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G3ict

G3ict Delegation to the ITU

G3ict is a member of the three divisions of the International Telecommunication Union: ITU-T, ITU-D and ITU-R. Experts members of the G3ict Delegation at the ITU include:

Head of Delegation: Andrea Saks, International Telecommunications Specialist for the Deaf, Chair, ITU JCA-AHF (Joint Coordinating Activity on Accessibility and Human Factors)

Delegates:

  • Lidia Best, President at European Federation of Hard of Hearing People and Vice Chairman of ITU JCA-AHF (Joint Coordinating Activity on Accessibility and Human Factors)
  • Avi Blau, Vice President, International Federation of Hard of Hearing (IFHOH)
  • Matjaž Debevc, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Maribor, Slovenia
  • David Fourney, Ph.D., IT Accessibility Consultant
  • Phil Harper, Ph.D., Coordinator of World Federation of the Deaf’s Expert Panel on Accessibility - Technology and Sign Language
  • Beat Kleeb, World Federation of the Deaf, Switzerland
  • Christopher Jones, Chairman, Deaf Access to Communication (DAC), UK
  • Mark Laureyns, Audiologist, Amplifon Centre for Research and Studies
  • Tom Pey, Co-Founder, Waymap; Founding Chairman, Wayfindr


ITU Focal Point at G3ict Headquarters: Francesca Cesa Bianchi, Vice President, Institutional Relations

Impact of the G3ict Delegation to ITU with Work on Standards

ITU standardisation work is mainly based on its members contributing to agreed work on standards. Technical Reports, Technical Standards and Global Recommendations are developed through mutual consent.

G3ict delegation to ITU has been closely involved in this work with focus on accessibility of products and services. Some of the new standards have been proposed directly by G3ict, others have had input from our delegates.

Below, is the list of standards our delegation has been involved in:

Global Recommendations

2019 – H.871 Safe Listening Guidelines for Personal Sound Amplifiers

2018 – H.870 Guidelines for safe listening devices/systems

2018 - F.930 Multimedia telecommunication relay services

2018 – F.791 Accessibility Terms and Definitions

2018 - FSTP-CONF-F921 - Compliance of audio-based navigation system for persons with vision impairment

Technical Papers

2020- FSTP.ACC-ALD Overview of assistive listening systems

2019 - FSTP-ACC-RCS - Overview of remote captioning services

2015- FSTP- AM- Guidelines for accessible meetings

2015 - FSTP-ACC-RemPart - Guidelines for supporting remote participation in meetings for all

ITU-T

ITU Joint Coordination Activity on Accessibility and Human Factors (JCA-AHF) performs as a bridge on accessibility matters among the three ITU sectors. The JCA-AHF was established in December 2007 and reports to TSAG since June 2015 (it reported to ITU-T Study Group 2 previously). Andrea Saks serves as Chairman of the JCA-AHF; Gerry Ellis Co-chairman

The G3ict Delegation participates in various ITU Study Groups and Focus Groups to ensure that accessibility features are included in all standardization activities in line with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, such as multimedia conferencing, cable, IPTV, NGN and cloud computing.

  • ITU-T SG16 Question 24 (continuation of ITU-T Q4/2) "Human factors related issues for improvement of the quality of life through international telecommunications"
  • ITU-T SG16 Question 26 “Accessibility to Multimedia Systems and Services”
  • ITU-D SG 1 Question 7/1 "Access to telecommunication/ICT services by persons with disabilities and with specific needs"

ITU-D Special Activities

  • Technical reports
  • Model ICT Accessibility Policies
  • Toolkit
  • Capacity building seminars
  • M-Enabling Summit
  • Accessible Americas, Europe, Arab Region
  • Presentations on DARE Index

IGF and the Dynamic Coalition on Accessibility and Disability

G3ict, jointly with the ITU, co-founded in 2007 the Internet Governance Forum’s Dynamic Coalition on Accessibility and Disability (DCAD), which organizes workshops on accessibility for the Internet Governance Forum. The Dynamic Coalition on Accessibility and Disability facilitates interaction and ensures that ICT accessibility is included in the key debates around Internet Governance in order to build a future where all sectors of the global community have equal access to the Information Society.

ITU provided secretariat for the DCAD from 2007 until 2019. The archive page of that period is available at Dynamic Coalition on Accessibility and Disability (itu.int)

The current DCAD webpage is found at Home – IGF-DCAD

DCAD, in collaboration with G3ict, has organized workshops and activities at IGF events since 2007.


Over the years, DCAD has contributed to the following deliverables:

If you are interested in participating in ITU work on accessibility and would like to join the G3ict Delegation to the ITU, please contact Francesca Cesa Bianchi at fcesabianchi@g3ict.org