The mission of the Accessibility and Innovation Initiative is to promote collaborative problem-solving among stakeholders to ensure that people with disabilities reap the full benefits of communications technology. Through workshops, field events, facilitated dialogues, and online tools, the Initiative fosters affordable technology solutions. The initiative and the Chairman's Awards for Advancements in Accessibility are based on recommendations in the National Broadband Plan and were launched at the July 19th event celebrating the anniversary of the ADA. An analysis of and the context for the National Broadband Plan's accessibility recommendations was developed in the FCC's first-ever working paper on accessibility and technology issues titled "A Giant Leap and a Big Deal: Delivering on the Promise of Equal Access to Broadband for People with Disabilities".
Chairman Awards for Advancements in Accessibility
Annual awards recognizing private, public, and private-public sector ventures advancing accessibility including technologies, standards, or best practices. Read more>
Speaker Series
The Accessibility & Innovation Initiative launched its speaker series in the summer of 2013 to raise awareness and encourage innovation in accessible communications technologies that will benefit people with disabilities.
- March 11, 2014 Juan Gilbert: Innovation in Voting Accessibility
- September 12, 2013 Yevgen Borodin: Improving Accessibility for the General Public
- July 16, 2013 Clayton Lewis: The Future of Inclusive Design Online
More Accessibility & Innovation Events and Workshops >
Resources
- FCC's Disability Rights Office
- Blog Posts on Accessibility & Innovation: Current | Archive
- AccessInfo Email List: Join | Archive
A mailing list providing information about how to get regular email updates on accessibility-related FCC actions - How to file a complaint to obtain accessible equipment or services
- Closed Captioning of Video Programming on Television
Contacts
- Jamal Mazrui, Deputy Director, Jamal.Mazrui@fcc.gov, (202) 418-0069
- Solita Griffis, staff member, Solita.Griffis@fcc.gov, (202) 418-1564
- Mikelle Morra, staff member, Mikelle.Morra@fcc.gov, (202) 418-7151