Smart Cities for All at a Glance

Smart Courts for All - G3ict Releases New Inclusive Courts Checklist
G3ict believes that when justice systems invest in digital technologies that are accessible and leverage new and emerging technology in innovative ways, they can both meet their transformation goals and increase access to justice for all people. As part of the its global initiative on Access to Justice, G3ict has launched a new Inclusive Courts Checklist to help courts do better. The checklist defines 10 core capabilities courts must develop to become more inclusive and accessible. It also lays out 36 specific enabling activities to help courts build those 10 key capabilities. With support from the Microsoft corporation, G3ict is now translating this new resource along with two other access to justice tools into 8 languages (Arabic, Dutch, French, German, Mandarin, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish).

G3ict Partners with G20 Global Smart Cities Alliance
G3ict and its Smart Cities for All global initiative have been asked by the World Economic Forum to take the lead on an exciting new and high-profile global activity. Last year, the G20  (or Group of Twenty) asked the World Economic Forum (WEF) to lead a new Global Smart City Alliance. They plan to work with cities worldwide to adopt a series of model policies for better smart cities, including in areas like security and open data. The WEF has asked G3ict to provide them with one of the first model policies to promote globally, specifically to promote inclusion in smart cities. G3ict has been working with a global expert group (including Yuval Wagner of Access Israel, Karen Tamley of Access Living, Monica Duhem of Hear Colors, and Laura Ruby of Microsoft) to draft a model policy for procurement of accessible ICTs. This expert group is finishing up the model policy language and is now working with WEF to identify 3-5 cities interested in piloting the adoption of procurement policy as part of the G20’s Global Smart City Alliance. If you know of a candidate city to pilot this procurement policy or would like more information on this initiative, please contact us.

Call for Webinars - Built Environments
The International Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP) invites submission of topics for IAAP’s 2020-2021 Professional Development Webinar Series – Built Environments. Professionals whose job requires accessibility awareness or competence, including accessibility professionals, policy makers, architects, designers, engineers, accessibility auditors and others involved in the design and build of accessible built environments as well as those who implement building services, programs, and policies are welcome to submit their proposals. The deadline to submit is Tuesday, 30 June. 

Strategic Leader in Accessibility (SLiA) - Upcoming Community of Practice Meeting
The Strategic Leader in Accessibility (SLiA) taskforce continues to host monthly Community of Practice (CoP) meetings to discuss the domains of the Body of Knowledge that is currently being developed. The taskforce has has recently turned its attention to discussions about building a Strategic Accessibility Plan and the next few months will review the phases of this development within an organization. The SLiA Community of Practice is open to IAAP members through its Connections platform. Emerging as well as existing strategic A11y leaders are welcome to take part in the discussion, blog on relevant topics, and access the resources available in the CoP Library. 

Regina Cohen, Brazil
In her latest blog, Regina shares a personal account of her experience of social isolation and quarantine imposed by COVID-19 in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro. She is among the many who face infrastructure challenges for accessibility and mobility in the most intense and frequent ways. She observes that the pandemic has highlighted old problems of cities such as accessibility for persons with disabilities. This month, Regina also held a series of Facebook Live interactions with Cid Torquato – Secretary of Urban Development at the Municipal Secretariat for Persons with Disabilities in São Paulo and other experts.  

Webinar on Concepts and Trends of Digital Accessibility
July 6 | Online event

Qaderoon Network and G3ict invite professionals involved in the development of digital projects, programs, and initiatives from various sectors, to discuss supporting employees and customers with disabilities in digital environments in the webinar on July 6 from 1-2 pm (GMT +3). Aya Jibreal, G3ict-SC4A Country Representative from Saudi Arabia will lead the webinar. Learn more and register for webinar (in Arabic).

Roundtable: Pushing for Greater ICT Accessibility in European Procurement
July 16 | Online event

The European Disability Forum, Microsoft and G3ict are co-hosting a roundtable to deliberate on the progress on including accessibility in ICT procurements across member states. Join experts including Hector Minto of Microsoft, Catherine Naughton of European Disability Forum (EDF), Ima Placencia of European Commission, Donal Rice, Ireland Centre for Excellence in Universal Design and James Thurston of G3ict as they set the stage for a renewed commitment for greater progress on implementing the European Procurement Directive and preparing for the European Accessibility Act. Learn more and register for the webinar.