INTRODUCTION
The exclusion and marginalization of persons with disabilities is a human rights issue as well as an economic issue for countries. When a significant section of society, estimated at 15% of the world’s population, faces obstacles in receiving an education, transitioning into the labor market, and becoming economically self-sufficient, it not only undermines their rights and dignity but adds significantly to a country’s welfare burden (WHO & World Bank, 2011).
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is increasingly enabling persons with disabilities to level the playing field in access to lifelong education, skills development, and employment (Omole, 2013). The confluence of two major trends is reshaping the paradigm on using technology to promote inclusion and full participation of persons with disabilities.
The first is that the Internet and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) are becoming common and popular channels for the delivery and implementation of governance, welfare, socio-economic development, and human rights programming (Samant, Matter & Harniss, 2012). They are transforming pathways to poverty reduction by enabling direct interactions between producers and markets globally, new methods of delivering personalized public and social services quickly, different channels for income generation, and innovations in asset accumulation and access to finance (Spence & Smith, 2010).
The internet also enables multiple channels to access and contribute information, with a global reach, which can improve transparency, accountability, and monitoring of development programs and services. Multiple delivery channels are being used for communication and service delivery including email, text messaging, voice communications, and video.
The second is that a growing number of mainstream, everyday ICT such as mobile devices and desktop computers increasingly offer functionalities that facilitate communication and information access for persons with disabilities. Features such as text-to-speech and voice recognition, ability to change contrast and color schemes, touch and gesture input, and screen magnification which in the past required specialized standalone software and hardware are embedded within off-the-shelf ICT devices. Digital technologies enable persons with disabilities to receive information and content in the format that they can perceive and prefer. For example, a person with visual impairments can use speech-to-text functionality or software to read a website, a person with hearing impairments can use SMS or instant text messaging to communicate, and a person with mobility impairments can use voice recognition to operate and navigate their digital device.
This presents an important opportunity to break the traditional barriers of communication and interaction that persons with disabilities face and which hinder their full participation in society. A recent survey of 150 experts from over 55 countries ranked websites and mobile devices and services as the technologies that can contribute the most to the social and economic inclusion of persons with disabilities. The experts also perceived the highest impact of ICT for individuals with disabilities to be on independent living, employment, education, and access to government services (Etherington & Ingold, 2012).
However, the advancements in technology are insufficient by themselves to bridge the gaps in the socioeconomic inclusion of persons with disabilities. The adaptation, operationalization, and implementation of ICT for inclusive development remains dependent on other factors within the ecosystem (Samant, Matter & Harniss, 2012). Existing evidence shows that the success of using the internet and ICT for the inclusion of persons with disabilities is heavily impacted by stakeholders’ knowledge and awareness of the ICT solutions available, laws and policies, and the capacity of various stakeholders to support accessible ICT service. In fact, the use of the internet and ICT can widen the disparities between persons with and without disabilities if they are not designed to be accessible and inclusive.
This article provides an overview of the opportunities presented by the ICTs for the full participation and inclusion of persons with disabilities. Accessible ICT can level the playing field for persons with disabilities across life domains including education, employment, e-governance and civic participation, financial inclusion.
PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES (PWDs)
Over a billion people globally, approximately 15% of the world’s population, have disabilities and 80% of them live in developing countries (WHO & World Bank, 2011). Individuals can experience different types of disabilities including visual, hearing, speech, mobility, cognitive, and psychosocial. Individuals also experience the onset of disabilities as they age. Almost 12% of the world’s population is over the age of 60; that figure will be over 20% by 2050 (UN Department of Social & Economic Affairs, 2013).
Children with disabilities attend and complete primary and secondary education at lower rates than children without disabilities (UNICEF, 2013), and the gaps are as high as 40% to 60% in low and middle income countries such as Cambodia, Bolivia, and Indonesia (WHO & World Bank, 2011). Estimates suggest that almost a third of the children who do not receive a primary education have disabilities (Human Rights Watch, 2012). This further limits their opportunities for employment as they transition to adulthood.
