Persons with Disabilities’ Leadership and Digital Inclusion: G3ict’s Position and Strategic Approach

The recognition of persons with disabilities’ right to leadership reflects a central principle for the global disability community. For disability right advocates, leadership entails ensuring that persons with disabilities should be granted the opportunity of participation in dialogues and decision-making around everything related to their issues “nothing about us without us;” and representation in all relevant proceedings on all levels “local, national, regional, and global.”

This right to leadership has been a key demand by the global disability movement since the recognition of the World Decade on Disability (1983 – 1993). It became further realized during the negotiations towards the adoption of the International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)by the United Nations General Assembly on December 12^th, 2006. Moreover, the recognition of this right to leadership Has been particularly realized through articles 4.3[1], 32.1[2]and 33.3[3] of the convention. Recognizing that the leadership role of persons with disabilities and their organizations is a matter of human rights has benefited opportunities of leveraging the fulfillment of the remaining CRPD articles i.e., the rights of persons with disabilities at all sectors and levels.

The right to digital accessibility is considered one of the key themes of interest for many disabilities right advocates around the world. Over more than a decade now, Article 9 of the CRPD on accessibility has been a central source of guidance for many digital inclusion advocates.

Promoting the disposition of the CRPD on digital inclusion of persons with disabilities is G3ict’s Central mandate since its inception in 2006. As a digital inclusion advocacy organization, and in addition to its many other professional and advisory service programs, G3ict has shown a strong commitment to enhancing and leveraging opportunities of leadership for persons with disabilities in the field of digital inclusion. This commitment has been realized through-out programs, such as G3ict CRPD ICT Accessibility Progress Reports (between the years 2012 and2018), which have been later developed to form the worldwide recognized data collection tool of the Digital Accessibility Right Evaluation (DARE) Index. Motivated by its high recognition of leadership of persons with disabilities and their organizations, G3ict made sure that the DARE Index must take place in partnership with two major international organizations of Persons with disabilities through the launching of the Decennial Call for Action on Digital Inclusion in 2016 to promoting digital inclusion of persons with disabilities in partnership with Disabled People’s International (DPI) and the International Disability Alliance (IDA).

Among the many issues addressed by the DARE index [4] is twenty questions, digital inclusion, and leadership of persons with disabilities is a key issue that has been addressed to evaluate governments’ level of commitment for fulfilling the rights of persons with disabilities considering the CRPD. According to G3ict, leadership, as far as issues of digital inclusion are concerned, aught to be reflected through the participation of persons with disabilities in decision-making and representation at national disability councils and national technology entities[5]. These two types of national bodies, for G3ict, are essential national policy and program development platforms for persons with disabilities to express their voices for promoting issues of digital inclusion and ICT accessibility. Both quantitative and qualitative data collected for the recent Dare Index in 2020 reflects an exceptionally low percentage of the inclusion of persons with disabilities in decision-making around national technology policies and programs.

Throughout its engagement with and observation of the overall context of digital inclusion of persons with disabilities, G3ict came to recognize that many factors sit behind lack of substantial leadership opportunities of persons with disabilities in this field. Whether it is:

• The lack of education programs on digital inclusion,
• The week digital inclusion policies and infrastructure, particularly in developing countries and remote areas,
• The expensive and unaffordable assistive technologies and digital accessibility related software,
• The unavailability of sufficient subsidy and incentive-based programs for promoting digital inclusion in many countries.
• These are all factors that create major roadblocks that necessarily hinder persons with disabilities from playing leadership roles around issues of digital inclusion and accessibility rights.
• To leveraging opportunities of digital inclusion leadership for persons with disabilities, G3ict has produced innovative ideas and strategies that:
• Present dynamic platforms of dialogue between persons with disabilities , who are either digital inclusion advocates or digital accessibility practitioners, with policy-makers private sector technology companies, industries, engineers, and researchers through its legendary annual event of M-Enabling Summit,
• Offer digital accessibility advocates and enthusiasts with disabilities extensive resources of education, certification, and scholarship programs in different areas of digital inclusion through its International Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP) and Digital Accessibility Right Education (DARE) Academy,
• Engage a broad array of digital accessibility advocates and practitioners with disabilities through-out offering global advisory services (Global Advisory Council), and
• Last but not least, the partnership with many representatives of regional and international organizations of persons with disabilities in its advocacy campaigns, particularly its recently formed Digital Accessibility Standard and Guidance Harmonization Work Group[6] that have played a pivotal leadership role in the negotiations leading to the adoption of the Global Digital Compat (GDC) by the United Nations General Assembly during the Summit of the Future held in September 2024.

Five years have passed since the publication of the second edition of G3ict DARE Index in 2020. The number of CRPD ratifying countries has reached 185 so far. Much and speedy progress of technology development has taken place. New emerging technologies related innovations and discussions have been undertaken, particularly around the technological phenomenon of artificial intelligence. Increasing recognition of the role of technology in ensuring life opportunities for people in the aftermaths of Covid-19 pandemic. With all this in mind, and with the upcoming third edition of G3ict DARE Index 2025, the hope is that persons with disabilities leadership opportunities in the field of digital inclusion have been scaled up. For that, G3ict is continuing to leverage its commitment for enhancing the leadership role of persons with disabilities and their organizations through its ongoing educational and professional development programs, as well as its advocacy campaigns and efforts.

Footnote

[1] Article 4.3: In the development and implementation of legislation and policies to implement the present Convention, and in other decision-making processes concerning issues relating to persons with disabilities, States Parties shall closely consult with and actively involve persons with disabilities, including children with disabilities, through their representative organizations.

[2]Article 32.1: States Parties recognize the importance of international cooperation and its promotion, in support of national efforts for the realization of the purpose and objectives of the present Convention and will undertake appropriate and effective measures in this regard, between and among States and, as appropriate, in partnership with relevant international and regional organizations and civil society, in particular organizations of persons with disabilities.

[3] Article 33.3: Civil society, in particular persons with disabilities and their representative organizations, shall be involved and participate fully in the monitoring process.

[4]DARE Index 2020 has Targeting 137 countries that include 90 percent of world populations, and covering 93 percent of CRPD ratifying countries (182 in 2020)

[5] To learn about the related results, Please read: G3ict-Research-Supporting-Qualitative-Country-Data-Shared-by-Respondents-Oct2021.pdf

[6] Mr. Marc Workman, World Blind Union (WBU) CEO is DASH Work Group Co-chair