Mr. Remberto Esposa, Jr., President and CEO of PWAG and Training Director of MCCID

 

Last October 22, 2010, the Advanced Science and Technology Institute (ASTI) of the Department of Science and Technology (ASTI) conducted a workshop-seminar on Web Accessibility for DOST Webmasters Consortium (WMC) members at the ASTI training room, Diliman, Quezon City.

As part of the implementation of the eDOST INFOSYS project, the workshop aimed at providing technical knowledge and skills enhancement to consortium members and supporting the initiatives of the National Council on Disability Affairs (NCDA)-National Computer Center (NCC).

The Philippines ratified the “United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities” (UNCRPD) on April 15, 2008, which recognizes the need to promote, protect and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities and to promote respect for their inherent dignity.

Workshop resource speaker, Mr. Remberto Esposa, Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer of Philippine Web Accessibility Group (PWAG) and Training Director of Manila Christian Computer Institute for the Deaf (MCCID), explained that the UNCRPD explicitly identifies Information Communication Technology (ICT), which includes government websites to be accessible to all types of citizens with disabilities: the blind, the visually impaired, the deaf, and the mobility impaired.

As an output of the workshop-seminar, Mr. Esposa taught the participants on how to implement an accessible website design using the technical guidelines recommended by the Web Design Accessibility Recommendation (WDAR) checkpoints of the PWAG.

The Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (PCHRD) was among the DOST agencies who participated in the seminar.