Guideline Development Workshop
The ICT4IAL project is a multi-partner network of European and international organisations that represent both the learning and the ICT communities. The European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education is the project co-ordinator for the network and is working together with European Schoolnet, the International Association of Universities, UNESCO , the DAISY Consortium and the Global Initiative of Inclusive ICTs on all activities.
The Guideline Development Workshop took place as the first major event for the ICT4IAL project on 20-21 June in Lisbon, Portugal. The workshop was co-hosted by the Portuguese Ministry of Education and Science. Following the opening of the Workshop by the Director General of Education of the Portuguese Ministry of Education and Science, Mr. Fernando Egídio Reis, 56 experts from 26 countries met in a sequence of workshops to discuss the development of guidelines to support the accessibility of learning materials. The experts represented a diverse multi-stakeholder group involved in providing learning opportunities for learners with and without disabilities, including experts for special needs education, inclusion, accessibility and students’ rights in primary to higher education. The input of the experts will be included to shape the Guidelines to be developed through the ICT4IAL project, supporting the objectives of:
- improving the accessibility of the information resources of all partners for them to become role models of accessibility, and
- providing practical resources and knowledge to support both the partners and their country networks in their efforts to improve accessibility practice within their organisations and countries.
The following presentations are available from the workshop:
- Introduction to the project
- Importance of Accessibility for Learning
- Opening New Avenues for Empowerment
- Stages and Ecosystem of Information Production
Following the drafting and development of the Guidelines, the network partners, European Schoolnet, International Association of Universities and the European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education will trial and validate these within their organisations. A short feature of the workshop has been included in Consigo on RTP, a National Portuguese channel and can be viewed (in Portuguese) at http://www.rtp.pt/play/p67/e122626/consigo (the video will be available for a limited time)