Discussing digital inclusion policy and the UN CRPD
Wednesday, 07 September 2011
Mark Magennis last week attended the International Conference on Digital Inclusion and the Implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Seoul, South Korea. Mark was invited to present the situation in the EU and Ireland with regard to digital inclusion policies and activities. The conference was intended as an opportunity to exchange international experiences on implementing effective digital policies in line with the requirements of the UN Convention.
There was a lot to talk about. Since 2000, the EU has undertaken a wide range of policy initiatives, action plans, legislation, communications, standardisation, research funding and other actions with varying amounts of success. Progress has certainly been slow and there have been repeated failures to meet stated targets. However, as Mark explained, all of these activities have had some effect and there is a noticeable increase in awareness and activity in digital inclusion. The story over the last decade in Ireland has been similar, but the efforts of campaigners, representative organizations and other interested parties continues to have a positive effect and there is reason to be optimistic for the future.
Other invited speakers at the conference were Jonathan Hahm from the U.S. Department of Justice, who spoke about the trend of American Laws related to rights to access to information of the Disabled and Ronald McCallum, Chairperson of UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, who talked about the UN Convention and its importance as the main international policy driver for digital inclusion.
The conference was hosted by the National Human Rights Commission of Korea, the Ministry of Public Administration and Security and the Korea Communications Commission.