The employment rates of persons with disabilities are a third to half of the rates for persons without disabilities, with unemployment rates as high as 80% to 90% in some countries (including developed and developing economies) (Mizunoya & Mitra, 2012). Individuals with disabilities also face higher rates of multi-dimensional poverty as compared to persons without disabilities (Mitra, Posarac & Vick, 2013). The relationship between income and disability can be complex, and gaps in the economic well-being of persons with and without disabilities can be significantly higher in middle income countries than low income countries. Lower educational attainment and lower productivity in a workplace that is not adapted to be accessible impacts the earning potential of an individual with a disability and results in wage disparity as compared to individuals without disabilities (Longhi, Nicoletti, & Platt, 2010).
A high unemployment rate for persons with disabilities increases a country’s expenditure on welfare which is in fact counter-productive to their social inclusion and economic self-sufficiency (Burkhauser & Daly 2011). Ripple effects can also impact the earning capacity of other household members, mostly women, who serve as primary caregivers for children and youth that are unable to go to school. Studies on vulnerability risks show that factors of low education and economic well-being, dependence on social and welfare services, and low civic and political capital raise the risks of marginalization in receiving other important services including disaster and emergency management, healthcare, and asset accumulation (Samant Raja & Narasimhan, 2013).
The physical inaccessibility of “brick and mortar” and “pen and paper” based educational, employment, information, and social environments has been one of the primary factors for the marginalization of persons with disabilities. Everything from being able to travel to and enter a school or work site, perceiving and understanding what is written on the blackboard, hearing, understanding, and communicating with teachers, managers, clients, and peers, accessing paper and print based content, and recreation and socialization can become a barrier.
The use of technology in the empowerment of persons with disabilities is not new. Specialized assistive and adaptive technologies such as screen reading software, magnification devices, augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices that aid persons with difficulties in verbal communications, and telecommunication relay devices have been used to promote independence and inclusion. However, persons with disabilities in low and middle income countries face significant challenges in acquiring assistive devices such as the cost and availability of standalone, specialized equipment (WHO & World Bank 2011). The cost of assistive technologies can be a barrier to their use in promoting the independent living, education, and employment of persons with disabilities in low and middle income countries which have lower state funding to facilitate the acquisition of assistive technology (Broadband Commission for Digital Development et al., 2013).
ICT – INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES
Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) is a broader term for Information Technology (IT), which refers to all communication technologies, including the internet, wireless networks, cell phones, computers, software, middleware, video-conferencing, social networking, and other media applications and services enabling users to access, retrieve, store, transmit, and manipulate information in a digital form.
ICTs are also used to refer to the convergence of media technology such as audio-visual and telephone networks with computer networks, by means of a unified system of cabling (including signal distribution and management) or link system. However, there is no universally accepted definition of ICTs considering that the concepts, methods and tools involved in ICTs are steadily evolving on an almost daily basis.
Stands for "Information and Communication Technologies." ICT refers to technologies that provide access to information through telecommunications. It is similar to Information Technology (IT), but focuses primarily on communication technologies. This includes the Internet, wireless networks, cell phones, and other communication mediums.
In the past few decades, information and communication technologies have provided society with a vast array of new communication capabilities. For example, people can communicate in real-time with others in different countries using technologies such as instant messaging, voice over IP (VoIP), and video-conferencing. Social networking websites like Facebook allow users from all over the world to remain in contact and communicate on a regular basis.
Modern information and communication technologies have created a "global village," in which people can communicate with others across the world as if they were living next door. For this reason, ICT is often studied in the context of how modern communication technologies affect society”.
“Information and communications technology (ICT) is an umbrella term that includes any communication device or application, encompassing: radio, television, cellular phones, computer and network hardware and software, satellite systems, and so on, as well as the various services and applications associated with them, such as videoconferencing and distance learning. Traditional and conventional approaches to the design, implementation, and validation of ICT systems typically deal with one core system concern or two system concerns at a time, for example, the functional correctness or reliability of an enterprise system, or security and privacy of a database”.
ICT ACCESSIBILITY
ICT Accessibility is technology that can be used by people with a wide range of abilities and disabilities. It incorporates the principles of universal design. Each user is able to interact with the technology in ways that work best for him or her. Accessible technology is either directly accessible - in other words, it is usable without assistive technology - or it is compatible with standard assistive technology. Just as buildings that have ramps and elevators are accessible to wheelchair users, products that adhere to accessible design principles are usable by people with a wide range of abilities and disabilities.
