icegov2012 proceedings

2.1. National digital inclusion experience for
people with sensory disabilities
According to the National Bureau of Statistics (DANE), in 2005
6.4% of Colombia's population suffers from some form of
permanent disability 5 . This finding, based on the general
population census, shows alarming statistics in this field; as a
result, digital inclusion has become a priority in Colombia. The
Ministry of ICT through its "Communication Technologies for
Disabled People" and their project "New Technologies for
Information Access of the Blind", "Connecting Senses" for deaf
blind people and the "Relay Center" for deaf people, have been
trying to start the process of including people with sensory
limitations by accessing and using information technologies.
Communication Technologies for Population with Disabilities
Program: This program focuses on providing a range of
technology solutions to people with sensory disabilities, to
generate the active participation of these individuals in the
different spheres of social interaction, including the democratic
process. The Ministry of ICT in Colombia, has carried out various
activities for inclusion, such as the Respite Center Project for the
Deaf, which tries to break the communication barriers that this
population suffers. This program has generated a number of
public telephone centers for the deaf, along with the National
Federation of the Deaf of Colombia (FENASCOL) and the
Telephone Company of Bogotá (ETB), which implements text
phones to enable communication between a deaf and a hearing
person. The implementation of closed captioning (subtitles for the
deaf) on television is another initiative that the Ministry has
promoted for the deaf to interpret mass media such as television. 6
New Technologies Project for Information Access for the
Blind: The Ministry of Information Technologies and
Communications, with the help of the National Institute for the
Blind (INCI), has built public libraries for visually impaired
people who can use ICTs and benefit from them, through devices
like: digital book readers and printers to convert braille
documents.
Connecting Senses Program: This program targets people with
deaf blindness conditions, led by the Ministry of Information
Technology and the Colombian Association of the Deaf Blind
(SURCOE). It is responsible for facilitating technology for
classroom use and appropriation of information and
communications technologies in the process of socialization for
this population that has its own characteristics. Connecting Senses
has sought ways to respond to the demands of deaf blind people
holistically, as it has generated an implementation scheme that
takes into account not only the adaptation of ICT for people with
this sensory disability, but also makes special efforts to train
people interested in the topic, as the role of companions for people
with deaf blindness is crucial in the dynamics of socialization.
3. BEST INTERNATIONAL ICT METHODS
TO EMPOWER PEOPLE WITH SENSORY
DISABILITIES
5 http://www.dane.gov.co/index.php?option=com_content&view
=article&id=307&Itemid=124
6 http://201.234.78.217/mincom/faces/index.jsp?id=2334
68
In order to identify the best ICT practices at the international level
aimed at people with sensory disabilities, the following factors
were taken into account: the number of people with sensory
disabilities within each territory, the structure and contribution to
inclusion, the potential for adaptation in the provision of public
services, education, employment, political participation and access
to cultural activities or entertainment.
3.1. Methodology for selecting successful
international practices
The international review of best practices was obtained from the
collection of information from public, private or mixed source
inclusion programs for people with sensory disabilities, which
were selected according to parameters relevant to the digital
inclusion of people with sensory disabilities, this is why there are
three criteria for selection of successful international practices
relating to: 1) the level of practice approach that has the problem
of exclusion of people with sensory, 2) coverage and provide the
inclusion of people with limitations and 3) the potential for
adaptation to cover several dimensions of inclusion (i.e.
education, employment, political participation, etc.).
3.1.1 Criteria approach to the problem of exclusion of
people with sensory disabilities
This criterion is defined as the initiative or practice that is
responsible for solving the problem of exclusion experienced by
people with sensory disabilities. Depending on the conceptual
characteristics of each approach, different alternative solutions
emerge with dramatically different impacts on the lives of people
with visual and auditory disabilities. In this regard there are four
main approaches to address the problem of exclusion.
Exclusion as a personal and individual limitation: This approach
involves recognizing a situation of vulnerability and disadvantage
people with sensory disabilities, which prevents it from interacting
with the rest of society safely and fairly. This approach generates
responses (programs) to direct attention to the individual such as
educational centers or community support.
As a population characteristic: This perspective does not
portray people with sensory disabilities as a vulnerable group, but
as a population group with characteristics that make it different
from the rest of society, as would be the ethnic, religious or
cultural. This approach generates projects including direct and
indirect: direct projects that seek alternative solutions such as
access to specialized education for the visually impaired, to
promote job training and recruitment of this population and
indirect projects which allow them to create partnerships aimed at
achieving a political representation to ensure that this population
is taken into account as a group with characteristics distinct from
the majority society, and therefore must be treated and cared for
differently.
As a matter of physical environment: This approach assumes
that people with disabilities encounter significant difficulties when
interacting with their environment, and therefore, if it is modified
taking into account the sensory abilities of people with sensory
disabilities, to improve their living conditions visibly. This
approach integrates accessibility projects to public buildings,
private buildings regulations to the public and promotes
alternatives to the existing infrastructure which meets the needs of
people with sensory disabilities.