Developing Regions: Common Goals, Common Problems?

Co-Located with the Ninteenth International World Wide Web Conference, in Raleigh, USA.

Web use in developing regions is currently characterised by constrained operating modalities. Slow speed, low computational power, reduced bandwidth, compact keyboards, small screens, and limited power, all compound the problem of access and inclusion. In addition, interaction is sometimes without conventional written language and illiteracy is also a barrier to information and services. However, the benefits of the Web are so great that the peoples of these regions often adopt resourceful methods of interaction and access sometimes repurposing technical equipment so that it is put to a different use than for which it was intended and sharing access often on a community wide basis. Access and the resourcefulness of the people who wish to be included is the thing than unites the communities of developing regions and disabled communities world wide. Will complex and highly graphical interfaces exclude developing regions from access? What problems exist, what are the upcoming problems, what solutions are required? How do the adoption patterns for Web accessibility and inclusion vary across cultures; and what effect will the Web in the developing regions have on accessibility in the developed regions and vice-versa? We have common goals and common problems to overcome, but what are they and how can they be addressed to our mutual benefit? What can Web accessibility learn from access in developing regions and what can developers facilitating access in developing regions learn from Web accessibility?

In this case topics of interests include (but are not limited to):

• Inclusion and Citizen Empowerment in Developing Regions;
• Inclusion and Literacy in Developing Regions;
• Enhancing Education in Developing Regions;
• Accessibility Problems in Developing Regions;
• Web Based Employment in Developing Regions;
• Web Based Health Care in Developing Regions;
• Evaluation and Validation tools and techniques;
• User Experimentation looking at Social Networking and Freedom of Expression;
• User Agents for Developing Regions and User Agent Guidelines;
• Web Authoring Guidelines;
• Design and best practice to support Web accessibility;
• Technological advances to support Web accessibility;
• End user tools;
• Accessibility guidelines, best practice, evaluation techniques, and tools;
• Psychology of end user experiences and scenarios;
• Innovative techniques to support accessibility;
• Universally accessible graphical design approaches;
• Design Perspectives;
• Adapting existing Web content; and
• Accessible graphic formats and tools for their creation.