- Consumer Information Center

International Symposium on Digital Inclusion

The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission of Thailand (NBTC) organised the Symposium on 2 and 3 November.

The event saw speakers from across the globe and various organisations, such as the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, ITU, Ofcom – UK’s media market regulator, the Office of Electronic Communications (UKE), as well as representatives of both the public and the private sector. UKE was represented by Dorota Grudzień-Barbachowska, Director of the Consumer Policy Department.

The topic of the event was technologies supporting and improving the quality of life of people with special needs, and the importance of promoting their rights.

The President of NBTC, Professor Sarana Boonbaichaiyapruck underlined the significance of supporting accessibility for people with disabilities: “We see that anyone, at any time of their lives, may experience a period of disability. That is why ensuring support in accessibility is not only the concern of people with disabilities. It is the collective responsibility of us all.”

“For sure, now is not the time to say ‘We apologise for any inconvenience,’ it is the time to act and support the processes for society’s digital inclusion,” said Dorota Grudzień-Barbachowska; in her speech, she raised the issue of the Directive (EU) 2019/882 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2019 on the accessibility requirements for products and services (European Accessibility Act). She also presented the activities of UKE aimed at improving accessibility for people with special needs, and talked about UKE’s education activities on the conscious and secure use of new technologies and the opportunities that the digital world offers.