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FYI. Please contact the conference organizers to express your concern as to the non-inclusion of the issues of women with disabilities in this conference. Thanks. -------- Original Message -------- Subject: Re: [OZADV] [DAWN Ontario] Seeking Assistance re: Women'sconferencewebsite constructed with images only Date: Mon, 11 Feb 2002 15:45:37 +1000 From: Sue Egan <[log in to unmask]> Reply-To: OZADVOCACY-- Disability rights in Australia<[log in to unmask]> Organization: Physical Disability Council of Australia Ltd To: [log in to unmask] References: <[log in to unmask]> Dear Barbara and other readers Regarding your comments Barbara on the International Womens Conference in Townsville Australia in July this year and the website you referred to: http://www.tiwc.asn.au/tiwc/page3/index.html I visited the website you mentioned and agree that it is maddening and disappointing to see this on our computer screens. It is also disappointing to read that there is no mention of disability in the speakers topics or credentials and no activists on the agenda who refer to disability in their brief background! The conference is situated in James Cook University and they are also cited as being a major sponsor of the Conference. What does this say about the Womens Studies Unit (also cited on the website). I studied through James Cook University and was deeply distressed to see that there was little or no reference to women with disabilities in the curriculum - so nothing has changed despite my refusal to complete the subject because I refused to "participate in a subject that does not even acknowledge my existence." I passed by the way. I will be writing them a letter of protest. Sue Egan Sue Egan Physical Disability Council of Australia Barbara Anello wrote: > Hi Wonderful WWDA Women and other sisters from the International Community > > (bcc to Betty and Chantal at Townsville International Women's Conference) > > I am writing to implore your help in a matter that has me very disappointed. > I was recently asked to add a link on the DAWN Ontario website to the > Townsville International Women's Conference - Australia entitled "Poverty, > Violence and Women's Rights: Setting a Global Agenda" scheduled for July 3 - > 7, 2002 in Townsville Australia, James Cook University ... > > The website address is http://www.tiwc.asn.au/tiwc/page3/index.html > > What disappointed me upon visiting the site to check out the link, was that, > other than an alternate text-based navigation menu that is added at the > bottom of each page of the site, the site is totally inaccessible to anyone > who uses a screen reader. > > The entire site, other than the text-based navigation menu noted above, is > constructed with images rather than text. Even the "printable version" > pages are all images. Can't imagine why they bothered to add a text-based > navigation menu when there is no text to be read anywhere on the site unless > you are sighted. > > Now, while I appreciate that many organizations have little resources and > are challenged by web-based technology, it really unnerves me to read that > this conference is targeted at "all those who care passionately about > improving women's positions in the world who demand justice and human rights > for women everywhere, and who believe that a feminist analysis is essential > to defining a fairer globalised world." (retyped word for word from their > welcome page's IMAGE of text). > > I don't know just what kind of feminist framework these women work from, but > I hope that once the problem with the conference site is made known to them, > they will kindly act to correct the problem. > > So I hoped that perhaps a few of our sisters in Australia could be > encouraged to also write and express in a more tactful manner that I feel > capable of doing at this point, how they could lead by example by practicing > inclusion and equality in adding some alternative text at the very least, to > those image files cluttering up their website. > > I'm sorry if my post offends anyone, but as a sighted person, I stand > shoulder to shoulder with my blind and visually impaired sisters in this > regard and sincerely hope that we can count on our sisters at WWDA and > elsewhere to help raise awareness about online accessibility. > > warm regards from Canada > > Barbara Anello > [log in to unmask] > acting chair > DAWN Ontario: DisAbled Women's Network Ontario > > ------------------------ Yahoo! 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