IAAP and G3ict to Appoint Funka as Their Joint Representative to the European Union

The new representation is formally announced today in Brussels in the occasion of meetings organized with European Commission officials.

About G3ict

G3ict – the Global Initiative for Inclusive Information and Communication Technologies – is an advocacy initiative launched in December 2006 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 on the accessibility of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) and assistive technologies. G3ict relies on an international network of ICT accessibility experts to develop and promote good practices, technical resources and benchmarks for ICT accessibility advocates around the world in cooperation with international organizations and United Nations agencies.  It is incorporated as a nonprofit organization in the State of Georgia, USA, and headquartered in Atlanta. Visit: www.g3ict.org

About IAAP

The International Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP), a division of G3ict, is a membership-based organization for individuals and organizations that are focused on accessibility or are in the process of building their accessibility skills and strategies. Its mission is to define, promote and improve the accessibility profession globally through networking, education and certification in order to enable the creation of accessible products, content and services. IAAP helps accessibility professionals develop and advance their careers and organizations integrate accessibility into their products and infrastructure. The IAAP provides a place for accessibility professionals around the world to gather, share experiences and enrich their knowledge of accessibility. Visit: www.accessibilityassociation.org

About Funka

Funka was started in the 1990s as a joint, non-profit initiative among all disability organizations in Sweden. The knowledge, staff and technology of the nonprofit was turned into a privately owned company in 2000. Today, Funka is the market leader in the field of accessibility and enjoy a close relationship to end-user organizations, which ensures a unique level of quality control in everything it does. Funka has offices in Stockholm, Oslo and Madrid and clients from all over the world and is a co-founder of the International Association of Accessibility Professionals, IAAP.  Funka works with accessibility in digital interfaces in regards of content, design and technology, web, ICT and documents in all possible formats, apps, ticket machines and ATMs, but also signs and other kinds of information. On behalf of the European Commission, Funka has, among other things, developed methodology and measured the status of web accessibility in all EU member states, Norway, USA, Canada and Australia and its experts are contributing to the work of international, European and national standardization bodies in Sweden, Norway and Spain, for example the European requirements for accessibility in public procurement, EN 301 549.  In addition to our other tasks and responsibilities, Funka has conducted the authorized translation of WCAG 2.0 to Swedish. Funka specialists are considered to be among the world's foremost experts on web accessibility. Visit: www.funka.com

###

Contact: Francesca Cesa Bianchi, Vice President, Institutional Relations, G3ict at fcesabianchi@g3ict.org.