<div dir="ltr"><div>Subject: Improving Participation of Persons with Disabilities<br><br>Hello June,<br><br>Thank you for your insightful comments and suggestions on ensuring the active participation of persons with disabilities in the global IGF. </div><div><br></div><div>The DCAD IGF Fellowship, considered such scenarios and a DCAD Fellowship lead has been assigned to guide and support the participation of newcomers in the forum. This lead will also serve as a mentor to facilitate maximum involvement and contributions of the fellows in their respective sessions.<br><br>Additionally, the DCAD IGF Accessibility Guidelines emphasise the importance of having an accessibility desk and recommend that IGF volunteers receive training on disability etiquette and best practices.<br><br>Thank you once again for your suggestions and for advocating for accessibility.<br><br>Best regards,</div><div><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><font face="georgia, serif"><b>Nicodemus Nyakundi</b></font><div><font face="georgia, serif"><b>Digital Accessibility for PWDs</b></font></div><div>@<a href="https://www.kictanet.or.ke/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:11pt;background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline"><b><font face="georgia, serif"><font color="#6aa84f">K</font><font color="#ff0000">ICT</font><font color="#6aa84f">A</font><font color="#000000">Net</font></font></b></span></a></div></div></div></div><br></div><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Tue, Nov 26, 2024 at 2:56 PM June Parris via DCAD <<a href="mailto:dcad@lists.igf-dcad.org">dcad@lists.igf-dcad.org</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex">
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Dear All,
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<div>I took a look at the guidelines for those with disabilities and as a well qualified and experienced health care professional I want to say that the thing that I did not see, maybe I did not look or read the guidelines correctly since black and white gives
me migraines, in my experience as a for mer MAG member, I have seen disable participants left behind when trying to get to the next session, I personally have helped those that I noticed.</div>
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<div>What I would suggest is that we allocate minders especially those new bees to the IGF.</div>
<div>So eg If I am onsite I would adopt one of the participants, check their schedule and assist them during the day. Especially at lunchtime which is usually chaotic .</div>
<div>Since I will probably not be on-site, due to funding, I cannot assist.</div>
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<div>I would suggest that mentors are adopted to ensue that those with disabilities enjoy the full IGF experience.</div>
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<div>Regards</div>
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<div>Registered General Nurse</div>
<div>Registered Psychiatric Nurse</div>
<div>BSC Sociology</div>
<div>MSC Economics ( Health Services Management and Policy)</div>
<div>IGF Fellow</div>
<div>ARIN Fellow and Fellowship Committee Member</div>
<div>Former MAG UN 2018-2020</div>
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<div dir="ltr"><span style="background-color:rgba(255,255,255,0)">June Parris<br>
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Research Associate<br>
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<blockquote type="cite">On 24 Nov 2024, at 11:21, Judith Hellerstein via DCAD <<a href="mailto:dcad@lists.igf-dcad.org" target="_blank">dcad@lists.igf-dcad.org</a>> wrote:<br>
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<p>Dear DCAD Members,</p>
<p>The final Schedule for the IGF is not out yet, but we wanted to call your attention to several DCAD sessions. There is a draft schedule up on the IGF's website.
<a href="https://intgovforum.org/en/filedepot_download/305/28022" target="_blank">
https://intgovforum.org/en/filedepot_download/305/28022</a> This link may change as they update the schedule.
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<p>1) DCAD's annual meeting, where we will be releasing the new revised DCAD Accessibility Guidelines. We will be holding this meeting on Day 2, Tuesday December 17 from 3-4pm Riyadh time which is 12-1pm UTC. For those who will be on site, it will be held
in Bilateral Room 6. It will have captioning and zoom capabilities. If there is a direct need for sign language interpretation, please do let us know.</p>
<p>Our Accessibility guidelines are up on the DCAD's website and comments are accepted until November 30.
<a href="https://igf-dcad.org/accessibility-guidelines/" target="_blank">
https://igf-dcad.org/accessibility-guidelines/</a><br>
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<p>2) DCAD's joint session with the DC on Open Educational Resources will be held on Day 3, December 18 from 11:10am to 12:40pm, in a 90minute time slot. It will be held in Workshop Room 9 and will have captioning and International Sign Language.</p>
<p>3) The DC's main Session will feature our own Dr. Shabbir as one of the speakers. This session will also be on Day 3, December 18 from 9:00am to 10:15am. It will have captioning and also hopefully sign language interpretation
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<p>For those interested in following the work of the Dynamic Coalitions Coordinating Group, here is a link to their meetings, session summaries and transcripts.<a href="https://www.intgovforum.org/en/content/dc-coordination-activities" target="_blank">
https://www.intgovforum.org/en/content/dc-coordination-activities</a><br>
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<p>We also will be introducing our 4 Disability fellows to the IGF and looking forward to them getting more involved with DCAD and other areas.
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<p>Erin Brown from the Bahamas, Sabina Hermida from México, Ngwa Jolenta Rose Afanwi from Cameroon, and our returning fellow and Mentor Nicodemus Nyakundi from Kenya. We hope those at the IGF get a chance to meet with them.
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<p>We will also be promoting DCAD at the Dynamic Coalition's booth within the IGF Village.</p>
<p>If you will be at the IGF, do let us know so we can meet you. If you have any questions, do let us know. You can reach us at
<a href="mailto:info@igf-dcad.org" target="_blank">info@igf-dcad.org</a>
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<p>Best,</p>
<p>Judith Hellerstein</p>
<p>Dr. Muhammad Shabbir</p>
<p>DCAD Coordinators<br>
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