Conference brings access into the communications spotlight

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Tuesday, 6 September 2011 17:24pm

The Australian Communications Consumer Action Network’s  (ACCAN) annual conference on the 7th and 8th of September is themed ‘Our Broadband Future’. The conference will address the communications issues impacting on audiences during the transition to the National Broadband Network. 

The conference will bring together policy makers, interest groups and industry leaders, and the accessibility of media for people with disabilities will be a key concern during the event. The sessions will be streamed live online with captions, showing the depth of ACCAN’s commitment to accessibility.

The Federal Disabilities Discrimination Commissioner, Graeme Innes, will chair a session on access to telecommunications for people with a disability. The panel will include ACCAN’s Disability Policy Adviser, Wayne Hawkins, Kris Newton from Deafness Forum, Rob Garrett from Novita and the Department of Communications, Broadband and the Digital Economy secretary Keith Besgrove.

“Australia is undergoing a very exciting time in our digital environment,” said Hawkins. “We are in the midst of a range of initiatives that have the potential to really change the level of participation in telecommunications for consumers with disability and older Australians.”

Media Access Australia CEO Alex Varley will bring his expertise to the conference’s closing session, ‘Social Media: voice of the people’.  The panel will explore the role of social media in providing inclusion, as well as some of the barriers to access for users with a disability.

The conference will also explore the needs of people with a disability accessing emergency services.


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