His Royal Highness Prince Andrew The Duke of York was the guest of honour at a lunch presentation, Working To Bring Down Barriers, in Boston at approximately 1.30 pm on Wednesday, 22 July, addressing issues of Web accessibility for people with disabilities. His remarks and those of the presentations two featured speakers were carried live via REAL AUDIO on this site. This was the first live Web broadcast by the Duke of York and is believed to be the second by a senior member of the Royal Family (HM The Queen took part in a live Web broadcast last year).
The event was hosted jointly by the Massachusetts Association for the Blind and the World Wide Web Consortium. The World Wide Web Consortiums Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI), in coordination with industry, disability organisations, research centers and government, is pursuing accessibility of the Web through technology, guidelines, tools, education and outreach, and research and development.
Speakers Judy Brewer, Director of the International Program Office of the World Wide Web Consortiums Web Accessibility Initiative, and Brian Charlson, First Vice President of the American Council of the Blind, discussed and demonstrated access barriers for Web users with disabilities.
With the explosive growth of the World Wide Web as a tool for communication, education, and information, accessibility for the disabled has become a critical issue. Most recent surveys of Web sites show that only a small minority are barrier-free for Web users with disabilities.
The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) was created to lead the Web to its full potential by developing common protocols that promote its evolution and ensure its interoperability. It is an international industry consortium jointly run by MIT Laboratory for Computer Science (MIT LCS) in the US, the National Institute for Research in Computer Science and Control (INRIA) in France and Keio University in Japan.
The Duke of York is visiting Boston to take part in the festivities surrounding the 200th birthday of the USS Constitution.
To listen to the previously Recorded Live Audio Stream you will need to have RealPlayer installed on your machine. If you do not have one you can it for free from RealNetworks. Click on the following image to download it.
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