Dónal Rice

Contact details:

Thesis

Dónal is currently undertaking a PhD is the area of ICT accessibility and legislation. Significant regulation is required to ensure that content and services delivered via the web are accessible to people with disabilities. Despite International web accessibility standards being in place for nearly nine years and technical web accessibility requirements being included in disability legislation in some countries for nearly 10 years, only 5% of public sector websites in Europe are accessible. Dónal will explore how regulation has worked in other technology area such as the telecommunications sector (which has long been a highly regulated sector) and draw relevant lessons. He will explore the respective cases made by both the disability sector and industry, (third party certification and self certification) for improving ICT accessibility. He will look at the state of regulation internationally and use available data to measure its effect. I will show what lessons can be learned from both an EU and Irish perspective and make policy development recommendations for both these regions in light of the Universal Design requirements for ICT contained in the CRPD.

Through his PhD, Dónal is working as the Editorial Coordinator of the e-Accessibility Toolkit for Policy Makers which is a joint ITU-D /G3ict Initiative. Digital Accessibility is a key mandate of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The Toolkit supports states parties to the Convention in identifying the requirements of article 9 of the Convention and analysing local gaps in digital accessibility programs and policies. G3ict, the Global Initiative for Inclusive Information Communication Technologies, is a flagship advocacy initiative of the UN-GAID, the United Nations Global Alliance for ICT and Development, in collaboration with the Secretariat of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Biography

Dónal Rice has over ten years experience working on accessible and user-centred designed ICT projects. He was the web developer of the OASIS website (now www.citizensinformation.ie) before he worked with the National Disability Authority as the ICT Accessibility Coordinator. He later joined the NDA's Centre for Excellence in Universal Design as their Senior Design Advisor in ICT. He managed the development of the ICT Accessibility Guidelines at the Centre for Excellence in Universal Design at the National Disability Authority and was responsible for developing the ICT component of the NDA’s Excellence through Accessibility awards. He is the moderator of the CEUD's ICT listserv which is widely used by ICT practitioners, academics and users interested in Universal Design for ICT. Dónal is a judge on the Irish eGovernment Awards and a founding member of the Irish Internet Association's User Experience Working Group.

Dónal holds a BA in Maths and English from University College Dublin, an MSc in Computing from Griffith College Dublin.

Publications

• Chief editor International Telecommunications Union (ITU)/G3ict 'e-Accessibility Toolkit for Policymakers', 2008, available at http://www.e-accessibilitytoolkit.org.  The Toolkit is designed to:
  • Support ITU members in understanding the requirements of Article 9 of the Convention.
  • Assist ITU members in promoting accessible ICTs and identifying and eliminating any ICT accessibility barriers.
  • Provide a framework for the development of policies and strategies for mainstreaming digital accessibility at national, regional and international levels.
  • Serve as a global electronic repository of policies, international standards, good practices and technical references on digital accessibility.
  • Facilitate the design of effective policy frameworks responding to the needs of einclusiveness principles covering Communication, Information & Services.
  • Promote accessible and assistive ICT applications by fostering public-private cooperation in order to expand ICT usage by persons with disabilities.
  • Provide specific guidance to adequately address key issues of particular relevance to developing country environments.
• Over 50 international experts contributed to the authoring and editing of the Toolkit content which was content which was published in print format in October 2010.
• "E-Accessibility Legislation and Initiatives in Ireland" 2005 Support-EAM Conference, Paris, 31st January 2005
• "Legislating for Web 2.0 – implications for the revamp of the Irish Disability Act (2005)". Global PhD & Researchers Colloquium on Disability Law & Policy 26-27 April 2010.  Available at http://www.nuigalway.ie/cdlp/intranet/documents/colloquium/Legislating%20for%20Web%202.pdf
• “Assistive technology for use in education and job training – a policy guide”, a module of the Connect A School, Connect A Community by the UN International Telecommunications Union.  Available at http://www.connectaschool.org/itu-module/15/331/en/persons/w/disabilities/connectivity/introduction/
• “Interpreting the digital accessibility dispositions of the UN CRPD - towards supporting policy developments in State Parties.” (video file).  Presentation at UNITAR/G3ict Seminar on "Implementing the Digital Accessibility Agenda of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: Challenges and Opportunities for Signatory States".  UN Headquarters, New York.  Dec 3 2008 (international day of persons with disabilities).Available at http://www.nuigalway.ie/cdlp/documents/publications/G3ict Toolkit for Policy makers - Launch ICTA 6May09.ppt Video available at http://webcast.un.org/ramgen/ondemand/specialevents/2008/se081203am-part1.rm
• “Launch of the Digital Accessibility Toolkit for Policy Makers”. Presentation at the "Second International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies and Accessibility" May 7, 2009, Hammamet Tunisia. Available at http://www.nuigalway.ie/cdlp/documents/publications/G3ict Toolkit for Policy makers - Launch ICTA 6May09.ppt
• “ICT Accessibility Policy Development Models - theory and practice”. Presentation and workshop at the joint UN ESCAP: (Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific.), UN GAID (Global Alliance for ICT and Development) workshop
  “The Second Regional Workshop on the Enhancement of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Accessibility for Persons with Disabilities”13 -15 October 2009, Incheon, Republic of Korea. Available at http://www.nuigalway.ie/cdlp/documents/publications/G3ict Toolkit for Policy makers UNESCAP SKorea Oct 2009.ppt
• "Comparative approaches to current legislation on e-Accessibility in Europe". Paper and presentation at "4th European eAccessibility Forum - eAccessibility of Public Services in Europe" 12 May 2010, Paris. Available at http://inova.snv.jussieu.fr/evenements/colloques/colloques/article.php?c=62&l=en&a=187#contenu_articl
• “Web accessibility in the European Context”. Submission to the  Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Day of General Discussion on “The Right to Accessibility” 7 October 2010.  Available at http://www2.ohchr.org/SPdocs/CRPD/DGD7102010/submissions/CDLP.do
• “ICT for Inclusion: Reaching More Students More Effectively”. 2010. Policy brief for UNESCO Institute for Information Technology in Education (IITE).  Due for publication December 2010.
• “Web accessibility, policy and practice”.  Presentation at the Workshop on ICT Accessibility for Persons with Disabilities, Odessa, Ukraine,  1-2 November 2010.  Available at http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/sis/PwDs/Seminars/Ukraine/Presentations/new%20disab/Donal%20Rice%20Web%20Accessibility.ppt
• “ITU Connect a School, Connect a Community Toolkit Module on Using ICTs to Promote Education and Job Training for Persons with Disabilities”.
• “Web accessibility, policy and practice”.  Presentation at the Workshop on ICT Accessibility for Persons with Disabilities, Odessa, Ukraine,  1-2 November 2010. Available at http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/sis/PwDs/Seminars/Ukraine/Presentations/new%20disab/Donal%20Rice%20Connect%20a%20School%20Connect%20A%20Community.pptx

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