Examples of ICT Accessibility include:
Accessible software applications and websites that are compatible with a wide array of assistive technologies and incorporate universal design.
Accessible multimedia products, such as videotapes, CDs, DVDs, or web-based multimedia that include synchronized text captions for spoken information and other audio content as well as synchronized audio descriptions for visual content.
Accessible copy machines that can be operated in more than one way using keypads, touch screens, or voice recognition. Height and position can be adjusted so that controls are within reach and the display can be viewed easily.
“ICT Accessibility can be measured by how successfully a person with a disability can locate, get to, and understand the wanted or needed digital information. Accessibility results in benefits like eliminating barriers to information and communications technology (ICT) and encouraging development of technologies and techniques”.
“ICT accessibility is an essential condition for the development of inclusive societies. Governments, the private sector, industry, academic institutions and regional and international organizations must therefore work together to forge a holistic approach encompassing all people without discrimination and ensure that an ICT-accessible ecosystem is created in every country and region”.
ICT OPPORTUNITY FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES
ICT enables the use of multiple means of communication - voice, text, and gestures - to access information and engage with others, and hence can help to address long-standing barriers of communication and interaction. ICT is clearly identified as an enabler in the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) (2006), the first human rights treaty specifically addressing the rights and needs of persons with disabilities. The CRPD which came into force in 2006, has been ratified by 152 countries as of March 12, 2015 (UN Enable, 2015).
The CRPD consistently brings up the role of ICT in promoting the independence and full inclusion of persons with disabilities across life domains, and requires States Parties to make concerted efforts and investments to advance access to ICT. ICT is an important enabler of accessibility to systems and services (Article 9), access to information and uphold freedom of expression and opinion (Article 21), and meaningful habilitation and rehabilitation (Article 26).
Articles on access to justice, rights to political participation, education, health, and employment all raise the need for the affordable and accessible technology to realize the rights of persons with disabilities.
ICT is a disruptive force in enabling the inclusion of persons with disabilities due to a number of characteristics and benefits as discussed below:
1- Multiple Channels to Access Content and Communicate
ICT enables content creation and delivery in multiple formats through multiple media. Public and private service providers are using multiple communication channels simultaneously to connect with consumers including SMS, voice, websites with multimedia, social media, and mobile apps (Andes & Castro, 2010). Persons with disabilities are accessing content through television and radio, landline telephones, cellular and mobile audio telephony, text messaging/SMS, websites, email, instant messaging over the internet, Voice over Internet Protocol services, web conferencing, and social media. The growing demand for services through multiple communication channels by consumers with and without disabilities is resulting in greater readiness and effort on the part of service providers to facilitate the use of a number of channels for communication.
When multiple modes of communication are available, an individual with a disability can choose the one most suited for their functionality without additional financial burden on the demand or supply side. The most prominent example of this is how SMS and online text formats were adopted for communication by persons with hearing disabilities (Pilling & Barrett, 2007). The popularity of SMS in addition to voice services over mobile networks radically changed how persons with hearing and speech disabilities could communicate over mainstream communication channels. Many cellular service providers around the world now offer text-only plans for persons with hearing impairments. The adoption of online instant messaging at work and in social communications served a similar role in leveling the playing field for persons with hearing and speech disabilities.
2- Availability and Affordability
The rapid developments in digital technologies have been a disruptive force in the field of assistive and adaptive technology because they have brought many of these specialized functionalities within the domain of general consumer and personal technology. The most important impact of this development has been on the cost and availability of accessible technology for persons with disabilities.
Take the example of specialized augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices that aid persons who have difficulty with verbal communication such as those with intellectual or cognitive disabilities. AAC devices can cost in the range of US $ 6,000 in developed economies. When sold at similar price tags in low and middle income countries, they remain out of reach for a large number of persons with disabilities. Smart devices such as the iPad and Android based tablets can be configured to offer similar functionality with the combination of in-built accessibility features and free or paid mobile applications. Even with the use of costly, high-end apps on a smart device, the total cost could come down by over US $ 5,000 (Foley & Ferri, 2012).
