Europe

A computer program that could allow children with disabilities to explore their creative side is being developed by researchers at Royal Holloway, University of London. The team has been working alongside the charity Special Effect to design a computer program that uses an eye-tracker to find out exactly how eye movements correspond with the participant’s… Continue Reading »

The UK Festival Awards has thrown its support behind the Attitude Is Everything campaign, which aims to improve deaf and disabled people’s access to live music events. They have included disabled access in the criteria used by judges assessing this year’s music festivals, and have teamed up with Festival Republic to offer the winner of… Continue Reading »

Southampton, UK:  Deaf people who have received a cochlear implant may soon be able to enjoy music better with a toolkit being developed at Southampton University. Cochlear implants allow people with severe-to-profound hearing disability, who do not substantially benefit from conventional hearing aids, to perceive and understand speech. The current technology, however, often cannot cope… Continue Reading »

UK: Bromsgrove businesses have been recognised for helping to improve disability access and tackling issues of equality and diversity. The first ever Bromsgrove, No Barriers, disabled access awards were held as part of the fourth and final community consultation conference. Organised by Bromsgrove District Council, in partnership with the Equality and Diversity Forum, and held… Continue Reading »

Rights campaigners say they will have to keep on fighting to improve the treatment of disabled people when flying in Europe, after a meeting with the European Union’s top transport official yielded little progress. “This is going to take years and years to break down the discrimination that persons with disabilities are facing every day,”… Continue Reading »

French telecom regulator Arcep signed an industry charter for providing disabled people with access to electronic communication services. In 2005 mobile operators Orange, Bouygues Telecom and SFR, under the aegis of French mobile operators’ association Afom, Arcep and the inter-ministerial delegation for disabled people and industry charter to facilitate the accessibility to mobile services. In… Continue Reading »

Vodafone Foundation is launching a competition to promote IT applications designed to improve the lives of people with disabilities and elderly people. The programme, called the Smart Accessibility Awards, is supported and co-organised by AGE Platform Europe, the European network of around 160 organisations of and for people aged 50+, and the European Disability Forum (EDF), that represents… Continue Reading »

New regulations governing the use of disabled parking spaces come into force today. Minister for Transport Leo Varadkar signed new regulations to tackle fraudulent use of such spaces in April. The changes include altering the medical eligibility criteria required for a disabled person’s parking permit as well as new powers for local authorities to introduce… Continue Reading »

THE Deputy Mayor of London has promised a “true legacy” of accessibility for disabled people in the capital after next year’s Olympic Games. Richard Barnes pledged to “make sure London is inclusive and embracing to all communities” as he, along with Mayor of London Boris Johnson, opened a new play area at a Muswell Hill… Continue Reading »

UK: Colour blind people will soon be able to navigate the countryside with special maps created by Ordnance Survey. The maps, made with help from the Royal National Institute for the Blind, have one palette with shades that sufferers can see. Once drawn, they were put to the test by colour blind volunteers. The scheme… Continue Reading »