[Accessibility] Candidate Quote 7

[Janina Sajka]

We are delighted that the Free Standards Group has convened an international effort to make free and open computing platforms accessible to persons with
disabilities through industry consensus standards. The principle beneficiaries of FSG Accessibility Standards will, of course, be persons with
disabilities worldwide. They are the reason for these standards. However, the wider world of developers and marketers of technologies based on free
standards will also benefit.

Users with disabilities will:

  * Find compatible free as well as commercial software more useful and usable.
  * Enjoy consistent, integrated accessibility from boot-up to shutdown in both console and desktop environments--wherever they might need it.
  * Find personal and public devices and systems, such as telephones, personal data assistants (PDA), entertainment systems, public kiosks, banking
 and voting machines, useful and usable.

The world of free standards based technology will:

  * Extend its coverage to support any and all users regardless of disability, physical, or sensory condition.
  * Increase participation in future software development.
  * Become yet more robust, innovative, and generally attractive to all users by integrating multiple ways by which users can access information and
 perform tasks.
  * Meet, and even exceed, social and legal mandates requiring inclusion of persons with disabilities in electronic and information technologies.
  * Expand into new market segments and provide business' the ability to compete effectively in markets where accessibility is a selection criterion.

-- 
	
Janina Sajka
Email: janina at rednote.net		
Phone: (202) 408-8175

Director, Technology Research and Development
American Foundation for the Blind (AFB)
http://www.afb.org

Chair, Accessibility Working Group
Free Standards Group
http://accessibility.freestandards.org