European Centre for Accessible Media

Detailed Objectives

The following is a list of proposed ECAM activities:

1. Technical Standards

Currently, measures to make information accessible for disabled people are taken as added on retro-engineered features onto standard products; and the standards that apply to one medium do not apply to another. For example, there is a set of guidelines for web accessibility for disabled people but its basic rules do not apply to the accessibility of television or data used in mobile telephones. Although standard setting is theoretically universal, the lack of a European focal point for setting standards for information access for disabled people has led to United States dominance and the danger of standards fragmentation within Europe. Organisations wishing to be compliant with accessibility standards would prefer a universal environment and certainly could not afford to comply with different standards in different European countries.

There are many different standards codes which, for example, provide for adjustable print size, additional audio and the description of pictures for blind and visually impaired people and additional text for deaf and hearing impaired people.

ECAM will work to achieve uniform access standards by:

championing three high-level principles:
- Enable the customisation and simplification of data
- Enable a choice of user interface/receiving device
- Create multi modally, using pictures, text and audio together.
Simplifying over complex guidance
Interpreting accessibility requirements for designers
Referring designers to sources of accessibility audit

Case Snapshots
Problem	Solution
A Government Department adopts a house style for its web site with blue lettering on a grey background; it thinks house style conformity is more important than the ability to change foreground and background colours, so many people with poor vision or low screen resolution cannot read text.	Establish a legal and demographic framework for public sector web sites.
A major corporation designs a highly accessible web site but it can only be entered through a mouse click; devices for blind people do not include a mouse so the accessible site is inaccessible	Provide guidance on standards and on user testing.
A person with learning difficulties manages very slowly to navigate a local council site, moves house and has to start learning all over again because the navigation system is completely different	Establish a common framework for web site interactive functionality.

2. Implementation

Where standards exist they are not universally and informally implemented. Web Accessiblity Guidelines are a good example of a widely accepted standard that is not fully implemented. Access to television, through sub titling and signing, by deaf and hard of hearing people is extremely patchy and for blind and visually impaired people there is hardly any audio description. The situation will be further complicated when broadcasting transfers to the Internet and when radio broadcasts are supplemented by on-screen material.

ECAM will work to bring full accessibility to all disabled people by:

Promoting common standards for different media, e.g. the Internet, broadcasting and telecommunications
Promoting the integration of standard setting at a high level
Demonstrating the application of high level principles at a practical level

Case Snapshots
Problem	Solution
A blind person learns how to use his television remote controller at home but cannot use a differently configured remote controller in a hotel room	Establish common remote control features and their positioning which do not hinder commercial competition.
A hearing impaired person follows a hobby series at home through sub-titles but finds on holiday in a different country that the same series has no sub-titles	Establish a common, minimum accessibility framework for television accessibility, including a multi lingual component.
The functionality of a television remote controller bears no relationship to a mobile phone	Facilitate dialogue between potentially convergent industries to enhance accessibility and cut costs

3. Generic Framework

Each time a new technology emerges there is a sustained campaign to persuade manufacturers and data creators to adopt accessibility standards. Each new medium which fails to benefit from accessibility work in other media are forced to start from scratch; new media also tend to emphasise their differences from and not their commonalities with what went before.

ECAM will help content creators and providers and equipment manufacturers to avoid unnecessary costs and legal infractions by:

Designing a generic accessibility framework which will include:
- A rights based foundation for accessibility
- Copyright and digital rights management exceptions
- High level accessibility principles
Keeping a public register of regulations and legislation on accessibility
Illustrating principles with well documented case histories.

Case Snapshots
Problem	Solution
Organisations working with blind and visually impaired people in Europe struggle for 20 years to obtain permission to reproduce text in braille; another 20 years for tape; another 20 years for enlarged print; and still do not have permission to reproduce digital files; and permission varies from country to country.	Establish a generic right to accessible information at a European level
Web accessibility standards include specifications on menus to help those with learning difficulties; the same features are not included on DVD menus	Design generic menu standards and encourage dialogue between information and metadata creators, particularly within global corporations
An analogue television channel is regulated to provide sub-titling, signing and audio description but its digital equivalent is not.	Encourage regulators to impose basic standards so that accessibility is part of the basic production contract

4. Basic Design

Accessibility is rarely engineered into basic products; it is almost always retro-engineered at high cost as the result of political measures.

ECAM will help information creators, software developers and hardware manufacturers to plan for the future by:

Providing advice on forward compliance regulatory requirements
Building economic models of accessibility components
Providing demographic data on the need for accessibility
Working with designers to ensure that accessibility does not militate against attractive products.

Case Snapshots
Problem	Solution
A public sector web site is not accessible and has to be re-designed as the result of new regulations.	Establish a policy of forward compliance so that all new sites and major re-builds comply with emerging accessibility standards.
None of the products of a major mobile phone manufacturer are accessible to people with poor manual dexterity.	Ensure that the products are blue tooth enabled so that people can use their own manual devices.
A designer produces a beautiful web site but says if it is made accessible the aesthetic will be damaged	Check whether the site is intended for all citizens or consumers, including those who require accessibility features and advise on integrating accessibility without impairing the basic design.

