AEGIS Press Release, 18 December

Sun Microsystems announced on 18 December that it is leading a consortium of over 20 other companies and organizations to help define new approaches and solutions for building accessibility support into future information and communication technologies. Funded by a grant awarded by the European Commission,the AEGIS Project is based on the Sun-led proposal and technical architecture. A key component of the AEGIS Project is that it will leverage open source technologies wherever possible. More information can be found at: http://www.aegis-project.eu

The AEGIS acronym stands for “open Accessibility Everywhere: Groundwork, Infrastructure, Standards”. Participants in the AEGIS Project include: Centre for Research & Technology Hellas (project coordinator), the ACE Centre Advisory Trust, Adaptive Technology Resource Centre of the University of Toronto, AOL, Blue Point IT Solutions S.R.L., Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, the University of Cambridge, Conncept Swiss, Czech Technical University in Prague, European Platform for Rehabilitation, Femtio Procent Data AB, Vodafone Spain Foundation, Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering, ONCE Foundation, P50, Polytechnic University of Madrid, Research In Motion Limited (RIM), Royal National Institute of Blind People, SingularLogic S.A., Sahlgrenska University Hospital – DART and Sun Microsystems.

Advising the AEGIS project is a distinguished scientific advisory board comprised of worldwide leaders in the field of accessibility.

“Every second of every day that passes, the number of new mobile devices and web sites grows at an astounding rate - with much of that growth bringing accessibility problems for people with disabilities. By building support for accessibility into the next generation of rich internet application frameworks and mobile devices, we can help ensure that people with disabilities can participate in the digital age. Sun is pleased to be leading the AEGIS Project and bringing our expertise in open source and accessibility technology to this important initiative,” said Jeet Kaul, senior vice president of the Consumer Software Group at Sun. “The accessibility challenges of the new generations of desktop, web, and mobile technologies require new approaches - ones in which accessibility is designed in from the start, rather than bolted on as an afterthought” said Dr. Evangelos Bekiaris, AEGIS Project Coordinator and Research Director at the Centre for Research and Technology Hellas. “The AEGIS project, with its holistic approach starting with developer tools on through to the platforms the accessible applications run on - and with the end-user validation provided by the disability organization members of the AEGIS consortium - is the most promising and thorough approach to accessibility we have seen in decades.”

“E-inclusion in the Information Society is of paramount importance” said Richard Orme, Head of Accessibility, RNIB. “It is imperative that we close the digital divide in this ever evolving world. We're excited to be part of the AEGIS project, working with developers, companies and organisations to bring about wholesale improvements in accessibility to ICT solutions".

Last updated: 22/12/08