch the video “decent work for people with disabilities: “Count us in”