5. Demographics and Capabilities.

Most public and private sector information providers have very little idea of the general demographics of disability and of the particular demographics of accessibility.

ECAM will provide the most reliable data available on disability and access, together with practical solutions to problems by:

Promoting benchmark definitions of disability access demographics and generating transparent comparisons where definitions differ
Digesting and packaging accessibility findings from the public and private sectors and academic research
Applying data to specific problems

Case Snapshots
Problem	Solution
A major Internet data provider sets a house style of 10-point print which excludes 20% of its market	Publish data on on-screen reading performance.
A small television channel refuses to provide audio sub-titling services because it says not enough people need them	Provide objective demographics on hearing impairment.
A public sector interactive web site for school children has a very complicated home page	Provide data on learning disability and show how interactive services can be adjusted to include them.

6. Suppliers

Many suppliers of accessibility services and accessibility audits are small and not well known to major broadcasters, data creators and providers, software and hardware manufacturers. Most of these organisations expect to receive free advice from not-for-profit organisations instead of paying a fair price for advice on accessibility.

ECAM will impartially promote all providers of accessibility services by:

Keeping a public register of accessibility services
Developing a peer enforced quality mark for accessibility services
Promoting international agreements between accessibility suppliers, particularly where the domestic supply is inadequate
Creating and funding incubator accessibility enterprises, particularly for countries with an inadequate domestic supply

Case Snapshots
Problem	Solution
A television company in a country without accessibility services suppliers needs help	Supply data on accessibility supplier services; or offer to establish an accessibility incubator.
A multi national corporation wishes to makes its site accessible as part of an upgrade	Supply list of suppliers which can tender for the job.
A telecommunications company needs a high quality supplier to design automated re-purposing tools to migrate accessible web pages from the PC to the 3g environment.	Provide specialist supplier data for companies with a quality mark.

7. Research

Research into accessibility is carried out largely by academic institutions and not-for-profit organisations with informal exchange through conferences; but there is no formal register of research and no organisation to collate what exists and identify duplication and gaps.

ECAM will act as an accessibility research rationaliser for Europe by:

Compiling research documents and findings
Identifying gaps in research
Promoting collaboration to fill gaps
Promoting a Europe-wide framework for accessibility research

Case Snapshots
Problem	Solution
Sub title providers want to know what maximum refreshable rate is possible	Collate research on sub-title reading rates by deaf people.
A web designer wants to know how to allow people with learning difficulties to simplify information pages	Supply information on simplification tools suitable for use by people with learning difficulties.
A European initiative on the accessibility of video on fourth generation telephones needs to set common standards.	Establish a research consortium to investigate sub titling and audio description in the mobile phone environment.

8. Training

There is very little formal, accredited training in the design of accessible data, metadata, software and hardware and it is rarely integrated into general design curricula. The European Union has promoted this topic through its Design for All Curriculum initiative.

ECAM will build on the EU initiative by:

Providing independent evaluation and accreditation of design for all curricula
Promoting cross platform learning
Developing curricula for accessibility in new media

Case Snapshots
Problem	Solution
A Government department wants to complement a web-based service with digital television.	Describe the potential and limits of replicating Internet customisation through the use of a television remote controller.
A broadcaster wants to generate single source files for television, PC and mobile telephone reception	Explore basic file criteria for accessibility and differences dictated by reception devices
A university wishes to establish an accessible design module in its information design curriculum.	Supply a variety of accredited accessibility design modules for consideration.

9. Product Testing

The science of user testing with an appropriate sample is quite difficult. Most companies use their own technophile expert staff to test hardware, software and usability.

ECAM will promote a transparent accessibility environment by:

User testing products and publishing accessibility results
Advising on sampling for user testing
Collating product accessibility research
Comparing product accessibility with legislation and regulations.

Case Snapshots
Problem	Solution
A major corporation claims that its web site is accessible up to a nationally regulated requirement but users disagree.	Provide impartial advice on accessibility auditors and advise on the selection of user testing panels.
A local authority does not know how to test its web site.	Provide collated data on local authority web site testing
A Government wishes to take legal action against a software company over misleading accessibility statements at the procurement phase.	Identify and provide robust, impartial accessibility testing.

10. A European Voice

As the supply of digital information becomes a global phenomenon it will need to be governed by global standards. If European accessibility policies, standards, research and user feedback are fragmented, the de facto standards will be set by the United States Government and companies based in the United States. This would be culturally inappropriate for Europe where, for example, deaf people require signed television broadcasts which they do not in North America.

ECAM does not wish to be a hierarchically 'top down' organisation but it will provide a 'light touch' co-ordination point for European accessibility issues by:

Co-ordinating accessibility policies between countries and platforms
Briefing European institutions
Acting for European institutions when delegated
Monitoring and participating in global consultations in its own right or on behalf of Members.

Case Snapshots
Problem	Solution
A European Commissioner needs advice before discussion with United States counterparts.	Supply data on the regulatory framework, compliance and implementation strategies.
A small country does not have the resources to monitor global consultations on accessibility.	Act on behalf of Member agencies as delegated.
There is an inconsistency between European regulation on Internet and television accessibility.	Advise on a common framework for generic accessibility.