In a ceremony earlier today, an agreement was signed between the Malta Information Technology Agency (MITA), Kummissjoni Nazzjonali Persuni b’Dizabilità (KNPD), and the Foundation for Information Technology Accessibility (FITA) for the collaboration on a number of initiatives aimed at improving the quality of life of disabled persons through ICT.

Mr Claudio Grech, MITA’s Chairman, explained that this agreement builds on previous collaboration initiatives initiated in 2008 which had the aim of increasing ICT accessibility for disabled persons. He added that the new three-year agreement comprises various initiatives that will be financed by MITA, amounting to approximately €230,000.

Amongst the initiatives that will be implemented through today’s agreement, the Equal Opportunities (Persons with Disability) Act (2000) will be reviewed to allow for more regulation and reinforcement of ICT accessibility in line with international best practices. To encourage more local organisations to have accessible websites and/or develop accessible software products, and these organisations will be recognised and rewarded appropriately. A suitable learning centre equipped with various assistive technologies will be setup to provide ICT related training for disabled people. Another initiative is that public and private ICT training providers will be offered training in how to cater better for disabled persons’ training needs. Furthermore, a helpline for disabled persons will also be established and will handle calls of disabled people who encounter difficulties whilst using technology.

“The successful implementation of these initiatives is not really a function of money. It is more dependent on the extent of collaboration that we hope to find from critical stakeholders including ICT and telecommunications companies and training providers” commented Mr Grech.

Mr Joe Camilleri, KNPD Chairman, emphasised the fact that of all the minority groups at risk of poverty and exclusion, disabled people were the only ones who had to contend with socially constructed physical barriers. In this respect the world of ICT was no exception as inaccessible hardware, software, virtual environments and online services were still produced in a manner which excluded, rather than included disabled people. Since its inception in 1987 KNPD has been addressing issues of exclusion in ICT with varying degrees of success. However, since entering into a partnership with MITA and setting up of FITA in 2001 these efforts have taken on an increased momentum and a number of successes have been registered. More disabled youngsters have access to ICT for education and for leisure activities, better training opportunities are being provided and more disabled people are benefitting from the use of ICT at their places of work.

“KNPD welcomes the present initiative on the part of MITC and MITA and augurs that it will further strengthen FITA, thus helping it further achieve its ultimate goal of significantly improving the lives of disabled people through the use of ICT in their daily lives” added Mr Camilleri.

The Hon Austin Gatt, Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Communication (MITC), commended MITA, KNPD and FITA for this collaboration and augured that they will find the appropriate response and support from the private sector in the implementation of the proposed initiatives. “ICT has brought revolutionary changes to our daily lives, yet not all ICT products and services are fully accessible and usable by all citizens, particularly disabled persons, even in this day and age”, said Minister Gatt. He stressed that an inclusive information society, in which disabled persons have equal opportunities to access and use ICT, can only be established if the public and private sectors are more open-minded and pro-active to disabled persons’ needs before designing products and services.

The number of disabled persons is bound to keep increasing as the world’s population is ageing. There are social, ethical and business reasons to think in an inclusive manner. The implementation of the initiatives within this agreement serve not only to directly impact the quality of life of disabled persons, but also raise awareness on current barriers faced by disabled persons in using ICT and the general need for inclusivity.

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