6th Africa Forum, Kampala, Uganda

Accessibility Through Free And Low Cost Solutions

S. Rowe, RNIB, United Kingdom

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The advancement in technology over the past decade has opened up a wealth of opportunity for blind and partially sighted people, with increased access to low-cost accessible technology solutions, to be used at home, at work, or in the classroom. The emergence of "born-accessible" technology from companies such as Apple and Android, with their SmartPhone and Tablet products now fully accessible out of the box has significantly increased access to everyday life for visually impaired people. In addition, free Windows screen reader software such as Non Visual Desktop Access (NVDA) and Windows' own Narrator - are contributing significantly in allowing unhindered access to technology based resources.
How to Harness Mobile Technology for Services for Blind and Partially Sighted People in Africa.

Dr. B. Abdul, East Africa Centre for Disability Law and Policy Uganda.

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Mobile technology (MT) encompasses telephony, Internet and hand-held devices used as note takers. This paper sets out to tackle how the various MT’s can be harnessed for the service of people with visual impairments in Africa. Depending on the perspective, MT either spells a bleak or a bright future for blindness services in Africa. On the bright side, it promises greater independence for persons with visual impairment because it facilitates utilization of various services available on the internet such as banking. On the bleak side, the advent of mobile technology spells exclusion for persons with visual impairment because of lack of assistive technology (AT), incompatibility between MT and AT, lack of MT skills by persons with visual impairment and the tendency by service providers to exclude access to their websites by persons with visual impairment.

Providing Services To People Who Are Deafblind (Amethyst Hall)