Latest news with #GAAD
Akhbarna
3 days ago
- Business
- Akhbarna
Orange Jordan and iSystem Launch Digital Skills Workshop for Persons with Disabilities
أخبارنا : Orange Jordan,in collaboration with iSystem, held an interactive workshop at the Orange Digital Center for Innovation to mark Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD). The event brought together 30 participants who were persons with disabilities, reinforcing the company's commitment to digital inclusion under the "Differently Abled, Definitely Enabled' initiative. Certified experts led hands-on training for participants with disabilities to empower them to use smartphones efficiently through specialized sessions. The training covered current and upcoming accessibility features, instructions on configuring devices to suit individual needs, and detailed explanations of the VoiceOver feature along with other assistive tools. Additionally, participants received practical tips to enhance their iPhone usage, heard an inspiring personal testimonial on content creation, and explored various entertainment and accessibility apps designed to simplify their digital lives. Orange Jordan emphasized that organizing this workshop builds on its previous efforts in the field, including a similar event held in 2018. This reflects the company's ongoing commitment to promoting equal opportunities, empowering all segments of society, and fostering digital inclusion. These efforts align with Orange Jordan's Sustainable Development Goals, as the company continues to develop programs and initiatives aimed at digital inclusion for persons with disabilities, ensuring their full participation through innovative tools and applications tailored to their needs. It is worth noting that the workshop also showcased Orange Jordan's digital inclusion services designed to support and effectively integrate persons with disabilities. These services include the SignBook application for sign language and the Digital Inclusion Catalogue for persons with disabilities. Additionally, the event highlighted the 7th Circle Mall, winner of the 2023 Gold Category in the "Accessible Buildings Award,' recognized for its comprehensive accessibility features. This award was launched by the Higher Council for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2022 to promote inclusive environments for all persons with disabilities. About Orange Jordan Orange Jordan, with over 1800 employees across nearly 300 shops and locations throughout Jordan, strives to provide the best customer experience through an integrated set of digital solutions including fixed lines, mobile lines, internet, data, and Smart Life Solutions to around 4.6 million customers in Jordan. Orange Jordan is a subsidiary of Orange Global Group, which is present in 26 countries worldwide. In line with the Group's strategy "Lead the Future' and through its positioning as a true responsible digital leader, Orange Jordan supports the national digital transformation vision. Orange Jordan prioritizes community service, and in this context, it implements a comprehensive CSR strategy that revolves around 4 pillars including digital education, digital inclusion, entrepreneurship, climate, and environment. In addition to serving individual customers, Orange Jordan offers tailored solutions for businesses through its sub-brand, (Orange Business). To learn more, please visit our website: About Orange Orange is one of the world's leading telecommunications operators with revenues of 40.3 billion euros in 2024 and 127,000 employees worldwide at 31 December 2024, including 71,000 employees in France. The Group has a total customer base of 291 million customers worldwide at 31 December 2024, including 253 million mobile customers and 22 million fixed broadband customers. These figures account for the deconsolidation of certain activities in Spain following the creation of Group is present in 26 countries (including non-consolidated countries). Orange is also a leading provider of global IT and telecommunication services to multinational companies under the brand Orange Business. In February 2023, the Group presented its strategic plan "Lead the Future", built on a new business model and guided by responsibility and efficiency. "Lead the Future" capitalizes on network excellence to reinforce Orange's leadership in service quality.
Qatar Tribune
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Qatar Tribune
UDST holds film fest to mark Global Accessibility Awareness Day
Tribune News Network Doha The University of Doha for Science and Technology (UDST) organised a special film festival in celebration of Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD), bringing together students and faculty members for a gathering of storytelling and inclusion. The event, held on UDST campus, featured a curated lineup of short films that shed light on real-life experiences and challenges related to accessibility and inclusion. The festival aimed to raise awareness and promote a culture of empowerment and equality through the art of cinema. Audience members were invited to take part in the experience by casting their votes for their favorite films. Dr Salem Al-Naemi, president of UDST, stated: 'We believe education must be inclusive and accessible to all. Through this festival, we are highlighting the importance of creating educational and social environments that embrace diversity and uphold the values of human dignity. UDST remains committed to promoting a culture of inclusion across all aspects of university life.' The event aligns with UDST's ongoing efforts to raise community awareness about global issues and reinforce its role as a leading educational institution driving positive change through purposeful educational and creative platforms. The festival also created a dynamic environment for dialogue and brought important accessibility topics to the forefront.