Both Microsoft Windows and Mac OS come with in-built accessibility settings that a user can activate including text-to-speech, voice recognition, preferences for mouse and keyboard navigation, contrast settings, and magnification. These are at no extra cost beyond the cost of the operating system. Since 2014, individuals with a license for Microsoft Office 2010 and higher or a subscription of Office 365 can download Window-Eyes, a leading screen reader, for free (GW Micro, 2014).
Open source assistive technology software packages are also available which offer quality alternatives to high price assistive software, such as the open source software such as the NVDA open source screen reader which is also available in 43 languages in addition to English (NV Access, 2015). There are several initiatives exploring the use of cloud computing to deliver assistive technology, and accessible content and services at low costs to persons with disabilities. For example, LucyTech (2011) offers assistive technology (AT) on the cloud to help lower the cost of purchasing a license by distributing ownership over a larger user base. AT on the cloud also removes the constraint of requiring assistive software on every personal computer, and allowing its use on any public access computer that can connect to the internet. The Global Public Inclusive Infrastructure (GPII, 2011) is another initiative to use the cloud to store user interface preferences, such that any ICT device connected to the cloud can “change to fit users rather than requiring users to figure out how to adapt, configure or install access features they need.”
When commonly used digital technologies such as the smartphone offer accessible features, they also help to lower the “othering” of employees or students with disabilities (Foley & Ferri, 2012). In fact, persons without disabilities are demanding accessible functionality on their devices at home, school, and work (Kemp & Macsata, 2014). Accessible ICT features also benefit many persons who may not identify as having a disability, including senior citizens, people with low literacy, and people who may not know the dominant language.
3- There is an App for Everything
There is also growing consumer choice in the app market at all price points. There are apps to aid with memory and organization, control smart devices in the home, note taking, object recognition including currency, recording personal information to use in case of an emergency, and reaching
for assistance in case of need. Apps such as TapTapSee assist users with visual disabilities in recognizing objects by taking a photo and identifying it through a database of crowdsourced images. There are apps to scan barcodes and identify the product, read aloud menus through optical character recognition, and pull up Braille keyboards.
There are apps to aid individuals that are non-verbal to use icons, images, and storyboards to communicate. Apps can assist individuals with hearing disabilities by providing instant captions for audio content including phone calls, voice amplification, video calling, and converting audio alerts into text. There are educational apps that focus on assisting students with learning disabilities in learning and working on math, composition, and reading.
Innovations are not limited to mobile apps. For example, many web-enabled services offer targeted assistance for individuals with disabilities such as remote live captioning for meetings and webinars, remote sign language interpretation, and video relay where a sign language interpreter assists in the communication between individuals with and without hearing disabilities. Crowdsourcing platforms offer new opportunities for persons with disabilities to learn and inform others about accessibility of restaurants, hotels, tourist destinations, and other public sites.
This continues the role of ICT as disruptive technology in the field of assistive and adaptive ICT as it not only changes the form in which people can access this technology, but it also serves as a catalyst for innovative and multi-functional apps that would have been difficult to offer previously.
ICT FOR INCLUSIVE DEVELOPMENT
This section offers an overview of how ICT can facilitate disability inclusion in some of the most crucial areas in development programming: education, employment, access to governance and civic participation, financial inclusion, and disaster management. These serve as examples of the wide application of ICT in driving the inclusion of persons with disabilities.
Education and Literacy
Education is a precursor to economic empowerment. E-learning and online education are now viewed as a mature market, having moved beyond experimentation and gaining credibility among consumers (Gallagher & LaBrie, 2012). Web 2.0 tools for learning benefit students with and without disabilities. ICT is being used to offer differentiated instructions and learning by adapting content and process to meet a student’s readiness level (Bender, 2012). This is exactly what is required to offer a rich learning experience for students with disabilities.
There are numerous examples in literature of ICTs driving learning and literacy for students with disabilities (Starcic & Bagon, 2014). The World Bank and the Republic of Tunisia's Ministry of Social Affairs, Solidarity and Tunisians Abroad collaborated on the eDisabled Project which used ICT to improve literacy and social inclusion of students with disabilities in Tunisia. The project facilitated the provision of assistive and accessible software in school computer labs, and funded 24 centers throughout the country that offered a range of accessible ICTs including touch screen devices, magnification software, text-to-speech, and sign language translation software (World Bank, 2008).
