I want to extend my personal thanks to everyone here today. As in Denver I am sure I will not be able to speak to each and every person who is attending, but I do want you to know that I am grateful for your involvement and interest. Some of the most interesting people on the planet come together when the Accessibility Forum meets and I only regret I can’t spend quality time with each and everyone of you. 

A year ago many people had reservations about Section 508. Many seemed to react with the adage: For every action there is an equal and opposite government program. I don’t believe that has not proven to be true in this case. Almost a year after the implementation of the statute in Federal procurement, however, there has been a great deal of activity and focus in the Federal Procurement arena on the topic. A number of departments and agencies of the Federal Government have responded with their own instructions, directives, and plans for including the 508 requirements in their solicitations 

I dare say they show a wide range of understanding and methodology because the ways in which Federal entities procure goods and services is not as centralized and unified as one might imagine. Nonetheless, there is some progress in providing agency specific training courses and instructions for procurement officers, procurement officials, contracting officer’s technical representatives, and requiring officials. The Access Board and GSA have developed some online tools and training to assist agencies as well. And, as you heard earlier from Lesley Field, there will be a posting in the Federal Register soon requesting industry responses.

Industry has responded as well, especially in coming to grips with the interoperability between E&IT and Assistive Technology. At the first meeting of the Forum, the Accessibility Forum Staff suggested that this effort needed to be led by industry and industry seems to be pursuing those issues with new fervor. Everyone seemed to agree that technicians must solve the interoperability issue. It appears that effort is moving ahead on an operating system level. 

In February at our Denver conference, I was pleased to speak to you about the various challenges of bringing such a wide range of views and interests together. That challenge has not been abated, nor will it go away. Those pressures and interests are still alive and well. 

What still needs to be done?

More education of Federal purchasers is still on the list. The word needs to get out wider and more deeply. It needs to become more institutionalized and better understood.

Continued involvement from Consumer/Advocacy groups is still essential. They alone can provide the necessary informed self-interest and must continue to work with patience and persistence.

Continued involvement from industry is still essential to provide approaches that not only meet the consumer need but also are reasonable from a market place standpoint.

More products clearly meeting the functional requirements of the Access Board standards are still required. There again we should watch as new products that are in the design and development pipeline reach the public. From what industry is promising, there should be an increasing influx of products that have continually improving accessibility features. 

Businesses need to be more aware of the business opportunities available with products that provide 508 requirements. Companies should be made aware of the business potential beyond the Federal market for products that make it easier for everyone to use them. Following accessibility design principles often makes for a better product across the board. Better in that it is easier to use, usable by a wider audience, often more efficient, and even more marketable.

Making sure the word gets to every segment of the E&IT arena, especially the small and medium sized companies, is important to making required accessibility more ubiquitous in one way or another. The Information Technology Industry association is working on how to better help companies provide key information in the Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) through a best practices document. That could assist companies with smaller staffs in their efforts to correctly represent their products. But unless that effort results in more consistent, standardized and structured reporting of accessibility features to Federal buyers, there will still be questions. 

The lack of standardized reporting of information via the VPAT is not only a problem for Government; I have also heard from industry partners that they want to find a way to address the variety of reporting levels from across industry. Those industry segments that provide multi-functional products are also concerned with the issue of consistency in reporting which provisions of the standards are applicable to products. I would like to suggest, as I did in Denver, that unless we develop and provide more concrete ways for industry to assure itself and its customers that their products meet the requirements, some other group will do so. I don’t believe that there is another group as well suited to balance the tensions and demands of Section 508 or as inclusive as the Forum. While no one in industry is interested in a single test or metric that would be enforced for use, surely valid and viable metrics and methods exist that could be offered for use.

On another point, continued Government involvement to address agency issues and challenges, especially the issue of educating procurement and requiring officials, remains a key ingredient in the mix. 

There is also a social responsibility in Government to establish a level playing field, to function as the honest broker, and to encourage reasonable compromise. But there are two sides to this coin. Justin Dart in an address to the ADA Eleventh Anniversary Celebration in Washington, DC on July 30, 2001 said: 

“For human beings with or without disabilities, technology can be a barrier or a bridge. Those who do not have full access to technology will suffer segregation without historical precedent. Those with access to technology, and the will and the knowledge to use it, will experience vastly increased productivity and quality of life. 

We as government must mandate that every person will have an absolute right to full access to technology and to the education to use that access. We as individual citizens, as businesspersons, as professionals, must take full responsibility for universal access to technology. Because government will not be able to do it alone.”

I agree with this assessment: that Government cannot do this alone.

