G3ict and the Ministry of Public Administration, United Mexican States Sign MoU to Promote Cooperation on ICT Accessibility Policies
G3ict continues to expand and deepen its partnerships with governments and civil societies around the world in its role as a resource for understanding why and how to make effective public policies that support the broader digital inclusion of persons with disabilities.
ATLANTA (December 11, 2016) —
The Global Initiative for Inclusive ICTs (G3ict) and the Ministry of Public Administration, United Mexican States signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the recently held Accessible Americas Summit. The MoU is intended to support the country’s digital transformation initiatives and promote the increased accessibility of Information Communication and Telecommunications (ICT) technologies in Mexico. This agreement showcases the Mexico federal government’s continued commitment to and leadership on implementing the United Nation Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and the goal of reducing inequalities, and ensuring inclusive and fair societies.
A key part of ICT accessibility is connecting technical knowledge to the lives of real people through effective policy actions. The objective of this new MoU is both to broaden and bolster cooperation on ICT accessibility policies of G3ict and the Ministry of Public Administration. The MoU focuses in two policy areas in particular, web accessibility and the public procurement of accessible ICTs. It calls for facilitating high level interactions of experts and leaders, understanding and adopting model policies, promoting examples of accessible ICT solutions, joint research and development, deploying best practices, and increasing capacity building and outreach strategies.
“With this agreement G3ict and the Ministry of Public Administration strengthen their existing partnership,” said James Thurston, Vice President, Global Strategy and Development, G3ict. “By focusing on web accessibility policies and the power of government procurement to drive accessibility innovation and competition, we will continue to promote the digital inclusion of persons with disabilities in Mexico and provide leadership examples for other countries,” he added.
This new cooperation builds on a core G3ict principle that government, civil society, and industry can take action collaboratively to implement policies and standards that reduce the inequalities of persons with disabilities in education, the workplace, and society generally.
About G3ict
G3ict – the Global Initiative for Inclusive Information and Communication Technologies – is an advocacy initiative launched in December 2006 by the United Nations Global Alliance for ICT and Development, in cooperation with the Secretariat for the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities at UN DESA. Its mission is to facilitate and support the implementation of the dispositions of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) promoting digital accessibility and Assistive Technologies.
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Contact: James Thurston, Vice President, Global Strategy and Development, G3ict at jthurston@g3ict.org.