Several special educators and assistive technology specialists that work with students with disabilities see a tremendous overlap between assistive solutions and general educational tools and software designed (Puckett, 2011). Some of the most renowned conferences in the field of assistive technology nowadays dedicate many sessions to the effective and efficient use of computers, tablets, apps, smartphones, and web services as aids for students with disabilities in the classroom.
Educators are using a range of ICT to enhance learning for students with disabilities including electronic whiteboards, recording and uploading lectures, task organization and categorization, memory tools and aids, (O’Connell, Freed, & Rothberg, 2010). If a classroom has access to regular ICT tools, a platform for inclusion is already there.
Both Windows and Mac OS have inbuilt accessibility features such as text-to-speech, using voice commands, non-use or improved use of a mouse or external keyboard, magnification, text alerts instead of voice alerts. Electronic interactive whiteboards can be used effectively as a means to engage students with different learning needs, actively include students with disabilities in sessions where students are called upon for an exercise on the board, and facilitate collaboration and group learning between peers with and without disabilities (Allsopp et al., 2012).
Accessible learning content is now easier to create and disseminate. Web-based bulletin boards and knowledge management platforms, electronic documents, e-books, and audio books offer
important alternatives to the rigidity imposed by traditional print-based and handwritten forms of learning and expression. E-publishing formats such as the DAISY format have been specifically developed to ensure that e-books are accessible by users’ assistive technology (Watkins, 2014).
Learning is also aided by presenting materials in various formats including video and graphics and this again facilitates the principle of differentiated instruction that benefits students with and without disabilities. Smart devices such as tablets are also important tools for inclusive education (Shah, 2011). Beyond their embedded accessibility features, a large number of apps are available, and growing in number, to assist students with disabilities in accessing and understanding complex subjects such as math and science, aiding them in following lessons through audio recording, electronic note taking, and apps that work as memory tools and help with organization (Watkins, 2014). The growing number of rigorous and accredited distance education programs is another avenue to promote greater access to educational opportunities for students with disabilities (Myhill et al. 2007).
How ICT Addresses Barriers to Participation in Education for Persons with Disabilities
The following depicts the different ways in which ICT can support the educational participation of students with disabilities:
Accessing and understanding content
Learning resources can be offered in electronic formats,
Apps and online resources facilitate learning of math and science for students with visual, hearing, and cognitive disabilities,
Differentiated learning materials - videos, pictures, text,
Devices can be equipped with assistive software and apps (touch navigation, magnification, text to speech, voice recognition),
Smart devices such as tablets can be provided as accommodations for students with disabilities,
Lectures can be recorded for conversion to a suitable format or to replay later as suited to a student's needs,
Photos can be taken in real time and used with photo editing, story making and other software for learning.
Content creation and classroom participation
Students can use alternate means for content creation such as voice recognition software,
Students with disabilities can interact with teachers and peers using their communication devices including text instead of voice, electronic picture boards, instant messaging, and conferencing tools,
Electronic whiteboards enable participation across all functional abilities
Organization and memory
Calenders, memory aids, categorization and organization apps can assist in reducing concentration, focus, and memory barriers,
Memory aids can support both learning tasks as well as daily functioning tasks in an educational setting.
Employment and Income Generation
ICT is becoming a key driver for the successful employment of persons with disabilities due to its permeation and proliferation of ICT in the world of work. ICT has changed how people build their skills, how they search for work, how they do their work, how they interact with coworkers and clients, and how they receive and use benefits in the workplace. Email, websites, social media, and web-enabled multimedia content and communication are mainstays in the workplace. Work processes are increasingly shifting online with the adoption of cloud-based content management and document sharing, software applications, internet-based audio and video communications, and remote collaboration platforms (Raja et al., 2013).
The internet and digital technologies are also changing how entrepreneurs, people who are self-employed, and free-lancers are raising capital, finding clients, and selling services. This also means that if persons with disabilities are unable to access these technologies, they will be further disadvantaged in the digital workplace. Empowering persons with disabilities to compete in the increasingly digital work environment will thus require that they have access to accessible ICTs as well as opportunities to learn and build ICT skills (Partnership on Employment & Accessible Technology, 2014).