Industry has responded and that is critical because Section 508 looks to industry for innovation, creativity, and commitment in their product lines. It isn’t just about how to solve a problem now, with existing technology and features. It is also about how to leave room for solving new and unresolved problems in new and innovative ways. The Access Board Standards consciously provide for just such future developments. They also look for these accessibility requirements to become standard business practice for developers- ultimately where appropriate accessibility is either designed into all products and services or at least not precluded or excluded by design features.
So how is the electronic and information technology industry responding? As Program Director for GSA’s Accessibility Forum, I get to watch that response. There is a serious response from the part of industry that appreciates the Federal Government market, the increased state, local, and international government interest in accessibility, and the larger, general public marketplace. They are smart businesses that recognize business opportunity and social responsibility. Here are just a few examples of how they have responded:

SAP, a firm that is the world's largest inter-enterprise software company, and the world's third-largest independent software supplier overall, has taken the accessibility issues to heart. To the very core of their design and development of products, in fact! Accessibility issues are placed on the same level as other software glitches in their quality control process. That means you have to fix it to sell it. That is real commitment because it means you have incorporated the accessibility features as true requirements for your products! When an engineer understands that this is a business requirement, he or she finds a way to make it happen.
A second example is IBM. IBM has made impressive strides to institutionalize their accessibility requirements, making it part of their well defined development process and procedures. This is the equivalent of mainstreaming accessibility features into their design and development. That is a long-term commitment to the promise of Section 508. Eventually innovative solutions can be expected to grow around these requirements, expanding where we can go with technology.
Sun likewise treats 508-related deficiencies like any other product problem; logging deficiency reports against them. They have defined procedures by which products that do not fully meet 508 requirements must request formal attention. They maintain internal websites with guidance on interpreting and meeting Section 508 requirements. The development process requires regular summary reports to executives.

Apple has stated their commitment to making the next release of Mac OS X operating system, code-named Jaguar, accessible to all users. That version is advertised as going 'well beyond federally mandated standards to offer new approaches to computer accessibility'. The new release includes their new Accessibility APIs. At their recent developer's conference, Apple provided special attention to the Section 508 requirements. Sessions were held for the operating system as well as for their key application environments. The next version of Mac OS X is building on the accessibility features of Mac OS X v10.1 and the expressed aim is universal access.

Microsoft has publicly committed to work collaboratively with product groups, consumers with disabilities, equipment manufacturers, and Assistive Technology vendors. Their willingness to share published interfaces for Assistive Technology is important to people with disabilities because they depend on Assistive Technology to acquire full use of computers. Like other E&IT vendors, Microsoft has committed to working with government and industry partners toward the shared goal of successfully implementing Section 508. Microsoft has accelerated their work to develop a new Assistive Technology application protocol interface with the goal of inclusion in the next version of their flagship operating system. The results will be designed with close interaction with the Assistive Technology Industry Association and its members, but, as I understand it, made public for all interested parties.

Speaking of the Assistive Technology Industry Association (ATIA), they have made significant efforts to reach beyond their industry segment. AT vendors, under the umbrella of the ATIA, have taken a leadership role in a number of Section 508 related initiatives. ATIA participates in the Accessibility Forum with members playing active roles on the Strategic Management Council and Interoperability Project Team. ATIA, in conjunction with the Accessibility Forum, hosted a series of Section 508 panels at the ATIA Conference in Orlando in January 2002. Earlier, a smaller joint event during the annual Closing the Gap conference in October of 2001 served to inform AT vendors of the impact of 508 on their business.

As in the example earlier, ATIA is working closely with electronics and information technology companies (E&IT) on the development of platform-specific interoperability standards that will help ensure compatibility in future generations of products. In Denver’s Forum Meeting, ATIA members drafted the "AT-IT Compatibility Guidelines," a first step in this effort.
The companies and organizations represented in the Accessibility Forum are providing significant resources to interact in the network of stakeholders that is found together only in the Forum. They commit staff to volunteer work on projects and committees, they designate staff for accessibility issues in their companies, and they work with consumer and advocacy groups as well as individual consumers. 
Technology, engineering, and architectural design are often used to disable the disability. We value the increasingly wider open door to the workplace and to more independent, comparable lifestyles. The walls of the disability ghetto, sometimes built of technology bricks, are coming down. And ironically the assault weapon of choice is also technology.
But while I applaud and encourage industry’s involvement, I reiterate that Government involvement is necessary. It was necessary to get the ball rolling and it will be necessary to keep the momentum. It was necessary to set a standard and it is necessary to make sure the playing field is level. Listen to what the National Council on Disabilities said in their report to the President, The Accessible Future , dated June 21, 2001.

"Without partnership with government and consumers, the marketplace is not well suited to redressing the E&IT access gap on its own. Normal competitive pressures do not operate to encourage fully accessible design of mainstream E&IT products, though the latent demand for such devices is considerable."


Government is fully aware that we can’t do it alone. While the law can be enforced, it does not automatically change behaviors or internalize goals, objectives, morals, or motivations. I think industry knows that it must also turn to others for assistance. Section 508 is not an answer; it is a call to action. Not just for the consumer and advocacy groups, but for all of us. Government is an appropriate partner in this effort and should not be afraid to step up to the plate.

