G3ict The Global Initiative for Inclusive Accessibility of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTS) released its Digital Accessibility Rights Evaluation (DARE) Index 2017-2018 last month. The index measures the progress made by the 177 countries, that signed the 2006 Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), in promoting and implementing digital accessibility.
The DARE Index includes 3 categories of variables in each participant country: country commitments (legal, regulatory, policies and programs), country capacity to implement (organization, processes, resources) and actual digital accessibility outcomes for persons with disabilities in ten areas of products and services.
Following, we summarize its results.
1. Country Commitments
These results show the considerable impact of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) on the progress of countries legislations, policies and regulations. While a minority of countries had a general legislation protecting the rights of Persons with Disabilities prior to 2006, today 84% of the countries have legislation in this matter. Similarly, legal definitions such as “Reasonable Accommodation”, which existed in the legislation of 5 countries prior to the CRPD launch, is now present in almost two-third of the countries surveyed.
| Country commitment | Global Average % of countries with Law/Regulation/Policy in Place |
| CRPD Ratification | 93% |
| General law protecting the Rights of Persons with Disabilities | 84% |
| Reasonable Accommodation Definition | 63% |
| Definition of accessibility includes ICTs | 49% |
| Universal Service Obligation includes People with Disabilities | 35% |
| Country Commitments Global Average | 65% |
49% of countries have formally included Accessibility of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in their definition of accessibility requirements compared to a handful when the CRPD was launched in 2006.
2. Country Capacity to Implement Digital Accessibility
| Country Capacity to Implement | Global Average of Countries with Implementation Resources and Processes |
| Government Agency for Persons with Disabilities | 84% |
| Government Agency for ICT | 99% |
| Process to involve Persons with Disabilities in Policy Making on ICT Accessibility | 23% |
| Participation in Standard Development Organizations | 40% |
| ICT Accessibility Courses Available at Major Universities in the Country | 37% |
| Country Capacity to Implement Global Progress Average | 57% |
It is disappointing to see the lack of involvement of persons with disabilities in the development of digital accessibility policies and programs. Without their involvement, the policies and programs created to address their needs are likely to fail and be discontinued.
Regarding ICT Accessibility Courses, just 37% of the countries have those available. This means that students in 63% of the countries graduate in computer sciences or related disciplines without knowledge of ICT accessibility. Several organizations are trying to close this gap, such as TeachAccess, which develops a college level accessibility curriculum, or the accessible AMAC MOOC in the United States. Meanwhile, in Europe, MOOCs have also been launched for university level students and cooperate in matters of curriculum.
For organizations and professionals seeking training and certification in ICT accessibility, G3ict promotes the programs of the International Association of Accessibility Professionals.
3. Global levels of implementation by ICT accessibility area
| Niveles de implementación y resultados por país | Ninguna política | Políticas sin implementación | Nivel mínimo | Nivel parcial | Nivel importante | Nivel completo |
| Web | 55% | 1% | 20% | 21% | 4% | 0% |
| TV | 50% | 3% | 23% | 21% | 4% | 0% |
| Mobile | 67% | 3% | 14% | 14% | 2% | 2% |
| E-Books | 58% | 2% | 25% | 15% | 0% | 0% |
| Promotion of Internet Usage by Persons with Disabilities | 65% | 2% | 19% | 14% | 0% | 0% |
| Inclusive ICTs in Education | 52% | 5% | 22% | 19% | 2% | 1% |
| Enabling ICTs for Employment | 59% | 3% | 22% | 13% | 3% | 1% |
| E-Government and Smart Cities | 61% | 4% | 14% | 17% | 4% | 0% |
| Assistive Technology and ICTs for Independent Living | 66% | 1% | 17% | 14% | 2% | 1% |
| Public Procurement | 67% | 1% | 15% | 16% | 0% | 0% |
| Global Average all areas of ICTs | 60% | 2.5% | 19.1% | 16.4% | 2.1% | 0.5% |
Levels of implementation of ICT accessibility are globally very low, with 38.1% of countries in the process of implementing policies at various stages. Only 2.5% of the countries report that they have a policy but that it’s not implemented. This seems to indicate that countries do try to implement ICT accessibility policies once they are adopted.
Source: “DARE Index 2017-2018: Global Progress by CRPD States Parties.” G3ict, November 2018, https://g3ict.org/publication/accessibility-policy?submitted=email