ICT can help to level the playing field for persons with disabilities at all stages of the employment life cycle—hiring, retention, and promotion. People may acquire disabilities at later stages in their employment life. People are also staying in the workforce for longer, and may experience age related onset of disabilities. Ensuring their continued employment is a matter of economic benefit to the employer as well as the employee.
Many persons with disabilities pursue self-employment due to the barriers of getting jobs in the competitive labor market. The internet and digital technologies are changing the field of self-employment and entrepreneurship through online work and micro-work sites such as oDesk, Elance, and Amazon Mechanical Turk. Individuals with disabilities now have a wider opportunity to find and interact with clients, and sell their goods and services across physical and infrastructural obstacles. The growing recognition of telework and remote distributed work through the internet as feasible and productive ways to work can facilitate a more inclusive work environment for employees with disabilities requiring schedule flexibility and alternative work arrangements.
Persons with disabilities, especially those with intellectual disabilities, also work in sheltered workshops that pay below minimum wages. The work involved usually is only at the apprenticeship level with few to no opportunities to play a management, sales, or other executive roles within the workshop or transition to the open labor market (ARUNIM, 2014). Sheltered workshops grew out of the perception that persons with certain types or severity of disability could not work independently or meet the demands of competitive jobs but could be engaged and permanently placed in less demanding vocational activities. The advancements in ICT and the number of apps and solutions that support persons with cognitive and intellectual disabilities challenge these notions and offer a pathway out of such sheltered settings.
Technology and work skillsets to participate in an ICT-enabled economy will change over time. Hence persons with disabilities should be able to participate in continuing education and ongoing reskilling opportunities in equality with their peers without disabilities (Raja et al., 2013).
How ICT Addresses Barriers to Labor Market Participation for Persons with Disabilities
The following depicts the different ways in which ICT can address barriers to labor market participation for persons with disabilities:
Completing work tasks (e.g. document processing, using the web, accessing benefits information)
All types of documents and data can be provided and accepted electronically instead of print only,
Computing devices for work can be equipped with text-to-speech, voice recognition, magnification, Braille displays, optical character recognition and other accessibility features,
Documents and data can be accessed and worked on electronically.
Communications and Interactions (with clients, colleagues)
Desktop and mobile instant chat platforms and real-time text displays facilitate communication for persons with hearing and speech impairments,
Text and video telephony can facilitate internal and external phone calls through an interpretor,
Live captions can be offered with webcasts and video conferences.
Schedule and process flexibility (e.g. to accommodate needs for breaks, schedule medical provider visits)
Remote work platforms and policies allow employees schedule flexibility,
Mobile devices facilitate anytime, anywhere work,
Employees can work from physically accessible and convenient locations.
E-governance and Civic Participation
The realization and exercise of human rights and citizenship is deeply intertwined with one’s ability to participate in elections, engage in civic discourse, access governance, and obtain information on political and civic processes. Persons with disabilities have been deeply disenfranchised due to infrastructural barriers which impact their ability to engage in civic and electoral processes independently or privately (Lord, Stein, & Fiala-Butoral, 2014).
Electronic voting machines and processes can enable persons with disabilities to cast their votes, and do so in private and independently. Electronic voting machines can have Braille lettering, voice output to navigate instructions and candidate names, and touch screens. The internet is also a prominent channel for dissemination of information on political campaigning and messaging. Persons with disabilities make use of new media to access information on political campaigns and processes (Davies, 2012).
Accessible e-governance is also important to ensure civic and social inclusion of persons with disabilities. Increasing transition of government services, records, and paperwork to digital formats can promote independent and autonomous interface with government services and offices. Government websites, social media, and crowdsourcing platforms have become important sources of information for persons with disabilities and need to be designed using accessibility principles. Greater use of digital technologies to offer government services including SMS, mobile apps, accessible web-based forms, and web portals can address varying communication needs and preferences while enabling interaction between the government and citizens with disabilities (Bricout & Baker 2012).