The Accessibility Forum has had a significant influence in focusing attention on many of the industry initiatives and prompting participants to increase their dialogue and activity. Our participating membership should be very proud of the progress that is being made in their home organizations. Industry should be applauded because they have taken up the issue with such zeal at the technical level. 

The Accessibility Forum is not designed to change the Access Board standard, but to better understand it and make it better understood.

The Accessibility Forum hopes to continue to bring issues to the forefront and see them comfortably situated with those best equipped to resolve them. The Forum is working to bring greater clarity to issues and provide robust solutions to the Federal market place. There are still a number of issues that need a home for resolution, a number of areas that can be clarified, and there is plenty of room for more solutions. But at this juncture, the movement is positive and promising for people with disabilities.

The cultural and language issues that I mentioned in February are still there. Let me just diverge for a moment and mention some facts about that aspect again this time. Bear with me as I bring home the analogy. Scientists have discovered that the ability to speak is even more complex than we had originally imagined. And they aren’t quite sure how we manage to do it. While they can train apes and chimpanzees to use some number of motions for limited communication, these animals cannot master language. To say that they can is, as one person put it, like saying that man can fly because he can jump. Every animal can jump, except elephants, but not all of them can fly. 

The complexity of language is hard to learn and harder to program. And well beyond language is true communication, which is hampered, less by the complexity of speech mental processes and more by our different cultures and viewpoints. There are over 6,800 major languages and over 40,000 dialects according to SIL, International. http://www.sil.org/

As if this weren’t difficult enough, we humans have invented artificial languages. I am not just talking about computer languages. Most of you are probably aware that there is a Klingon language for the totally fictional warlike Klingon race that originated in the Star Trek television series. Well they have a web site for the Klingon Language Institute and the title quote I saw when I visited tells part of the story: “Language - the Best Weapon.” But the emblem they display says even more: “Language opens worlds.” 

The KLI is celebrating its tenth year. They have projects that range from translating Shakespeare back into the original Klingon and translating the Bible as well as publishing original poetry in Klingon. There are also commercial products such as Simon & Schuster interactive Star Trek offering, which comes complete with Klingon language lab and, get this, voice-recognition software from Dragon Systems to help you with your pronunciation. http://www.kli.org/ If you think that is silly, maybe you should step back from your favorite discipline, sport, hobby, or occupation and think of some of the specialized language you use. 

What causes people to search for artificial language and culture? Perhaps it demonstrates the need to identify with and hold on to something unique in the face of a homogenized culture. Perhaps it shows the insatiable search for human expression that will hold the essence of a culture as a way of expressing yourself. 

Well I for one applaud the options and say “majQa’!” or “well done” in Klingon. At least I think I just said “well done”. Either that or I have just insulted you by saying your mother has a smooth forehead.

Either way, I say “Well Done”. Not that I have a desire to learn and speak a fictitious language, but I always vote for options. I still have a couple of items on my wish list:

I want a diversity of options available to everyone who wants to use technology in their self-expression, in the choice and execution of their livelihood, in the meeting of their needs, and in their interaction with their Government.

And, more specifically to this audience, I want the Accessibility Forum to be a learning environment that is known for its open, honest, and polite discussion, its variety of interest, its search for solutions, and its provision of information and opportunity. 
Well as I did in Denver, I must let my Native American heritage take over for a moment and tell a story. I borrow this one by a man named Steve Goodier. Sitting on Your Talent by: Steve Goodier, Source Unknown 

There was a man who played piano in a bar. He was a good piano player. People came out just to hear him play. But one night, a patron told him he didn't want to hear him just play anymore. He wanted him to sing a song. 
The man said, "I don't sing." 
But the customer was persistent. He told the bartender, "I'm tired of listening to the piano. I want that guy to sing!" 
The bartender shouted across the room, "Hey buddy! If you want to get paid, sing a song. The patrons are asking you to sing!" 
So he did. He sang a song. A piano player who had never sung in public did so for the very first time. And nobody had ever heard the song Mona Lisa sung the way it was sung that night by Nat King Cole! 
He had talent he was sitting on! He may have lived the rest of his life as a no-name piano player in a no-name bar, but because he had to sing, he went on to become one of the best-known entertainers in America. 
http://www.inspirationalstories.com

I have told this group what a talented, stimulating, and creative assembly I think it is. I believe the issues that need to be resolved are possible if you will just get off your… piano bench!

Seriously, I appreciate those who are so involved with the Forum. But, some of you are not as involved as you should be. Get off the bench! Bring your talents to the table!

Still others are involved, but haven’t approached the issues from another perspective. Stop playing & start singing! Look at the issues from the perspective of the other stakeholders as well as your own!

Again, my thanks to you for being here.