Information for All: The ESCAP-CDPF Workshop on Accessible Knowledge, Information and Communication for Persons with Disabilities in Asia and the Pacific, was held from 15 to 17 December 2015 in Shanghai, China, in partnership with the Government of China, China Disabled Persons' Federation (CDPF) and Shanghai Municipal Government.
The Workshop aimed to build technical knowledge of ESCAP member States to improve information accessibility for persons with disabilities. The Workshop brought together approximately 70 ICT and disability policy makers from Bangladesh; China; Hong Kong, China; India; Macao, China; Malaysia; Nepal; Philippines; Republic of Korea and Thailand, as well as civil society organizations, advocates with disabilities, technical specialists from the private sector and representatives from ITU and UNDP.
During the Workshop participants shared good practices on the development of professional sign language interpreters for deaf persons, guide interpreters for deaf blind persons, web and media accessibility, accessibility of ATM machines, information accessibility used for disaster risk reduction and employment. The Workshop led to the recommendation of 20 action points to be taken by member States and other participants, aiming to collaboratively build the legal and technical capacity to improve on information accessibility. The ESCAP secretariat will facilitate continuing communication among the participants through an accessible online platform to be launched in January 2016.