Secretariat of European e-inclusion network opens its doors
The official hub of a European network to combat information technology exclusion opened for business near Copenhagen, Denmark, on 1 July. The Danish Centre for technical aids for rehabilitation and education was selected from 15 national contact centres across Europe to establish the new European secretariat for the design for all eAccessibility network (ESDeAN). The European network currently includes 90 organisations working with the eEurope action plan's Design for all initiative, which aims to ensure that information society products and services are designed to be accessible by as broad a range of people as possible. ESDeAN was created in accordance with one of the specific goals of the eEurope 2002 Action Plan - to 'ensure the establishment and networking of national centres of excellence in design for all and create recommendations for a European curriculum for designers and engineers.' eEurope and ESDeAN are part of the efforts being made to close the IT gap and encourage an information society open to all, including the elderly and disabled. ESDeAN has been created to provide input for the creation of a European curriculum for Design for all, a forum for Design for all issues and idea sharing through joint activities such as conferences, symposia and exchanges of students and scholars. The European network is also charged with fostering awareness and promoting changes in the public and governmental sectors by reminding them to take elderly and disabled users into consideration. Erland Winterberg, Director of the Danish Centre for technical aids for rehabilitation and education, said: 'Starting under the EU Presidency gets us off to a wonderful start. Both the secretariat and the network it will coordinate are important initiatives that will help the Danish government live up to its commitments to support and intensify efforts involving Design for all, e-accessibility and assistive technology.'
Countries
Denmark