Financial Inclusion
The use of technology in the delivery of financial services through traditional banking and alternative services such as microfinance is heralded for its potential to reach out to many marginalized groups that remain unbanked and outside the consumer finance market. A majority of persons with disabilities have been unable to bank autonomously and independently because of a combination of physical constraints in accessing financial institutions and services and misperceptions about their inability to handle personal finances. The delivery of financial services was also predominantly paper based before the growing adoption of technology-enabled banking. Now it is easier to offer services to persons across the spectrum of disabilities using internet banking, phone banking, mobile banking, and ATMs and kiosks. An upcoming report from the Global Initiative for Inclusive ICTs on the use of technology for financial inclusion for seniors and persons with disabilities catalogues how all forms of ICT-enabled banking can be made accessible and inclusive of users with varying needs and preferences. Some effective practices from the report are shared below:
ATMs can be equipped with voice output, touch screen navigation, Braille and tactile lettering, audio and visual feedback and cues, and graphic icons for navigation can benefit persons with varying disabilities, as well as individuals with low literacy and language limitations.
Accessible internet banking through websites and web portals allow persons with disabilities and others to operate their finances when a physical visit to a Bank branch is difficult.
Financial institutions can offer multiple ways to contact customer service including email, IVR systems, SMS, telephone relay, and video conferencing.
How ICT Address Barriers to Financial Inclusion for Persons with Disabilities
The following depicts the different ways in which ICT can support the financial inclusion of persons with disabilities:
Access to financial institutions, accounts, and paperwork
Branchless banking websites and portals reduce the need to go to far-away or inaccessible physical locations,
Electronic and phone based money transfers, paperwork, and other financial transactions reduce access barriers posed by print forms, checks,
ATMs and kiosks with accessible features such as voice output, Braille and tactile lettering, audio and visual feedback and cues, and graphic icons for navigation faclitate improved access to finances and accounts.
Communication and interaction
Multiple options can be provided to connect with customer service such as SMS, email, IVR systems, text and video phones, video conferencing,
Real-time text displays or speech to text translation and remote sign language interpretation can facilitate communication in person.
Exercising autonomy, maintaining privacy
Net and mobile banking allows many persons with disabilities to access their own accounts and manage finances without having to depend on someone else,
Independent banking inreases privacy and confidentiality (e.g. no need to share passwords).
CONCLUSION
The internet and ICT can facilitate the social, economic, and civic participation of persons with disabilities. The use of multiple ICT channels to deliver services and multiple formats for the content delivered can allow persons with different disabilities to access information and communication in the manner in which they can comprehend and prefer. The internet and ICT are becoming a key driver of inclusive development because of their growing pervasiveness in the delivery of public and private services coupled and the increasing ability to use everyday consumer ICT devices as assistive devices.
The internet and ICT are disruptive technologies in the field of assistive and accessible technology. Accessible functionality in mainstream devices, a large market of and for mobile applications, and web enabled accessibility services are driving down costs and leading to innovative uses of ICT across life domains such as education, employment, e-governance and civic participation, financial inclusion, and disaster management.
While the potential of ICT for inclusive development is evident, its realization will require active efforts to realign and shape the societal, legislative, personal, and infrastructural factors within the ICT ecosystem. There is a significant need to build stakeholder capacity on how ICT benefits persons with disabilities or the large number of affordable and inexpensive accessibility solutions available. This also applies to many persons with disabilities, their families, and disability service providers, especially in low and middle income countries.
The adoption and use of accessible ICT for inclusion is dependent on many actors in the ecosystem including government service providers, educators, employers, development practitioners, and the ICT industry. Efforts should focus on raising their awareness and building their capacity to successfully implement barrier-free digital environments and service provision. It is imperative that ICT enabled development programs become accessible, else the internet and ICT will become another source of marginalization and exclusion for persons with disabilities.
There is an incorrect perception that accessibility is very costly to implement when studies show that it is cost beneficial. The return on investment for governments, country economies, and employers is positive and significant.
Legislation, regulation, and policy is important to drive digital accessibility in a country. Countries can use a combination of “top-down (impose direct obligations on supply side) as well as bottom-up (rights for users/consumers)” to promote accessibility in the production, transmission, and rendering of ICT products and services (Lord, Samant Raja, & Blanck, 2012). Governments can also foster innovation and local manufacturing through public-private partnerships to support the creation and delivery of locally and culturally relevant ICT accessibility tools and content. Finally, the principle of mainstreaming is crucial to ensuring that persons with disabilities are not left behind in and because of the digital revolution.
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