Panel discussion emphasized the importance of technologies for persons with disabilities | Division for Inclusive Social Development (DISD)

To promote the International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD), UNDESA DSPD held a panel discussion on "Accessible Technologies for Persons with Disabilities: Crossing the Digital Divide" at United Nations Headquarters in New York on 2 December 2014.

Daniela Bas, Director of DSPD opened the discussion by speaking about how technologies can be a crosscutting enabler in including persons with disabilities. The event, co-sponsored by the Permanent Missions of Singapore and Morocco to the United Nations discussed best practices from the two Nations, both prominent in including persons with disabilities through technical advancements.

From the private sector, IBM's Frances West talked about how IBM is making their products accessible for all and stated that 'Accessibility is about easy access for everybody'. From Project Migam, a company focusing on including persons with hearing impairments through an automatic translation service, Dominika Zak talked about how the over 70 million people in the world with hearing disabilities should have the same possibilities as everyone else.

Axel Leblois from G3ICT stated that 'Technologies is a cornerstone for persons with disabilities and that access to new technologies is essential.'

'The whole demography of people with disabilities is changing' said Chapal Khasnabis from WHO in his speech. He also stated that we need to ensure that people have access to assistive technologies so that development can become truly inclusive.

For more information about IDPD, please click here.