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Exclusion to inclusion for persons with disabilities

 The Employers’ Federation of Ceylon, Specialised Training & #Disability Resource Centre together with the Internet Society Sri Lanka Chapter and the Accessibility Standing Group of the Global Internet Society organised a webinar on “Exclusion to inclusion” in December 2022, by respecting the culture, language and diversity of disability in being equally treated in the digital space.

The importance of this webinar was effective participation by persons with disability in relevant decision-making processes based on the recognition of the disability movement’s mission: Nothing about us without us.

We, disability leaders in Sri Lanka agree that we advocate for:

The ratification and  implementation of international instruments such as the

United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Marrakech Treaty and the Sustainable Development Goals (as related to persons with disability) in our country.

The commitment by Governments to make ICT and the digital environment in our country accessible for persons with disability by formulating and implementing legislation and regulation in accordance with the international instruments. This includes making e-government services accessible adhering to the current version of W3C’s Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. This commitment should be enforced by the governments with designated trained staff as well as reasonable financial resources. Furthermore, research and development in accessible technology be supported for low cost availability of digital products to persons with disability. 

Making educational facilities and curriculum at all levels accessible through an equal delivery mechanism. Developing and delivering university courses on digital accessibility.

Providing an enabling environment facilitated by accessible digital resources in the public and private sector for creating employment opportunities for people with disability.

Businesses and the private sector making their online services accessible and adhering to the current version of W3C’s Web Content Accessibility Guidelines.

International donor agencies and IGOs providing accessible technologies, both hardware and software, to people with disability in their developing country programs. This includes training in the effective and safe use of the Internet.

Internet organisations welcoming people with disability in their deliberations and making their programs and communications accessible. Concurrently, people with disability will build knowledge to proactively and productively participate.

The accessibility of communication, advertisement and public messaging through the provision of alternate formats.

The most significant aspect of this webinar was that all resource persons were persons with disabilities making the nothing about us without us concept a reality. Ms. Manique Gunaratne (vision impaired), Ms. Gunela Astbrink, Mr. Chamod Ruwanga (vision impaired), Mr. Udara Gnanaratne (partially sighted), Ms. Chani Jayathilake (physical disability), Mr. Thusitha Rangana (hearing impaired) and Ms. Nandani Wijeratnam spoke on digital rights of persons with diverse disabilities.

 

Office setting with a woman sitting at a desk, wearing a blue outfit with a bright pink and orange patterned saree. She is using a laptop and has earphones plugged in. In the foreground, another laptop displays her image on a video conference call, showing her participation in a virtual meeting. The background has frosted glass panels. There are also some other office items on the desk, such as another closed laptop and a coaster.

A man with short hair and glasses is participating in a Zoom meeting. He is sitting indoors in front of a wall displaying a chart with days of the week and corresponding numbers. The man is mid-gesture, possibly explaining something or using sign language, and is wearing a dark polo shirt with a light blue collar and a circular logo on the chest. At the top of the Zoom window, names of other participants can be seen, all muted. The screen shows the Zoom controls at the bottom, and the time is 2:52 PM, with the weather indicator showing 91°F and sunny.

A woman with short white hair, glasses, and a patterned blue and white top is sitting in front of a plain light-colored wall. She is participating in a Zoom video conference, and her video feed is prominently displayed. Overlaid on her video is a smaller Zoom window showing other participants, with a gallery view of several people, including her, in smaller tiles. The screen shows typical Zoom controls at the bottom, such as "Unmute", "Start Video", "Share Screen", "Record", and "Leave". In the corner of the Zoom window, the word "Recording" is visible, indicating the meeting is being recorded. Some participants have video on, while others have either profile photos or names shown instead.

Zoom video call interface showing a woman with glasses and dark hair sitting in front of a green wall. In the background is a standing fan and wooden furniture. The Zoom window shows the call is being recorded. At the top are thumbnails of four participants' video feeds, and on the right is the participants panel with 18 names listed, including Hajar Rafiyadeen, Manique Gunaratne, and Nandani. All microphones except for Nandani’s are muted. Zoom control buttons are visible at the bottom of the screen, along with the time and date, 3:08 PM, 12/30/2022, and various application icons on the taskbar.



#Manique Gunaratne

Advisory Board Member – 18+ Alliance for Care Leavers (SOS Children’s Village)


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