Business Standard
16-05-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
On Global Accessibility Awareness Day 2025, India Takes a Step Towards Ensuring Digital Accessibility
NewsVoir New Delhi [India], May 16: A draft curriculum to teach digital accessibility in undergraduate computer science and design courses was unveiled at the Inclusive India Summit, held at the India International Centre, New Delhi, on the occasion of Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) 2025. The initiative aims to ensure accessibility becomes a core part of how future technologists and designers are trained in India. The summit brought together academic leaders, accessibility professionals, and disability rights advocates from across the country. The Inclusive India Summit was hosted on the occasion of Global Accessibility Awareness Day by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan), SBI Foundation (the CSR arm of the State Bank of India), and the National Association for the Blind. It was organised in collaboration with the Association of People with Disability (APD) and Mission Accessibility (Dhananjay Sanjogta Foundation), and held at the India International Centre, New Delhi, on May 15. The event was conducted in hybrid mode, with both online and in-person participation. The proposed curriculum is a response to a longstanding gap: while digital services have expanded rapidly in India, most platforms remain difficult to navigate for persons with disabilities. A 2023 audit by the Centre for Internet and Society found that 98% of leading Indian websites do not meet global accessibility standards. Globally, the picture is no better; WebAIM's 2023 analysis of the top 1 million homepages found accessibility errors on 96.3% of them. Experts at the summit agreed that the problem lies upstream, in how technologists and designers are trained. C.P. Gurnani, former CEO, Tech Mahindra, and a speaker at the summit, said, "India's digital economy can't afford to treat accessibility as an afterthought. Embedding it into how we educate our technologists is not just timely--it's essential. This curriculum is a step toward building digital solutions that are truly inclusive, by design." The curriculum, developed over several months by a national working group--including contributors from the International Institute of Information Technology, Bengaluru; Design Beku; Mission Accessibility; Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), India; the Xavier's Resource Center for the Visually Challenged (XRCVC); Artilabs; and BMS College of Engineering, Bengaluru--is designed to be modular, adaptable, and grounded in Indian contexts. It introduces students to accessibility principles, web standards like WCAG, assistive technologies, universal design, and disability rights law. Amar Jain, lawyer and Co-founder of Mission Accessibility, who also led the Supreme Court petition, said, "We have policy and precedent. What's missing is implementation capacity. This curriculum ensures that we're not just fixing what's broken--we're teaching how to build it right from the start." The national consultation on Digital Accessibility Inclusion was chaired by Rajesh Aggarwal, Secretary, DEPwD, and had participation from the University Grants Commission (UGC), the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY), Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MOHUA), Ministry of Education, IIT Delhi, IIIT Delhi & IIT Bombay. It focused on how the curriculum was designed to equip students with both conceptual and practical skills to build accessible digital products. It covered disability rights, accessibility laws, and technical standards like WCAG 2.2, along with hands-on training using screen readers, audit tools like Axe and WAVE, and real-world user testing. The discussion saw a strong emphasis on designing in collaboration with persons with disabilities, particularly in the Indian context. Participants also discussed the need to address accessibility in emerging technologies like AI/ML, AR/VR, and Internet of Things (IoT). They highlighted how the curriculum connects academic learning to career opportunities through certifications like the Certified Professional in Accessibility Core Competencies (CPACC). Inclusive hiring practices were also highlighted as essential, ensuring equal access to jobs by removing barriers in recruitment and workplace systems. Prof. Amit Prakash of IIIT-Bangalore added, "Our goal is to shift the culture of how digital technology design is taught and understood. Accessibility must become foundational, something that students see intrinsic value in, and internalise as an important design principle and not a post-implementation patchwork." The draft curriculum is now open for public consultation and will soon be submitted to India's key academic regulators. The emphasis on accessibility by design closely aligns with the Yes to Access project by APD, which advocates for systemic change in how accessibility is integrated into public infrastructure and digital services. A