On Monday, April 21st, G3ict co-organizes with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) a joint 2008 Global Forum to review areas of challenges and opportunities for international ICT accessibility standards in light of the dispositions of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Since March 30, 2007, 126 United Nations member states have signed the Convention: this unexpected fast rate of adoption makes it urgent to promote ICT accessibility standards that will support a better and faster implementation around the world of the many dispositions of the Convention regarding ICTs.

For the first time since the Convention was adopted, an international group of experts from industry, standards development organizations, NGOs representing persons with disabilities, international development institutions, governments and academia will examine together its many implications for ICT accessibility
standards. Proceedings will be edited to serve as a reference for future accessibility standards developments.

We hope that you can join us for this important meeting which will take place at the ITU Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland on Monday, April 21st, 2008. Participation to the meeting is free, but advanced registration is required at:
http://itu.int/ITU-T/worksem/accessibility/200804/registration.html
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Source:Invitation from G3ict
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It will be the first time that a Google employee, the blind T.V. Raman, will publicly announce details about the accessibility of the new open mobile Android platform. Other speakers are e.g.:
David Dzumba (Senior Manager, Accessibility, Nokia), Hiroshi Kawamura (President, DAISY Consortium), Judy Brewer (Director, Web Accessibility Initiative, World Wide Web Consortium (WAI/W3C)), Martina Sindelar
and Inmaculada Placencia Porrero (Representative, European Commission Directorate General Employment, Social Affairs, and Equal Opportunities), ...
http://g3ict.com/events/schedule/event_overview/p/eventId_59/id_196

I would like to join this important forum and hear the news as well but, unfortunately, I am "only"a private individual without financial resources or assestive support (because of my blindness). My budget don't allow a journey from Kassel/Germany to Geneva/Switzerland. If one of you readers will participate in the event, I would be very pleased if you could give me new informations for my open letter initiative at the recently started Blind Wiki:
http://blind.wikia.com/wiki/Open_Letter_Initiative