The Asia-Pacific Development Center on Disability (APCD), Ministry of Social Development and Human Security, Thailand in collaboration with the National Electronics and Computer Technology Center (NECTEC) organized the Regional Workshop on Accessible Web-based Information Networking from 22 June to 9 July 2004 in Bangkok, Thailand. The objective of this regional workshop is to promote information management, information network, and information accessibility to related-disability organizations in APCD's targeted countries.
The regional workshop consisted of twenty-two participants from both governmental and non-governmental organizations in 10 developing countries in the Asia-Pacific Region comprising of Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippines, Thailand, and Viet Nam. Nine out of the twenty-two participants are persons with disabilities; six physically disabled, two hearing impaired persons, and one visual impaired persons, whom joined the workshop.
Resource persons of this regional workshop are from four countries; India, Japan, Thailand, and Viet Nam, whom are professions in disability information management, network and accessibility especially in the Asia-Pacific region. Mr. Monthian Buntan, who is visually impaired, President of the Thailand Association of the Blind (TAB) acted as the course leader of the workshop. Mr. Javed Abidi, Executive Director of the National Center for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP) in India, Ms. Nguyen Hong Ha, Coordinator of the Disability Forum in Viet Nam, and Ms. Misako Nomura, Deputy Director of the Information Center of the Japanese Society for Rehabilitation of Persons with Disabilities (JSRPD) in Japan were the main facilitators for the eight-day information management and networking session of the workshop. In addition to the information management and network part of the workshop, APCD invited six other resource persons from public, non-governmental, and international organizations working on information management to share their experiences and skills on related issues to the workshop. The second session of the workshop emphasized on the issue of information accessibility. Mr. Masafumi Nakane, Assistant Professor at the Keio University, was the main lecturer of the second session of the workshop throughout the whole eight days. Mr. Masafumi Nakane also prepared the training materials in two-week advance of the workshop. These training materials are available at APCD website. In between the second part of the workshop, a presentation on Assistive Devices Technologies for Persons with Disabilities was given by Ms. Wantanee Panthachat, Director of the Assistive Technology Center, NECTEC.
Contents of the workshop were divided into two parts. The first part focused on information management, sharing, and network. Participants from each country reported the situation of the disability information support in their organization and country in the first session of the workshop. All participants were divided into 3-4 groups to discuss with other participants about setting up a disability network. In accordance to this, each participant had to draft an action plan on information networking in their countries and organizations. The outcomes from the participants were presented in the workshop and it could be recognized that each action plan had a similar starting point to network with associate organizations. A field visit was organized to the Mass Communication Organization of Thailand (MCOT) and the Ratchasuda College.
In the second session of the workshop participants were taught on how to develop an accessible website as one information communication tool. Different applications and guidelines were introduced to the participants for instance XML, XHTML, W3C Guidelines, Cascading Style Sheets, and Website Design Plan structure. Hands-On Practice was provided for participants to apply the theory into practice. From the practice, participants developed an accessible website creating a new website introducing their country situation on disability and/or their organization, some applied the skills to the original organization's website to fit the application of an accessible website, which all participants will further develop in their country. All website created in the workshop will be provided at the APCD website.
APCD would like to express gratitude to all the participants, resource persons, taskforce members, and special thanks to all assistants especially all former trainees to devote their time and knowledge towards the workshop.
