Mobility

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Computer literacy boosted in South African schools

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Phone manufacturer Huawei has partnered with the Khulisani Foundation to launch a training program in South Africa to increase computer skills amongst disadvantaged children with disability.

The mobile Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Training Centre will travel between special needs schools in disadvantaged areas. The centre will focus on the basics of using a computer, including Microsoft Office, and the web. The training is designed to help children with disability from underprivileged backgrounds escape poverty and gain employment later in life.

The project is in keeping with the South African Government’s plan to help people with disability integrate into mainstream society.


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Global Accessibility Awareness Day 2013

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Thursday 9 May marks the second annual Global Accessibility Awareness Day, a day dedicated to raising the profile of web accessibility amongst web professionals. In Australia, there will be activities held in different cities to explore how accessibility, or lack thereof, impacts on the experience of using the web for people with disability.

Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) started after Los Angeles-based web developer Joe Devon suggested the idea on his blog. Canadian accessibility professional Jennison Asuncion spotted the post and offered his help to get the day off the ground.

This year, organisers are inviting web professionals to get a taste of what it’s like for the one in five people who have a disability. Some of the suggested activities include: 

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Women with disability disadvantaged in ICT

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The digital divide experienced by people with disability is wider for women, new research finds. A report released by Women with Disabilities Victoria and the Self Advocacy Research Unit has found that the perception of women with disabilities being less capable of operating computers perpetuates disadvantage.

Access to information communications technology (ICT) including computers, mobile devices, social media and websites is becoming increasingly vital for participation in society. The research identifies a vicious cycle of disadvantage. Women with disability are more likely to face poverty, unemployment and under-education than their male counterparts. This means they are less likely to have access to ICT which, in turn, means they are less likely to overcome socioeconomic barriers.


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Easy Chirp seeks funding for update

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Update 12 June: Easy Chirp's Kickstarter campaign successfully raised over $5000. The platform is going down temporarily from today while the new Easy Chirp is being built.

The accessible Twitter alternative, Easy Chirp, is seeking donations to continue. Easy Chirp replicates Twitter, the social media platform which allows people to post 140-character status updates, so that blind and vision impaired users can participate equally.

Easy Chirp was built in 2009 in response to Twitter’s inaccessibility. While Twitter has put significant work into improving its website and apps, Easy Chirp’s simplicity makes it the preferred option for many, if not most, blind Twitter users.

Currently, Easy Chirp uses the first version of Twitter’s API, the system which allows apps besides Twitter such as Easy Chirp and HootSuite to display tweets. Now, Twitter is updating its API and as a result, Easy Chirp needs an update too.

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