Centre for Internet & Society

At the invitation of CIS, in cooperation with the ITU-APT Foundation of India, ITU is organising a two-day Tutorial on Audio Visual Media Accessibility from March 14 to 15, 2012 at the India International Centre, New Delhi, India. The Tutorial will be preceded by the fourth meeting of the Focus Group on Audio Visual Media Accessibility (FG AVA) on March 13, 2012. This meeting will take place at the same venue and will also be hosted by CIS, in cooperation with the ITU-APT Foundation of India.

Cross-posted from the International Telecommunication Union website. Register online for the event here.

Watch the event Live


Background

Several tools will be used in the two-day tutorial, namely ITU publications relating to the field. To name two amongst the most recent ones, Accessibility to Broadcasting Services for Persons with Disabilities and Making Television Accessible" Report, G3ict-ITU, November 2011.

Objectives

The programme of the ITU Tutorial on Audiovisual Media Accessibility will provide an in-depth insight of topics and measures to improve the accessibility of AV media: Captioning (pre-prepared and live), Audio/Video Description and spoken captions, visual signing and sign language, emergency access services. These topics will reference examples from digital broadcast television and mobile telephony media. Participants will gain a better understanding of:

  1. How to Get started - strategies for establishing and expanding new accessibility services (how it can be done, what it costs, what business models exist to ensure the viability of accessibility services);
  2. How standards can help developing countries plan and implement the transition from analogue to digital TV (what issues need to be addressed to optimize the Digital Dividend; making sure that various groups of vulnerable viewers are not disenfranchised by the digital switchover); 
  3. Human resource development for improved usability and accessibility (closely tied to work being done by the Audiovisual Media Accessibility Focus Group’s Working Parties).

Audience

Regulators and legislators working on measures to improve digital media’s compliance with international accessibility conventions and directives; Accessibility service advocates from organizations representing persons with disabilities; Media executives from public service and commercial TV channels seeking compliance with media accessibility regulation; Pay-TV operators; Consumer electronics manufacturers; Consumer electronics wholesalers and retailers examining the business implications of demographic changes and media regulation.

Tutors

The tutors are leading experts in the field from industry and either participated in the writing of the handbook or contribute to the work of the ITU-T Focus Group on Audiovisual Media Accessibility.

Draft Programme

FG AVA Tutorial Programme - 14-15 March 2012

Day 1 - Wednesday 14 March 2012
Morning
Master of Ceremony:
Mr Sunil Abraham, Executive Director of the Centre for Internet and Society (CIS)

Welcome addresses:
Mr Ravi Shanker
Administrator
Administrator Universal Service Obligation Fund

Dr. Govind
CEO
National Internet Exchange of India

Ms. Swaran Lata
Director and Head of Department
(TDIL Programme)
Department of Information and Technology

Mr. R. N. Jha
Deputy Director General (International Relations)
Department of Telecommunications

Ms. Archana Gulati
Financial Advisor,
National Disaster Management Authority

Tutorial Programme
Wednesday 14 March 2012
Introduction to seminar   -  Peter Olaf LOOMS
Tutors, objectives, activities, resources.

  1. The rationale of accessible media – who needs them?  - Peter Olaf LOOMS
  • Who needs accessible media?
  • What is the nature of the media accessibility challenge in India?
  • Can we quantify and prioritise the challenge?
2. Introduction to media and accessibility – what are the strategies?   Peter Olaf LOOMS
  • What can be done to improve TV accessibility?
  • How can an understanding of the value chain and the stakeholders help optimise media accessibility?
  • What can we do to make media other than TV accessible?

Afternoon

3. Making television accessible – what is in scope and out of scope?    Peter Olaf LOOMS
  • What does the term “media” mean?
  • What can we do to improve TV usability?
  • How can we improve accessibility by offering access services?
Thursday 15 March 2012
4. Access services – the options (subtitling, audio description, visual signing, audio subtitles and speaking interfaces) Takebumi  ITAGAKI and Peter Olaf LOOMS
  • Workflows - what does producing access services entail?
  • Bandwidth requirements – what does it take to encode and deliver media and access services to their intended users?
  • Costs – what resources are needed and what do they cost?
5. Accessibility and business models
  • What is a business model?
  • Are there business models for accessible television receivers?
  • What are the common business models for television access services?
  • Legislation, regulation and standards – how do we turn vision into reality?

Afternoon

 6. Putting it all together – from vision to reality
  • How can we plan and execute the introduction of access services for a specific media platform
  • Evaluating our work over the two-day period
 Formal closing of the seminar
Learning Resources
Learning Activities
  • Lectures
  • Pair Work
  • Case work in groups

See the agenda on ITU website

 Related Information

Documentation and   Registration

 General Information
  • Host: Centre for Internet and Society, New Delhi, India in cooperation with the ITU-APT Foundation of India
  • Organized by: ITU
  • Date: 14-15 March 2012
  • Practical Information (including hotel accommodation, transportation, visa and health requirements) (coming soon)

Host country contact persons:
Sunil Abraham (Executive Director)
mail: [email protected]

Nirmita Narasimhan (Programme Manager)
mail: [email protected]

Ajoy Kumar (Administrator)
mail: [email protected]

Office details:
Centre for Internet and Society
194, 2nd C Cross,
Domlur 2nd stage,
Bengaluru: 560071
Tel: +91 80 25350955, +91 80 40926283
website: www.cis-india.org

Convening Letter, Registration and Programme
  • Convening Letter
  • On-line registration
  • Draft Programme (coming soon)

Organized by:
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Hosted by:
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