Gibraltar Government PRESS RELEASE Date: 28th August 2012

Commonwealth e-Accessibility Summit Focuses on Disability

Gibraltar will be represented at the Commonwealth e-Accessibility Summit in London on the 30th and 31st of this month. The Hon Gilbert Licudi QC, MP and the Hon Samantha Sacramento MP will attend the Summit whose aim is to assess issues surrounding the inclusion of disability into national Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) agendas throughout Commonwealth Governments. Also attending the Summit will be Commonwealth ICT Ministers, CEOs of Private Sector Companies and Civil Society Organisations, and representatives of International Organisations.

The Summit has two fundamental objectives:
- To share understandings of why policy is insufficiently turned into practice in this crucial area.
- To determine key actions that participants in the Summit believe will help
change this situation, so that all participating countries can commit to making an impact.

The Commonwealth e-Accessibility Summit is designed both to profile the
importance of ICTs for people with disabilities and also to deliver a practical outcome in the form of policy recommendations for Commonwealth Ministers. In keeping with the theme of the forthcoming Commonwealth Year, “Connecting Commonwealth Cultures”, the Summit will take the experiences and strengths of the cultures from more than 2.1 billion people and fifty-four countries to help create a more unified culture of inclusion. The practical output of the Summit will be a short policy document, outlining a strategy for Commonwealth Governments to adopt at the intersection of ICTs and Disability.

While in London, the two Ministers have been invited to attend the opening
ceremony of the Paralympic Games which will take place on the 29th August.