key innovation under this initiative is the Yes to Access app--India's first AI-powered tool for conducting accessibility audits--which was featured during the summit's panel discussion on 'Inclusive Mainstream Technologies'. While the app enables real-time assessments of the built environment, the curriculum complements it by equipping the next generation of technologists and designers to embed accessibility into digital products from the ground up. Together, these efforts reflect a growing consensus that practical tools and foundational education must work hand in hand to make accessibility the norm, not an afterthought. The Association of People with Disability (APD) is a 65-year-old non-profit organisation that empowers individuals with disabilities to lead independent, dignified, and productive lives. Through its comprehensive Life Cycle Approach, APD supports persons with disabilities at every stage--from early intervention and inclusive education to healthcare access, livelihood support, and advocacy for accessible infrastructure and systems. For more information, please visit
Engadget
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Engadget
Android's screen reader can now answer questions about images
Today is Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD), and, as in years past, many tech companies are marking the occasion with the announcement of new assistive features for their ecosystems. Apple got things rolling on Tuesday, and now Google is joining in on the parade. To start, the company has made TalkBack, Android's built-in screen reader, more useful. With the help of one of Google's Gemini models, TalkBack can now answer questions about images displayed on your phone, even they don't have any alt text describing them. "That means the next time a friend texts you a photo of their new guitar, you can get a description and ask follow-up questions about the make and color, or even what else is in the image," explains Google. The fact Gemini can see and understand the image is thanks to the multi-modal capabilities Google built into the model. Additionally, the Q&A functionality works across the entire screen. So, for example, say you're doing some online shopping, you can first ask your phone to describe the color of the piece of clothing you're interested in and then ask if it's on sale. Separately, Google is rolling out a new version of its Expressive Captions. First announced at the end of last year, the feature generates subtitles that attempt to capture the emotion of what's being said. For instance, if you're video chatting with some friends and one of them groans after you make a lame joke, your phone will not only subtitle what they said but it will also include "[groaning]" in the transcription. With the new version of Expressive Captions, the resulting subtitles will reflect when someone drags out the sound of their words. That means the next time you're watching a live soccer match and the announcer yells "goallllllll," their excitement will be properly transcribed. Plus, there will be more labels now for sounds like when someone is clearing their throat. The new version of Expressive Captions is rolling out to English-speaking users in the US, UK, Canada and Australia running Android 15 and above on their phones.
Engadget
15-05-2025
- Engadget
Meta's smart glasses will soon provide detailed information regarding visual stimuli
The Ray-Ban Meta glasses are getting an upgrade to better help the blind and low vision community. The AI assistant will now provide "detailed responses" regarding what's in front of users. Meta says it'll kick in "when people ask about their environment." To get started, users just have to opt-in via the Device Settings section in the Meta AI app. The company shared a video of the tool in action in which a blind user asked Meta AI to describe a grassy area in a park. It quickly hopped into action and correctly pointed out a path, trees and a body of water in the distance. The AI assistant was also shown describing the contents of a kitchen. I could see this being a fun add-on even for those without any visual impairment. In any event, it begins rolling out to all users in the US and Canada in the coming weeks. Meta plans on expanding to additional markets in the near future. It's Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD), so that's not the only accessibility-minded tool that Meta announced today. There's the nifty Call a Volunteer, a tool that automatically connects blind or low vision people to a "network of sighted volunteers in real-time" to help complete everyday tasks. The volunteers come from the Be My Eyes foundation and the platform launches later this month in 18 countries. The company recently announced a more refined system for live captions in all of its extended reality products , like the Quest line of VR headsets. This converts spoken words into text in real-time, so users can "read content as it's being delivered." The feature is already available for Quest headsets and within Meta Horizon Worlds.
