DARE Index 2020
The Global Initiative for Inclusive Information and Communication Technologies (G3ict) announces the release of the second edition of the Digital Accessibility Rights Evaluation (DARE) Index — DARE Index 2020 — a benchmarking tool for disability advocates, governments, civil society, international organizations and policy makers to trace country progress in making Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) accessible for all, in compliance with Article 9 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).
Data collection for the DARE Index 2020 was completed in cooperation with Disabled People’s International (DPI) and its National Assemblies, along with the support of other organizations of persons with disabilities and experts in countries around the world where DPI correspondents were not available. With 90% of the world population covered, the second edition of the DARE Index comprehensively documents the advances made by 137 countries, among the 182 States Parties to the CRPD, in eight regions: Africa, Central Asia, East Asia and Pacific, Europe, Latin American and Caribbean, Middle East and North Africa, Northern America and South Asia.
Altogether, the DARE Index 2020 shows consistent efforts and improvements countries have made in terms of progress and compliance with country laws, regulations, and policies. The ratification of CRPD has clearly been a success among the countries surveyed in the DARE Index 2018, 93% of the countries have ratified it. For instance, 88% have general legislation protecting the rights of Persons with Disabilities, a remarkable progress achieved in a 16-year period. Similarly, legal definitions such as “Reasonable Accommodation” and “A Definition of Accessibility that includes ICTs,” which merely existed in countries legislation prior to the CRPD launch, are now present in 68% and 61% of the countries surveyed for the DARE Index respectively.
Capacity building is a more complex challenge due to the cross-sector collaboration and coordination needed by public, academia and private sectors to address limited resources to access technical information, including, for example the:
- Lack of involvement of DPOs is a global phenomenon, with the global percentage for involvement of DPOs in policy making of 26% of countries as reported by the DARE Index 2020;
- Lack of country references to international ICT accessibility standards, with only 44% of countries surveyed reported to reference international accessibility standards; and
- Lack of availability of ICT accessibility courses offered by professional educational services in countries, with merely 38% of countries which have them in place.