French Tech Research for Disabled People - a "Top Priority"

Origin: French Government (www.recherche.gouv.fr)
Date: May 2003

The French government has launched a set of research measures aimed at developing new technologies for people with disabilities.

Speaking at the launch of the programme on 25 April, Claudie Haignere, French Minister for Research find New Technologies said that the decision to focus on the development of new technologies for people with disabilities comes from a strong political will at national level, as well as at European level, where the drive is to ensure accessibility for all.

'The opportunities that research into new technologies pose for people with disabilities are immense [but] the research community in this field is sparse in number. Often, this research is not considered an important political priority. Such an approach to research that benefits disabled persons has to change,' said Ms Haignere.

Jointly drawn up by Ms Haignere and her colleague Marie Therese Boisseau, State Secretary for persons with dis- abilities, the programme aims to invest some € 6 million in research and inno- vation projects specifically dedicated to people with disabilities. A further € 12 million is earmarked for the develop- ment of a national technology health network.

Funding will also be allocated to the technology innovation centre at the Garches hospital in Paris, with a view to generating 'in situ' technology transfer between medical staff, industrialists, researchers and citizens with disabilities.

In terms of encouraging research efforts in this field, the government, in association with the French national agency for innovation (ANVAR), will launch a call for proposals for technologies specifically developed for disabled people. In addition to this, ANVAR will also incorporate a special disability prize into the national competition for the creation of innovative businesses. The programme will also encourage existing initiatives such as digital public spaces to better facilitate people with disabilities.

Finally, Ms Haignere stressed the need for governmental Web pages to abide by international standards such as the Web accessibility initiative (WAI) of the World Wide Web consortium (W3C) in order to ensure greater accessibility for people with disabilities.

For further information, please visit: http://www.recherche.gouv.fr/discours/2003/proghandicap.htm