Standardising access to information and electronic services for all
in Europe
There is a danger that in the scramble to build the Information
Society older and disabled people will be deprived of their rights to
participate because they can’t access information and eservices.
European standards-making bodies have been busy compiling guidance to
help prevent this from happening. Gill Whitney and
Luc Van den Berghe explain.
keywords: standards, older
people, disabled people, systems design, information access.
abstract
The aim of this paper is to give a brief overview of current work on
European standards for ensuring that barriers to accessing information
are not built into electronic products and services. This is
particularly important for older people and people with disabilities.
The activities described cover work on the development of standards and
work on informing standardisers of the needs of disabled and elderly
people. These activities are needed to ensure that disabled and elderly
people are not excluded from the benefits of the Information Society.
Br J Healthcare Comput Info Manage 2003; 20(9): 20–2. |
