Commissions
Tech & Accessibility
RI Global’s International Commission on Technology and Accessibility (ICTA) broadly focuses on the promotion of accessibly built and virtual environments, including assistive technology, as well as the creation of a forum that facilitates the exchange of ideas and good practices, notably in the areas of housing, public transportation, communications, technical aids and universal design.
RI Global’ s International Commission on Technology and Accessibility (ICTA) broadly focuses on the promotion of accessibly built and virtual environments, including assistive technology, as well as maintains a forum facilitating the exchange of ideas and good practices, notably in the areas of housing, public transportation, communications, technical aids and universal design.
ICTA also works to sensitize decision makers in the public and private sectors regarding the obstacles faced by persons with disabilities and offer possible solutions through technologies.
Members of the various ICTA sub-commissions constitute a voluntary network of experts in the area of technology and accessibility, notably specialists in the integration and rehabilitation of persons with disabilities, developers of technological aides, human resources specialists, experts in the design of accessible environments and representatives of civil society.
Leadership
Hiroshi Kawamura
Chair, Technology & Accessibility
Lei Shao
Vice-Chair, Technology & Accessibility
The Award will draw more attention to disability affairs and inspire greater contributions to a more equal, inclusive and accessible society.
Hiroshi Kawamura is a long-term board member of the DAISY Consortium, a global partnership of organizations committed to creating the best methods of publishing for people who are blind or print disabled. He has also served DAISY in several other positions, including as an ambassador for DAISY in the Disability Inclusive Disaster Risk Reduction (DiDRR) sector. Kawamura helped coordinate the Global Forum on Disability in the Information Society in Geneva and in Tunis, which has been followed by international conferences on DiDRR and on-site collaborative research. Under Kawamura, the forum focused on empowering all community residents by providing accessible and easy to understand in in order too inform scientific knowledge on DiDRR in DAISY multimedia format. Kawamura arranged the Asia-Pacific Meeting on DiDRR in Sendai, Japan in April 2014 in collaboration with UN ESCAP, Nippon Foundation and Rehabilitation International. He has worked as a professional librarian at the University of Tokyo Library since 1970.
Mathieu Simard has been working in the physical rehabilitation area for the past 19 years and has been involved in a large number of international health projects since 2000. This mixed background has led to a number of different positions to strengthen disability inclusion in high and low-income settings alike. These range from clinical service provision to providing teachings and trainings in various non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and universities in Canada and abroad. In addition to serving as Deputy-Vice President North-America and Vice-Chair on the International Commission on Accessibility and Technology, Simard chairs RI Rehabilitation International’s Task Force on Disability, Armed Conflict, and Natural Disasters. He is currently pursuing a PhD candidate in Rehabilitation Sciences at McGill University.
Projects and Documents
News & Events
Laureates of the Rehabilitation International Award for Outstanding Achievements 2023
In 2019, RI aiming to draw more attention to disability affairs and inspire greater contributions to a more equal, inclusive, and accessible society worldwide, initiated the Rehabilitation International Award for Outstanding Achievements, recognizing individuals...
Global IT Challenge
https://youtu.be/Mdb3xaUpfyM Press Release - Organizing Committee The Global IT Challenge for youth with disabilities (GITC), which seeks to strengthen the IT capabilities of youth with disabilities and bridge the digital divide, is recruiting countries to participate...
Universal Design in Kindergarten and School, Guidelines and Universal Tools
The project Universal Design in Kindergarten and School, Guidelines and Universal Tools, is a project in cooperation between Rehabilitation International (RI) Norway and the Education Commission in RI International. The project is funded by grants from Global...
RI Submission to the Committee on the rights of persons with disabilities – Draft General Comment on article 27 on the right of persons with disabilities to work and employment
Rehabilitation International – Commission on Work and Employment submitted comments to the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (the Committee) for the Draft General Comment on art. 27 of the CRPD, as follows: Page 6 (18): Within the first sentence...
Physical Activity and Sport at Home during COVID-19
Recommendations_Sports-for-PwD-Corona.
Support our work.
Make a difference in the lives of disabled people around the world. RI welcomes new opportunities to expand its own capacities through collaboration with other organizations.
