AAPD Government Affairs Director Speaks at G20 Technology Conference, Seoul, Korea
Caption: Jenifer Simpson (AAPD) and Professor Sang-Mook Lee (Seoul National University
On November 8, 2010, Jenifer Simpson, AAPD’s Government Affairs Director, was invited by Professor Sang-Mook Lee of Seoul National University, to give a talk at the G20 International Symposium on “Convergence Technology & Improving the Quality of Life” in Seoul, Korea. Held at the Korean Science & Technology Institute, Jenifer focused on how the new 21st Century Communications & Video Accessibility Act (P.L. 111-260) is an example of civil rights based public policy development that is needed when technologies, such as television and the Internet, converge. She also focused on how the various organizations that formed the Coalition of Organizations for Accessible Technology (COAT) -- the national disability advocacy groups like AAPD, ACB, AFB, CSD and NAD -- worked together over five years to reach the goal of amending the Communications Act to modernize the existing disability provisions in light of new Internet connections. Attended by several hundred students and faculty members, the event also included presentations by others on nanotechnology and biomechanics as areas where technology convergence is occurring and that could change the quality of life for everyone, including people with disabilities.
A similar talk by Jenifer Simpson with students at the Seoul National University on November 10 stressed the critical elements needed to ensure empowerment of people with disabilities in influencing technology policy. These included having a clear agenda and the ability to work in coalition across diverse disabilities, knowledge of the public policy making process, a willingness to work with other stakeholders, such as constructive dialogue with representatives from varying technology sectors, e.g., wireless, television, broadband, wire line, and Internet, and persistence.
Background: South Korea, with a population of about 49 million, is a little larger than the state of Indiana, and, according to the Korean National Assembly, there are more than 2.15 million people (4.4 percent of the population) with disabilities. South Korea encourages the employment of people with disabilities, such as via the “Social Pact for Job Creation” as well as the “Employment Promotion and Vocational Rehabilitation for the Disabled Act.” The government has signed the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
More information on the G20 Technology Convergence symposium at http://tiny.cc/3fm4p
More on Professor Sang-Mook Lee at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/earth/profile-lee.html
More on Seoul National University at http://www.useoul.edu/
http://tiny.cc/3fm4p is the tiny for the following URL http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:ROlMJP9qzgUJ:aict.snu.ac.kr/isct2010/G20_international_symposium_2010.pdf+g20+international+symposium+on+convergence+technologies&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk
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